Rind.

They were quiet that evening and into the night. Kellan sat up late, carving containers and small figurines out of wood, seemingly avoiding going to bed. Gustin sat up and watched him, played with his toes, then watched him some more. Eventually, he spoke.
"We're going to have to deal with this eventually."
Kuskellanar snorted.
"You can't hide from it forever."
Now he growled. Gustin growled right back, sighed, and rolled over to go to sleep on the bed, sick already of trying.


The morning was less awkward. Kellan had, in the end, occupied his usual space in the bed at night, and a quiet night seemed to have put some distance between them and their potential problem. They ate, and Kellan opened the door for a breath before heading out into the snow. Gustin contemplated going back to bed, but ultimately decided to try for a more active day, and went first to clean up after breakfast. Gustin was scrubbing dishes in a small wooden water bowl when he heard the first thump. It sounded like it was coming from above the house, and he immediately was concerned. He put down the bowl, laid the cloth quietly on the side. Another thump, then another, and now it sounded like someone was walking out there. Nervously, he called out:
"Kellan?"
No reaction. Which meant it wasn't Kellan. Which meant he probably shouldn't have given away his position, or even his presence here. He began to look for a way out. The thumping was moving around in circles, in a spiral pattern from the center. The person was looking for the edge. The house was built to sit low and blend - it wouldn't be so easily visible in the heavy snowfall. The footsteps continued. Gustin crept over to the bedside, threw on another three layers of Kellan's clothing, secured in place with small ropes he'd braided, and wondered what he would do about shoes when the time came to run. Kellan had hidden his. The footsteps stopped. somewhere near the bathroom. They'd found the edge now, and would just need to work their way over to the door. Then there was a rustling and the rapid thumping that indicated that they'd done exactly that. Gustin heaved in a breath - he felt like a sitting duck; had Kellan even thought of this, all these times he'd left him in here alone? Human and vulnerable and unarmed and probably pretty delicious-looking. He hadn't, probably, because Kellan, it seemed, never thought of him at all. Gustin was just beginning to feel sorry for himself when he heard the most unexpected sound of knocking at the front door. He froze.

It could be a trap. Was it a trap? Or a trick, rather? It was the oldest one in the book - someone would come to the door in a snowstorm, feigning need and then bam! they'd knock him out, steal what meager possessions Kellan had, and then carry him along for a snack on the road. Unless he got particularly unlucky. Unless it was a Lout. This struck cold, cold fear into his belly and Gustin resolved immediately not to open the door. If he even could open the door. Wait, of course! This was all a ridiculous debate, because there was no way in hell he'd be able to heave that door open again. The one time had been enough. Whoever it was would have to wait for Kellan.
"Come on, Kellanar, let me in! My paws are da-ya freezing off out here!"
Gustin froze at the voice, judged it quietly in his mind. Male, most definitely, not that he'd really expected different. Raspy, like a wolfe's, but higher somehow - brighter? Younger, definitely, but tangibly different...
"Kellanar! Please! Have some pity on an old Layer soul!"
If Gustin had had ears like a wolfe, they would have flattened to his head, then perked up in interest. A Layer. A Layer, indeed, was one species with which Gustin had never had the pleasure of making contact. All his information came to him second hand. First person experience, however much preferential, had proven difficult, as the Layer colonies had been difficult to locate and seemed to be largely located in the center of Wolfish land. If this was indeed a Layer, and a Layer who knew Kellan and was friendly at that, then this might be the opportunity of a lifetime. That was the sort of information a human could eat well for centuries on. Gustin began to think about opening the door.
"Kellanar...it's cold...so cold....my fingers are getting numb. My - my vision's going black. Tell the Mother I said goodbye...." A few hacking coughs. Gustin couldn't help it - he laughed. The coughing stopped immediately. Now there was a growl, low like Gustin was familiar with, but not nearly so menacing.
"Now I know Kellanar isn't there - no wolfe laughs like that. Open the door, invader, and if you've killed my friend, you won't live to see another moon."
Now that was interesting. Friend. In all the days he'd been here, he had never heard Kellan refer to anyone as friend. Gustin began to be very very interested in opening the door. He meandered over to the front alcove and leaned towards the weaker side.
"I'm not Kellan, but your friend's not dead either. He's gone out hunting - we're all out of rabbits. He'll be back by nightfall, if you'd like to return, but the price we charge for hanging around here is that you answer a number of questions and most decidedly do not eat Kellan's houseguests."
Outside of the door, the Layer's ears flipped skyward.
"Da-ya! And who are you?"
As Gustin contemplated the answer to that question, the Layer worked it out for himself.
"Don't tell me the old thing's gone and gotten himself a mate!"
The last word was said with mock shock, and Gustin laughed again.
"Well, now you absolutely must let me in, because as the closest thing old thing's got to a brother, it is required by Layer law that I approve you. And no need to worry, because I am an herbivarian."
"Vegetarian."
"I'm cold, is what I am."
Gustin frowned.
"I'd love to let you in - can't open the door, though. It's just too heavy for just me. Maybe if we pull together?"
"Very good. Love the plan. To the right, now. Together on three. Airu, Nemel, Satri, Kerec, Three."
They heaved together and the door slid halfway, blasting arctic frost into the room. Gustin stepped back, covered his face, as a creature looking like nothing if not half-a-wolfe, leapt in. He threw his weight into shutting the door behind him, letting it slam heavily into place. Then he stood up fully (okay, maybe more like 3/4-of-a-wolfe), slapped the snow off both ears, shifted into a fully animalized form, and shook himself completely, splattering snow and ice bits from gray-brown fur around the room, onto Gustin's clothes and into his hair. Gustin just stared, open-mouthed. The animal-form Layer looked up at him from bright sand-colored eyes, grinned as much of a goofy, sharp-toothed grin as his animal form's canine face possibly could, and spoke, gazing up at Gustin with open interest.
"A human mate. Well, I'll be damned."