Canine Negotations

Writers: Miriah, Suzee
Date Posted: 10th February 2021

Characters: Karhal, Bryvin
Description: Karhal and Bryvin discuss canines
Location: Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 7, day 20 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: Zathris

Karhal

Bryvin

His investigation was complete and the results needed to be delivered
to Lord Bryvin, and though this meeting could have been accomplished
by a formal letter, Karhal had other reasons for returning to Sunstone
Seahold. Thanking the rider who had brought him, Karhal carefully
brought down his canine, unbinding Livie's eyes after setting her
down. The canine went on instant alert, body tense and ears perked as
she looked around.

She'd tolerated the flight well enough; Karhal had utmost confidence
in his canine. She moved immediately to stand at his heel, looking up
at him and waiting for a command. Karhal directed her to a sit and
moved to wait to be greeted and directed by the Hold staff.

"Sir," a junior steward hurried up to the man and his canine then gave
a deep bow. "Are you Captain Karhal sir?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes. I am Captain Karhal. I have an appointment with Lord Holder Bryvin."

"Yes sir, Lord Bryvin is expecting you." he bobbed his head looking at
the canine by his side. "Is this Livie? he asked, admiring the
Captain's companion. He didn't attempt to interact with her since she
was working and he was familiar with the constraints of a working
canine. He turned to lead the pair into the hold proper and the Lord's
office on the first floor.

"Thank you, yes." Karhal followed the understeward, Livie pacing
quietly at his side, pointed ears alert. As they reached the office,
Karhal found himself ushered in and bowed briefly to Lord Bryvin.
"Lord Bryvin. Thank you for seeing me."

"Of course Karhal," he said, stepping around his desk and offering his
hand. His own canine alert at his side. Captain was a hands breadth
taller than Livie but was also working and though his ears and tail
showed extreme interest in the female he didn't leave his person's
side. Bryvin smiled at the Amber Hills Guard Captain. "She's beautiful
and obviously very well trained."

Karhal took the hand, shaking it briefly, yet firmly. "Thank you, Lord
Bryvin. She is the heart of my breeding line. She's had three litters
of pups, all excellent quality. Lord Zathris and Lady Benani both have
high quality guard canines out of her litters." Livie's tail wagged
once at the other canine, her interest clear, but also remained in
place, watching Lord Bryvin with a sharp intensity. "I also have my
report on the investigation on Holder Stenlis's death to give to you,
as you requested."

"Thank you," he nodded seriously at the Guard Captain. Then he walked
back around his desk but first had Captain lay down where he could
still see the female. He took his chair and indicated the Captain
could do the same. "Can you give me an overview of what you've found?"

Karhal sat in the proffered chair. "Certainly, Lord Bryvin. Holder
Stenlis' family did claim that there was reason to be suspicious of
his death, especially coming so quickly after his marriage to your
Headwoman. However, after speaking to the survivors and the fact that
your Headwoman did not press a claim to any of his Holdings as was her
right, there's no reason to believe what happened was anything more
than a tragic accident. " He frowned. "I did, however, come across
some documentation that hinted that Holder Stenlis was not entirely
honest about some of his arrangements with surrounding Holders. That,
however, doesn't affect what I was investigating. I fear that Lord
Zathris will need to conduct further enquiries; I don't imagine that
it will affect anything that you might be involved with however."

"Interesting," Bryvin said at last. He shook his head. "Yriadha did
take his loss very hard. They were childhood sweethearts from what
I've heard. Understandably she is reticent to discuss her personal
affairs with me. But I did have a little independent investigation
done here as well. Would you care for a copy of the findings?"

"Yes, of course, thank you. Lord Zathris would be most interested in
your findings as well." Karhal inclined his head. "And there is
another matter I'd like to discuss. If you recall, we spoke before
about my breeding program, and I am interested in discussing
introducing your canine's bloodline into ours. He's a quality canine
and Livie is due to enter into heat soon. This will be last litter
she'll have."

"Well," Bryvin smiled looking down at his own companion. "It does look
as though he might be interested. I'm sure we can come to some sort of
arrangement."

Karhal nodded. "I was hoping we could. Though Zathris is Lord Holder,
the breeding program is my own. He does own most of the canines that
we currently have, but Livie is my personal canine. Has your Captain
shown any skills or interests or proficiency in tracking?"

"Yes tracking," Bryvin nodded. "He's also a fine hunting companion and
will retrieve smaller game wherever it lies. Land or water. He'll
freeze with one foot poised pointing at wherever the small game hides
until you flush it out."

Immediately interested, Karhal's brows rose. "And was this a learned
skill that you taught him? Did his sire and dam show the same skills?"

"The tracking was taught, but the retrieval and pointing were natural
behaviors I just reinforced when we were hunting and I recognized
them." He smiled and his eyes sparkled. "Would you like a
demonstration?"

Karhal's smile matched Bryvin's. "I would indeed, Lord Bryvin. I'm
very interested in what your Captain can do."

Last updated on the February 19th 2021

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Canine Negotations