"Oh, you'd have to catch me first," he said smugly.

"Then I have a plan. Not the most romantic gift ever brought for a date. I have the excuse that you requested it personally." He smiled faintly as he listened, privately thinking they were lucky not to have been injured. Many wounded Mabari were as dangerous as any wild animal if not more so because of their cunning. Perhaps the dog sensed right away that she was someone he could relate to. No one fully understood how they made their decisions about people.

"I can imagine. I know I'd have been jealous in such a situation. They're very special dogs." He kept at the ale fairly steadily. "His former master must have been killed somewhere."