"We should find a rope," the human girl said.

"We're in a forest. We'd have to go back to Stockbrunn to get one." Marietta shot her down.

Shreya added, "we shouldn't separate. It's not smart to do that. Everyone stay together."

"Yeah, and I don't wanna leave Sunflower, so that's not happening."

"Oh, like how you left me?"

"I said I was sorry, didn't I? If I didn't, I am, I'm real sorry." Ellie said. "I thought I drew the bear away but I didn't, and I'm sorry. I came looking for you. I never left you."

Marietta wasn't buying it. "Okay."

"Anyway, I've got a new plan. Since we don't have a rope, why don't we be the rope?" Pride for her cleverness lit up Ellie's features.

"We be the rope..." Shreya parsed out the meaning. "How does that work?"

"Easy! I'll hold a branch for Sunflower to grab, you grab me, and then Marietta grabs you. We can reach her like we're the rope."

"There's a good chance that's going to lead to all four of us in the hole," Marietta said. "We're not going to have much leverage."

"How strong are you?" Shreya asked, sizing her up.

"I'm plenty strong. I'll have you know I'm the hardest worker you'll ever meet. Manual labor's in my blood." When Ellie caught Shreya's eyes wandering, she grinned. "Are you checking me out?"

"Yes. You're fine." There wasn't anything outwardly wrong with her.

Her cheeks reddened. "Um, thanks! Uh, I'm going to go find the stick, then, yep." She left them to go find one strong enough.

Marietta chuckled to herself. Another joke that Shreya didn't understand.

Once Ellie returned, they got into formation. Ellie laid down on her stomach, holding the stick for Sunflower to grab. Her upper half dipped into the hole. Shreya crouched over her, her feet planted near the edge. She kept her arms tight around Ellie's waist, straining not to drop her. They didn't need two accidents today. Marietta wrapped an arm around Shreya's middle, ready to assist in pulling Ellie and Sunflower up with her.

Sunflower reached for the stick, her fingers only brushing it.

"Lower me a bit more." Ellie called out.

"Okay, lowing you."

"Lowering," Marietta corrected.

It wasn't the time for grammar lessons. Not when one slip meant Ellie potentially breaking her neck. She felt so fragile in Shreya's arms, like something that could be crushed with an accidental flex. Soft. Vulnerable. Every ounce of this breakable girl's trust was in Shreya at that moment. What if she did let go? Using Ellie as a measuring stick, humans weren't nearly as hardy as wolves. She wouldn't be able to bounce back from a falll like that. The difference was fascinating.

Ellie said something to Sunflower to get her to stop growling. "Good. Sunflower, take." There was a slight pull on the line. "Alright, guys, let's bring her up!"

Marietta took a step backwards, not letting go. Shreya followed suit, one foot following the other for balance.

If she dropped Ellie...she'd be left in the hole like so many other animals before her. She'd learn how it feels to be hopeless, at the enemy's mercy as spears endlessly prod at her.

The thought didn't bloom any further.

The strain on her arms doubled. Sunflower must've been off the ground. Marietta kept backing up, a steady force that helped Shreya from tipping over.

"Keep going!"

Bit by bit, Shreya dragged Ellie out, getting her back to safety. When the dog got close enough to the surface, she let go of the stick, leapt for the edge, and hauled herself up on her own. Unable to support herself on her bad foot, she sat on the ground. Fury began to pool in her eyes.

Ellie held her. Sunflower's head rested over her shoulder.

"Bad." She growled the word, her pronunciation of it so poor that Shreya thought she said something else at first.

"She can speak?"

"She's a dog." Ellie rubbed circles into her back. That appeased her enough to keep her from growling, but not enough to remove her death glare.

"Dogs can only say so much." Marietta explained. "Let's say that they're limited in certain departments."

That was what those turncoats got for bowing their heads in subjugation. Domestication ruined them. Shreya almost felt sorry for the poor thing. Its clothes, a one-piece shirt-and-shorts combo, looked like it was stiched together from discarded fabric, leftovers that no one knew what to do with. It didn't even have shoes, the bottom of its feet crusted with dirt.

No shoes, no proper clothing, no language ability. Stockbrunn treated its pigs better than its dogs.

And yet, in spite of its treatment, Sunflower's tail still wagged from being in its master's grasp.

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A/N: This is an interactive fantasy serial. Voting takes place on Thursdays through Sundays on the story's main site. The most up-to-date chapters can also be found there, but uploading will happen in parts on RRL as well.

The next post will be Chapter 5.4.

Chapter 10 is out now on the main site. Voting will end Sunday at 11:59 PM EST. Still accepting character suggestions on Chapter 10. See the main site for more details.