“Vaka and Bashiri,” two of the main characters from my in-progress hyena novel Crocuta. Check it out on Kindle Vella!
Main character Vaka takes watch duty one night with his unlikely new friend Bashiri and decides that he won't be figuring out the little oddball any time soon. ^_^
[Vaka’s] ears dropped in shame and he rested his chin between his paws. “I’m turning into quite a false-alarmist, aren’t I?”
Bashiri looked at him fondly. “There’s nothing wrong with that, at least not in your case. You’re an immigrant and you’ve suffered a loss. You’ve probably faced more dangers than most of us ever will. It’s good that your first instinct is to protect us from those dangers instead of running away.”
He glanced up at the sky. “You’re not a bad clan member. You’re just young, but you learn fast. That’s a very good sign for a matriarch’s son.”
Vaka sighed. “You’re the only one here who understands me, Bashiri. I just wish I could return that favor.”
Bashiri smiled at a passing moth. “That’s okay, Vaka. I’m in no hurry to be understood.”
- Crocuta, Chapter 23 - Security
