Dinner was approaching as Keo and his creature made their way back to the cottage. He checked regularly to see if the pig frog was tiring, but she seemed to have endless endurance.
The mess hall closest to his cottage sat immediately off the road Keo travelled. A crowd gathered waiting for the evening meal and Keo tried to skirt widely around them. Something in the milling group of creature handlers caught his eye—orange hair. Hope rose inside him filling a cavity he hadn't realized was empty and he was inescapably drawn toward his old friend. However, he didn't want to get close enough to other people that his creature would cause a distraction.
Keo worked his way around the group slowly, trying to get into a position where he could catch Bree’s eye. He caught someone's eye, but it wasn't hers.
"Hey, look. It's the pig farmer," Storgent Vangled shouted and strode toward him.