<div class="floatleft">(http://imgur.com/3hgsLSS.jpg)</div>"Good morning, Captain!" he greeted, lowering his spoon to the plate and smiling in welcome. "It<em>is</em>a good day," he agreed. "Or it will be once we stop the beast. We were just talking about it." A faint gesture with his spoon indicated Imriel. "Monsieur said we'd leave as soon as everyone had breakfast. I hope we'll find tracks before we reach the village. I don't like how it came so close to the Inn.'" He had heard most animals are afraid of people. It was instinctive, or so he'd been told. But what would happen if this beast had learned it could kill them? What if it had lost its fear?<br/><br/>He recalled the words the captain's petite friend had spoken the night before: 'you teach them respect or they'll take it all'. He had agreed with her then, but now, in the light of day and with the hunt drawing near, the small woman's words held an urgency he hadn't felt before.<br/><br/>Imriel's retort to the overbearing stranger on his behalf was rewarded with a quick smile, and he used the discussion between the two to clean his plate. The captain's suggestion brought a grin, and he sat up, seizing up the others. At first glance, he found it impossible to guess who held the best hand in winning that sort of bet, and he considered participating as well. After all, when chances were evenly matched, much would come down to luck and while he didn't consider himself the best swordsman, or even the best fighter, he never had reason to doubt his luck.