"Slang? No, no. Literally!" He waved his hands in explanation, "I'm a Hunter, you see. The wolf, Fontaine, is my companion. Or 'pet'; whatever you want to call him." He knew well that Fontaine hated that word. If he were around he would have been glaring at the elf indignantly.

He smiled graciously as she inspected his hands, suddenly wondering why he cared in the first place. Most of his time was spent outside exploring, building traps and shooting a bow. The state of his hands should have been no surprise to him and definitely not warranting the attention he now payed to them.

The elf regarded her with a sincere smile and placed a hand over her own and patted it. "You are so sweet, do you know that? It's a relief you know, all the things I heard about you were true."