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Trinket was bored. Vex and Vax were sound asleep, sprawled across their beds and snoring lightly. The bear was wide awake, paws folded in front of him as he watched the door.
Whitestone smelled bad, like a kill left in the damp, infested with maggots and rot, and it worried him. The air was malevolent, and it left Trinket feeling like he was about to be ambushed by a larger predator. As such, it was up to him to keep watch when the castle slept, to keep his little family safe against whatever made the city reek of death.
He pushed himself up, giving a last glance at the sleeping twins before padding to the door. He bit down on the knob, twisting his head and pushing. The door popped open, revealing the dark hallway. Trinket gave a little grunt of accomplishment, walking into the hallway. He nosed the door closed behind him and set off to check up on everyone else.
Whenever they were in Whitestone he carried out this routine, taking a looping path around the castle to check up on everyone while the sun was down. It was tiring and he was always sleepy in the morning, but he needed to do it. His family members were tiny, except Grog, how would they defend themselves against larger threats? Physically, Trinket was biggest and strongest, so it was his job to protect them.
Being the closest, Trinket went to Keyleth’s room first, carefully tugging open the door and padding inside.
The druid was fast asleep, curled into a tiny ball under the sheets. He sniffed, seeking out any unfamiliar or dangerous scents. Finding none, he walked up to Keyleth’s sleeping form. He pressed his nose to her forehead before turning and leaving the room.
Vex had taught him from a when he was just a cub it was good manners to kiss someone on the forehead when they were sleepy, so he did his best whenever possible. He did it to all his family members, except Pike. The littlest member of their party usually woke if he came near, something that was extremely rude according to Vex, so he stayed near the door when checking on her.
He made his way to Scanlan and Grog’s room next, repeating his little ritual with each before continuing on. Pike was at the temple that night, so Trinket went to check on Percy-Dear next.
Percy-Dear was the most important person to check on, besides Vex, because Percy-Dear was Vex’s mate. Or would-be-mate, Trinket couldn’t tell sometimes. If Vex and Percy-Dear were bears they would have mated and produced cubs by now, but humans and half-elves weren’t like bears. Their offspring were small and pink and screamed a lot, nothing like a cub. It also took them too long to get big, so maybe that was why Vex and Percy-Dear hadn’t made cubs yet. Dragons were dangerous, and protecting a cub against them for so long would be hard.
Trinket went to Percy-Dear’s workshop first, nosing open the door and peering in. The forge had died, and the candles had been snuffed sometime before. Percy-Dear’s scent was strong here, but Trinket could tell he had left some time ago. Satisfied, Trinket made the trek to Percy-Dear’s room.
Percy-Dear spent too long in the workshop, usually he didn’t leave until Trinket’s third checkup when the bear forced him out and into his den. Vex once told him that the human had lost his dam when he was young, so maybe that was why Percy-Dear was so odd. Orphan bears picked up strange habits if they lost their mothers too young, so perhaps humans were like that too? Percy-Dear was a very smart human, but he didn’t seem to understand that he needed to sleep or eat, so sometimes Trinket had to remind him.
When he arrived at Percy-Dear’s room the door was cracked open, and Trinket could hear shuffling inside. He let out a loud grunt and pushed his way inside.
Percy-Dear looked up from his desk, surprised. “Trinket? What are you doing here?” he asked, not moving from his seat.
Trinket growled, stalking forward and shoving his forehead into Percy-Dear’s side. He pushed against the human, trying to be gentle so Percy-Dear wouldn’t hit his head if he fell. Percy-Dear was delicate like that, simple things like that would hurt him. Vex said he had ‘delicate sensibilities’, whatever that meant, so Trinket had to be gentle and be on his best manners around Percy-Dear.
“Gah! Trinket what are you doing?” Percy-Dear yelped, grabbing the edge of his desk.
Trinket grunted in frustration, stepping back and ramming his head into Percy-Dear’s side. The human went down with a loud crash, falling into an undignified heap. “Trinket!” Percy-Dear yelled, his face turning a bright scarlet.
Trinket stared back, unmoved. Percy-Dear didn’t have a very good Trinket’s-in-trouble voice, too high pitched and unsure. He knew some of his family had been scared of him at first, and Percy-Dear hadn’t gotten over that worry enough over the years to actually scold Trinket. He stepped forward, pressing his face against Percy-Dear’s shoulder and pushing him toward the bed.
The human yelped, scrambling to his feet to get away from him. Trinket chuffed at him, pointing his muzzle at the bed and glaring. Percy-Dear stared back for a moment, uncomprehending. Trinket groaned, poking the human with his nose then pointing back at the bed. Vex was so much better at understanding him, if she were here this interaction would have been finished already.
“Trinket, are you trying to tell me to go to bed?” Percy-Dear asked, incredulous. Trinket nodded.
“Absolutely unbloody believable,” he muttered, smacking a palm against his forehead. “I am being scolded by a grizzly bear about not going to bed on time. Why is my life like this?”
Trinket cocked his head, waiting patiently. “Yep. I’m going to bed. I’m done with today,” Percy-Dear muttered, standing to his full height, walking over to the bed and collapsing face first on the mattress.
Trinket stepped over to the bed and licked Percy-Dear’s hand. Satisfied his job was done, he wandered back out of the room, picking his way through the castle and back to Vex’s room. His mistress and her brother were still fast asleep, undisturbed by Trinket’s absence. It would be dawn in a few hours, the morning light burning away some of the malevolent air around the castle, and Trinket needed to sleep at least for a few hours so he could repeat his ritual tomorrow. The bear yawned and padded over to Vex’s bed, laying down at the foot of the bed. He laid his head on his paws and closed his eyes, letting himself drift off.