Royal swung around. A man, of a sort, stood before the door. The top of his bald, shiny head touched the top of the ten-foot tall doorframe. He looked like a bulldog, with massive folds of skin drooping from his cheeks and neck, but his arms and legs were massive, with muscles the size of basketballs, and smooth chocolate skin. As Eli stared, he realized the man wasn't covered in skin, but a soft layer of fur. The longer he looked, the more difficult it became for him to distinguish the human qualities from the canine.
"I'm Eli and this is Royal."
The dog-man's small dark eyes scanned Eli from head to toe. "What are you?" He barked.
Eli gave him a confused glance. "I'm human, obviously," he said.
The dog-man's eyes widened as much as they could under his drooping brows. "Human?" He squeaked, cautiously moving closer. "I've never seen one before. Are you," he swallowed, "full human?"
"Of course! What else could I be?"
"You could be a woofer. Although a very ugly, naked one. Have your canines even grown out? Oh! Never mind. I suppose humans don't have those."
"We don't," Eli interrupted, "but what's a woofer?"
"I'm a woofer!" The dog-man puffed out his chest proudly. "My name is BaBarkinston. You can call me BaBark. My great-great-great-grandfather was the last human. No one has seen a man since."
"What about woman?" Eli stood on his tiptoes and held his hand a few inches above his own head. "She's about this tall with yellow hair. Have you seen her?"
BaBark shook his big head. "I can't say I have. Did she run away?"
"No! She was taken by the monster under the bed."
"Did you search under the bed?"
Eli crossed his arms over his chest. "Duh."
"No need to get snappy with me, pup. Now where have you looked?"
"I rolled down a hill and then I went down a path with lots of flowers and butterflies. Then these huge birds came and tried to eat me!"
BaBark huffed. "And you led them right to my door, too."
"Sorry," Eli murmured sheepishly.
"They'll leave by morning. They always do. Now, it sounds like you've covered a pretty extensive area. Where else could she be? Where next?"
"The tall tower where nothing grows."
BaBark hissed and bounded across the room. He covered Eli's mouth with a furry, five-fingered paw. "Hush!" Darkness seemed to fall over the room.
Royal tossed his mane nervously and tapped his hoof against the wooden floor.
"Don't mention that place," BaBark whispered, "don't even say it out-loud."
"Why?" Eli pushed the paw away from his mouth.
"It hears you." BaBark closed the shades on the window and waved Eli over to the tiny table near the cupboard. "Sit down, pup. Tell me why you want to go to... That place."
The chair was extremely tall and Eli had to climb. Even when he sat down, the table was at eyebrow level.
BaBark rustled around the kitchen and plopped a cup, filled to the brim with an amber liquid, on the table before Eli. Eli stood up on his chair and wrapped his little hands around the mug. It was hot and it warmed him to his very toes.
"Try it. Tastes like honey."
The viscous liquid did indeed taste like honey, but not the kind Eli's mother put in their tea back home. It tasted wild and smooth and didn't burn the back of his throat like the honey at home. The drink was gone in less than a minute and BaBark joined him at the table with a plate of cold, brown bread. In between mouthfuls, Eli told the dog-man everything. He told him about the monster under the bed and his stuffed animals. He explained how his mother had cleaned and gotten napped. Then he explained, very careful to avoid mentioning anything by name, he knew his mother was at the spire.
