His master paused for a very rare serious moment to look at him. "…Train hard. That's the only way. Every morning and night, devote yourself to it. You can't get impatient. Becoming great at one thing is like exploring a house: you might end up wandering around in circles for a while, but as soon as you discover the key to that door that's blocking your way, your progress will accelerate so rapidly that the whole world can do nothing but assume you are cheating."
Pash gasped, committing each word to memory. It was likely the most profound thing his master had ever said. His strength was so great that it was incredibly rare for him to ever be serious – Pash had long since forgiven him for that – and so the rare moments when he remembered what it was like to be human were to be treasured.
And then he spoiled it, ever so slightly. "…Or, something like that, I suppose. Remembering back to this big dog doing a poo is making me feel like I need to go myself. I might have eaten too many nuts. My belly is making those weird rumbling noises."
Pash thought on his master's words, knowing that he wasn't going to get a single bit of advice more valuable than that. He wondered upon his own way of training, whether there was a better way of doing it, and how he might discover the key to that door that his master was talking about.
He knew one thing though: he had to start to get over his overwhelming fears. In a moment of courage, he dared to look down over the side of the hound, into the darkness below. He immediately regrets that he had.
They were still stomping down trees as they raced their way through the forest, creating a terrible racket as they went, but somewhere along the way Pash had blocked out that noise, dismissing it to the back of his mind, only now did he start to notice it again.
He was able to look down to the ground for just a few minutes longer before he felt his body begin to freeze up again from that immobilizing fear, and he dragged his eyes away before it could completely possess him.
Because of the boulder hound, their progress through the forest was phenomenal. Before morning they would break past the tree line and then they would make their way to one of the market towns. Pash wasn't yet sure which. His master tended to decide things closer to the time. He thought it might be Redrun, though.
The hound didn't seem to tire. Its speed remained constant and the motion atop his back began to feel rather rhythmic. Pash leaned back against its neck, just as his master had, learning to enjoy the comfort of its fur and block out the smell.
He stared up at the moon and stars as they went. He pulled his robe tighter to him, trapping in the warmth, and then, it wasn't long until he fell asleep, with his master humming a cheerful melody beside him and the dog rocking him this way and that as though he was in a hammock on a ship.
It was not until many hours later that he awoke. The clouds drifted across the sky, obscuring the stars until the sun came to rise once more and there began another day.
His master woke him with a flick to the forehead and Pash looked around alarmed, feeling that something was very wrong, that something was missing. It was not until he looked down beside him did he realize the source of his discomfort: they were no longer moving. Somewhere along the way, the constant movement had become natural to him.
He noticed that there were no trees around him anymore, oddly enough, it seemed rather strange without them. It was only long grass, yellow from the summer heat. When he turned to look behind him, he could see the Untamed Forest a few miles away, a mass of dark green on the infinite horizon.
"We're a short walk from Redrun," his master explained. "Up and over that hill, then the castle will be in view. I'm thinking we should go the rest of the way on foot."
Pash nodded, brushing the last of his sleep from his eyes. He gripped tight the straps of his backpack, reassuring himself that it was still there, and then he reached for his hip to make sure his sword was still tight in its scabbard. With everything in place, he took a tight hold of the hound's fur.
"Lie down, boy!" His master called out. The dog went to his stomach a moment later, seemingly glad to sit down. Pash thought that the animal seemed rather tired, and when he realized that he had gone the whole night without rest, Pash could not blame him.
Ermos went swiftly down the side of the rough black fur, sliding straight to the ground, landing with a grace that made the height seem much less than it was. Had Pash tried to do the same, he knew that he'd likely earn himself an injured foot or a broken leg. He delicately climbed his way down instead, treating the side of the beast as a climbing wall, ensuring a new hold before he went onto the next one.
On the solid ground once more, he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. He snuck a glance at the dog as it lay with its head on the ground beside them. Seeing the size of it again, he could hardly believe that he'd truly managed to spend the whole night on top of it. He felt almost gleeful, for it was the first time he'd ever managed to properly confront his fear of heights.