Get up without waking the ladies

As the events of the prior night return to Duncan's consciousness, he sits up quickly and looks with renewed interest at the women beside him. They are young women of about the same age as him. One has brown hair and the other has red hair. Their fit bodies and lovely facial features are definitely in line with the type he would welcome into his bed, but try as he might, he has no recollection of having had the privilege.

He looks around at his surroundings, seeing the primitive cave that offered him shelter. The fire has been reduced to little more than glowing embers. There is no sign of Lupina or her daughters. Duncan wonders if the women beside him somehow chased the wolves away, but remembering the ferocity with which they dispatched Madam Banntrach, he doubts that beautiful naked girls could ever intimidate those savage beasts.

Carefully rising from the blanket so as to not disturb the sleep of the girls, Duncan crawls to his feet. He would have liked to have used the blanket to cover himself, but there is no hope of doing so without waking the ladies who sleep soundly atop it.

Telling himself that if they were unashamed to snuggle up next to him without clothing, he probably has no reason to feel awkward being likewise nude -- particularly since they are sleeping and unaware of him for the time being. If he were back at the palace, he would have thought nothing of remaining without clothing while in the presence of far more than two naked women, but the strangeness of his surroundings and the fact that he has absolutely no recollection of how he managed to find himself in such company has him decidedly unnerved.

Duncan pads to the entrance of the cave and peers outside. The early morning sunlight makes the surrounding area seem far less threatening than it did when he last looked at it. There, standing guard over the entrance to the cave, is Lupina. She sees him, yawns, and stretches lazily before walking over and standing in front of him.

"Did Your Highness sleep well?" she asks. "My daughters and I took turns standing watch. I trust we did not disturb you too badly when we changed shifts."

Duncan remembered that she had the ability to speak, but even so, the effect of hearing human-like speech from her wolfish snout caused him to jump with surprise.

"Um... Yes... I slept well enough, I guess," he says, trying his best to strike a casual tone and posture, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to be standing in the wilderness, naked as a jaybird, carrying on a conversation with the black wolf.

Her yellow eyes bore into him impassively. Duncan tries to maintain eye contact with her, but he finds her unblinking gaze too much to maintain. He crosses his hands in front of his crotch, hoping that it looks casual. If anyone had told him before last night that he would be more concerned about his modesty than about being eaten while standing this close to a wolf, he would have laughed.

"You wouldn't happen to know who the ladies are, would you?" he asks, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb before hurriedly returning his hand back to cover his crotch.

Lupina turns her head slightly and looks toward the cave entrance. "Ladies?" she asks. "Are you referring to my daughters? Do you not remember meeting them last night?"

"I remember meeting your daughters last night," replies the prince. "But when I woke up...."

He is interrupted at this moment by the nearly-imperceptible footfalls of someone emerging from the cave. Duncan turns around and sees the two wolves from the night before.

"Good morning, Your Highness," says the red wolf.

"Um... Good morning.... Luxia, is it?"

"That is correct," she responds. "And this is my sister, Katania." She turns her head toward the brown wolf who joins her at her side.

Duncan's eyes dart back and forth between the two wolves. Seeing them next to each other triggers a sudden thought. His eyes narrow as he studies their fur and confirms it is the same color as the hair of the ladies with whom he woke up.

"Are you -- I mean, did you --?" The prince stammers, trying to find the right words. The idea that formed in him mind seemed less ridiculous before he attempted to articulate it.

Seeing the perplexed looks on the wolves' faces, he tries again. "Did you happen to take the form of two women until just now?"

These wolves being the first ones with whom he has ever attempted a conversation, Duncan realizes he doesn't have a lot of experience to go from, but he could swear that he sees laughter dancing in their eyes before their mother speaks.

"Indeed?" asks Lupina. "Are you saying there were two women in the cave when you woke up?"

Looking at the elder wolf, Duncan studies her eyes for any suggestion of laughter. Instead, he sees anything but amusement in those yellow, unblinking eyes. He begins to doubt his own memory.

"Well, maybe not. I was probably still dreaming," he acknowledges.

Lupina looks past him toward her daughters. The prince thinks he detects the universal look that transcends species: a mother's disapproval. The younger wolves look abashed and exchange glances.

Silence hangs in the air for a few very uncomfortable moments. Duncan cannot stand the silence any longer and decides to speak.