"Apologies for keeping you waiting, summoner," Cannai said. "There are many things in my territory demanding my attention and my power, and even travel and communication grows expensive for me."
Hazō looked at Cannai. The Dog Clan's leader wasn't exerting his presence as the Alpha the same way he had when the war first broke out. Cannai had become more comfortable with remaining himself while protecting the Dog Clan on whatever metaphysical level he needed to, but still, Hazō could tell that Cannai was tired. The Alpha moved slightly slower, and he had a deep weariness in his voice.
"Let me help," Hazō said. "Let me take messages across your territory for you. I'll have a bit of time every few days. I feel like I'm not doing enough for the war."
"As I have said, you do not need to do anything for the war," Cannai said. "But your aid would be appreciated. How many times in a day could you summon a Dog such as Canoe?"
"Huh, I don't know. Four, maybe? Five?"
"Your chakra reserves have not progressed much since you acquired the scroll, then," Cannai said. "That is fine. How about with the aid of your brother, who transfers chakra?"
"Triple that," Hazō said. "But we don't have that much chakra to spare right now, since we've been removed from our village. Why does it matter how many Canoe-strength dogs I can summon? Surely I should summon puppies for moving messages around, right?"
"I would not send puppies to the front lines," Cannai said. "We have dedicated messengers, but they are not puppies. I shall attempt to find the fastest ones which will nonetheless cost you the least to summon. Beware though, summoner – you wished not to be disturbed by outside elements, correct? If it becomes known that you are passing messages for us, as Leopard may well infer if our coordination suddenly improves on given days – though I shall attempt to obscure it – then the Akatsuki you fear may well search for your contractees. The Dusk Willow pack is kept in Dog's heartlands for this very reason, so that your enemies will not be able to reach them. Dedicated messengers on the borders are far more vulnerable."
"Can't you help keep any outside elements away?" Hazō asked.
"To an extent," Cannai said. "But I took an oath not to pass messages because you want a defense with no weaknesses, and I believe this would open weaknesses. I cannot predict what will happen, but with a war dividing my attention and my strength I know there would be risks."
"I can live with that in order to help with the war," Hazō said. "Really, I regret that I'm not doing more. I was going to offer you skytowers, except I recently found a… concerning discovery about how dimensional seals are damaging the Great Seal, and I really can't afford to make that problem any worse. As it is, the Seventh Path trade network needs to be completely shut down – so maybe it's a good thing that we pulled Dog out of it earlier."
"You're saying that storage seals also interfere with the Great Seal?" Cannai asked.
"That's right."
"Including the storage seals you gave us, so that we could transport the sleds you made for our pups everywhere without weighing ourselves down, as well as for the saddlebags and foodstuffs?"
"Right… yeah, you really shouldn't use those either. Can you get those back to me so I can take them off the Path?"
Cannai lowered his head to the ground and huffed. He scratched the ground with the bare forepaw he'd nearly lost to the Mirror Dragon, then looked back up at Hazō. "So be it, summoner. I would not want the Great Seal to further deteriorate while so many other crises occupy the Seventh Path. I shall prepare this for you within the week."
"I'm sorry."
"It is not your fault that the storage seals interfere with the Great Seal," Cannai said. "That is just the fact of nature. I had wondered whether I ought to ask you for skytowers, or whether your experiences with the Pangolins would make this request damage our relationship. Perhaps I should be grateful that the option has been taken away from me."
"I really do want to help, though," Hazō said. "I can supply you with Force Blades, and the MARS needed to use them effectively. We have a half-dozen spare combat harnesses that your warriors could use right away, and I could ask Kagome-sensei to make more for you."
"I will accept this gift, if you think it will do more good than harm."
"I think it's fine," Hazō said. "I don't offer it lightly, after the horrors of the Pangolin conquest of Condor, but it's a gift without an indefinite commitment of supply, so I trust that you'll use them well."
"For harms, I meant against the Great Seal."
"Ah. Sorry. Yes, Force Blades aren't dimensional, so unless they fail unexpectedly, it should be fine."
"It will be appreciated," Cannai said, turning to look out as if the woods around them were transparent. "Making a handful of dogs more lethal in combat is a far cry from the aerial superiority that enabled Pangolin to conquer Condor, but it will help."
