He'd caught the mood off the queen and Sir Stefan a day prior to this early rising. And he thanked whatever luck he'd been given that this night hadn't been a shifting one. He'd spent the night pacing the floor of the young king's room or snatching a few winks before getting up to start all over again. He knew they were leaving, he knew it wasn't a happy occasion. There'd been no news, at least that he'd heard, of compromised security in the palace, so there was no reason for the queen to be going into hiding somewhere else. The only other answer he had for the nervous tension was that they weren't going to be hiding for much longer. A fact he didn't particularly like. It meant he'd lose his pampered position, didn't it? Back to the kennels for him, it'd be. No more prince and no more fine table scraps. And who knew what would happen to them. Maybe that Janolf mage would kill them before they could even start, maybe he wouldn't, maybe they'd succeed. But what were the chances of that? He wasn't very good at looking on the bright side, these days. 

So it had been with no small amount of trepidation that he'd stood at the first sound of footsteps in the hall, fur bristling along his spine, growl raising the little boy from his bed with sleepy blinks until his mother opened the door and Lacchi settled back with a snuffle as though to say he'd known who it was all along. It was with surprise that he obeyed the order to come along once the queen had her boy dressed and safely settled over her hip. No one tried to stop him, and none of the men they passed stepped up to claim him and lead him back where he was supposed to go. And then she told Darlond that he was going with them! Well now, he didn't know what to feel! Dismay that he might share their fate, or pleasure that he could stay with the boy a little while longer, help to keep him safe. He decided to ignore his misgivings at least until he couldn't, for the moment anyway, as he preferred not to have an unsettled stomach so early in the morning, and stretched out on the cool stone of the courtyard where he could keep an eye on Darlond and the queen while avoiding the heavy hooves of the horses. Bitter twist if he was allowed to go and then couldn't because of a crushed foot. 

He perked his ears to listen to what passed for conversation, brown eyes darting from one face to another as two men made their way into the courtyard. He knew neither, though one he thought he recognised slightly. A soldier? Maybe, he moved with the stiff economy of a man used to efficiency and sharp commands. Lacchi usually made a habit of avoiding such men when he was human, bad for business, getting caught redhanded by a military sort. Now, his head lifted and he licked his nose before panting some amusement at the stranger's rejoinder. Lippy sort of fellow, seemed liable to have some humour in him then. Rayf... A man to keep an eye on when he was looking for entertainment, maybe? And Palentine he'd go to for the important things, like cheese, apples went with cheese, didn't they? And he was feeding the horse... 

The hound loosed a high pitched, whining yawn, loosening his jaw and comfortably clicking his teeth shut as their conversation ended before rising and stretching his back in preparation of idling over to sniff a few knees and perhaps beg a morsel or two from so generous a man. He smelled like metal, leather and dusty tomes. And Lacchi sneezed before lifting his head to eye the man accusingly, trying a slight tail wag to garner some favour. The horse wasn't the only hungry beast about.