Beginning of a Journey

"There you go," Reena praised, adjusting the way she was sitting briefly to pull her phone out of her pocket and set it down next to her on the bench.
"Now just try and relax a bit," she urged. The canine brought her left paw up and lowered it down towards Wolf's face, lightly running her paw from his forehead and up towards his ears in something of a petting gesture.

Wolf watches Reena's paw until it moves out of view and rubs over his head.

"This feels... awkward..." he says.

"Then don't think about it so much," Reena replied. She smiled down at him.
"Close your eyes and let your mind wander. Focus less on feeling awkward or sick and think about... I dunno, happier stuff or stuff that makes you feel good."

Wolf lets out a slow breath.

"Okay... I'll give it a try." he replies.

He closes his eyes and tries to just relax like he had been earlier at the train station.

Reena said nothing further, letting him make his attempt to relax there with her. In the meantime, she continued to rub his head gently.

Several minutes pass with Wolf remaining like this. Gradually he relaxes, as he found Reena's petting motion somewhat comforting, even though she was a relative stranger. With his eyes closed they were able to rest from the strain the motion sickness had put them under and the pain in his head began to ebb away ever so slightly.

Reena kept quiet through this time. Her gaze had moved away from Wolf and she now stared out the window instead. She felt rather pleased with herself once she realized that he seemed relaxed after a while and so she continued on with what she was doing.

A few minutes later and without a word, Wolf opens his eyes slowly and glances up at Reena.

The Klee Kai was still quietly staring out the window for now. It took her a couple of moments to actually glance down and realize Wolf was looking at her. Reena smiled a bit in response.
"How you feeling so far?" she asked him.

"A bit better." he replies, "Any idea how long this might take? It's still weird after all."

Reena tilted her head to one side. "How long what might take?" she asked.

"I mean staying here... like this." he replies, "Do you have to keep doing this?"

"Not if you don't want me to," Reena replied.
She paused her petting his head, lowering her paw away from his face.
"Did you want to stop?" she asked.

His ears lowered a little.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to be rude about it." he replies, "Just... sharing personal space like this... makes me feel a bit uncomfortable."

He glances away from her.

Reena shook her head a bit.
"No, it wasn't rude. I make people uncomfortable all the time!" she assured him. She offered a smile and added in, "But for a lone wolf? Yeah, I can see how putting your head in a stranger's lap could feel awkward. It's okay, though. I think just lying down should be enough to help with your trainsickness if you want me to stop doing this."

"Yeah. Maybe a bit of space would be best. I do appreciate the gesture of course." he says, looking back at her and returning her smile slightly.

"Of course," Reena repeated with a nod. She gave him a couple of light pats on the head. "But if you change your mind, I'll be just a couple of feet away anyhow," she added.

Wolf nods slightly.

"Of course." he replies.

He slowly sits up so that one of them could move away from the other more easily.

Reena waited until Wolf was sitting up again before standing up from the bench. She then crossed back over to the other side of the cabin and seated herself where she had been before. The Klee Kai looked back out the window now as she settled on the bench, stretching her legs out in front of her.

Wolf began to lie back down once Reena had moved away. Once he was lying down again, he looks over at her.

Reena seemed content to let him rest for now as she set her gaze on the clouds overhead in the meantime. She still held her phone in one paw, but wasn't currently using it.

Wolf watches her quietly for over a minute, then he turns his head away to glance towards the ceiling, and a short time after that he closes his eyes again.

Reena eventually turned to her phone, idly toying with it for a few minutes. Finally, though, she seemed to grow bored with this. She looked over at Wolf, watching him for several moments more.
Deciding that perhaps he had the right idea, she tucker her phone into her pocket and leaned down. She untied her boots and pulled them off, then pulled her feet up onto the bench and slowly stretched out on her side. Her back still rested against the back of the bench and she took a short time in settling down to get more comfortable there. A nap could be nice, after all.

Wolf's ears twitch slightly, as he hears Reena getting ready to lie down. Once she settles down, he starts to doze a little. Several minutes later he falls asleep, despite the noise the train is making as it travels.

Before relaxing fully to nap, Reena couldn't resist snapping a silent photo of Wolf, a potential caption crossing her mind as she did.

'The quietest travel companion I've ever had.'

She put her phone away again, then moved her paws underneath her head to act as something of a pillow. Now feeling comfortable, if only for the moment, the Klee Kai settled into the seat to try and sleep for a while.