Sunset Valley backbone

She snorted rather unattractively at his own exclamation, quite possibly spraying him with spit despite trying to turn her head slightly. She faced forward again, marveling at his astute observation and his easy declaration of love for Masque’s sister.

As her sister, she said by way of answer, it makes me happy to hear this.

Her tail waved more speedily for several beats, then slowed almost into stillness as she pondered how to phrase her next response. Her relationship with Redd and the rise was complicated in ways she could never hope to explain to someone who hadn’t been there to witness any of it.

I was part of the rise until I left a few months ago. That was why I owed them an apology. It’s hard to explain, Masque said, and it was selfish by necessity. She paused to take a breath. It means a lot that Redd and I were able to clear the air a bit, reach a mutual understanding.

She’d heard @Mountain Boulder’s call, which meant a great deal too. Perhaps others would reach out to her, in time. Masquerade hoped to one day darken the rise’s doorstep again, though for the time-being, she kept her distance out of respect.

My mate, Riley, came with me when I left. He’s around here somewhere, probably closer to the peak, Masque said, motioning with her own crimson muzzle. I know it has a name but I’ve always thought of it as Dragon’s Back Ridge. And I’ve always had designs on it, as the site of a…

She hesitated. It felt presumptuous to say the words, though Masque would only be speaking her hope, her truth. Gavrel might take word of it back to Redd, though that wasn’t a bad thing.

Sister pack, she finished.