Moonspear I'm bigger than my body

"She's terrified," Alya sighed, her voice a strange mixture of pity, amusement, and exasperation. "Here, lemme see her." Muscling (gently) past Lyra, Alya plucked up the little girl once more and waded out of the pond with her, wincing at her increased proximity to the awful noise the girl was making. (It did not occur to her that she'd been exactly like this, as a young girl.)

"We're not gonna hurt you," she said shortly, pinning Cassiopeia between her forepaws and beginning to groom her, as Amekaze had once groomed them. Only, Alya had not had much practice at being gentle, and it was probably a bit uncomfortable for the girl. "I know she's useless to us like this," Alya added, between bouts of savage and forced affection. "But maybe we can teach her to do more than shit and whine - maybe she'll hunt with us, one day. If we teach her. Obviously, her parents are majorly inept and teaching things. Someone has to do it."