Mount Apikuni cat and mouse in partnership

If this was the squalor that passed for healthy, then, what dussit smell like when.. when it’s not healthy? Thade rebounded dubiously, his curiosity burgeoning. Yet, in that same moment, he felt himself becoming overly forward, and he was suddenly back to a time when Mother had struck him for asking too many questions.

Thade was deep in this memory, when he noticed Wintersbane move within his peripheral vision. He flinched, even though his guardian had simply gestured for him to advance, and averted his gaze, shamefaced. The boy seemed to recover on his own quick enough — shaking out his grimy coat, then resuming the hunt as if nothing had happened — but mentally he still felt jarred, which showed in the slight drooping of his posture.
 
Trying to find a rabbit’s trail turned out to be a decent enough distraction.
 
Thade was soon immersed in the act, turning several circles before he noticed small footprints where the rim of a puddle turned to silt. He sniffed along the muddy path, following the tracks onto drier land. The rain fell softer here, with the canopy above acting as a natural umbrella. These feetprints smells like rabbit droppings! he announced with a proud whipping of his tail; forgetting to keep quiet in his excitement.