Lion Head Mesa break me off a piece of that… fancy feast

Not really, Frolic fibbed, never one to let a little pain hold her back.

Inji stepped back to regard her handiwork. Frolic tried very hard to resist the urge to scrunch her nose again. It helped that the coyote distracted her with a question. She couldn’t have any idea what such a query would evoke.

No! she said, getting a little too loud again but not catching it this time. I wish! I want to plant more tooth trees! she lamented, sounding a little plugged up on account of the spiderweb stuffed up her nose.

That made her think of Ceridwen, of course, and home. She didn’t think she’d been out here long—and the sky remained dark—but Frolic knew that every minute spent out here risked her being found out. This encounter with Inji had momentarily satisfied her appetite for adventure, now she really ought to get back before she got caught.

I need to go home, Inji, Frolic said sadly. Thank you for helpin’ me, though!

She offered a grin, wondering if they might ever cross paths again. Frolic then turned and sprinted in the direction of the caldera, stopping after a dozen yards to look over her shoulder. Frolic enthusiastically waved a paw at Inji, then noticed a sliver of sunlight along the eastern horizon behind her, and promptly scurried toward home.