Neverwinter Forest hymn for the weekend

So sorry for the wait, @October! Tagging Lucybean for reference.

“Especially if there were a bear,” the spirited girl replied, and Cypress found her answer to be wholly satisfactory. As yet there was no guile in the raven fledging, who took what he was told at face value despite Kendra’s attempt to warn him that there were wolves who would gladly deceive a mind as blessedly naïve as his. He clambered down from his log upon gangly legs that heralded a future of rangy dexterity and exemplary, if understated, strength — and he approached her without fear as she spoke of her skills. Hunting and catching — he’d misheard her, but fortunately the context clues saved him from complete ignorance — were great and worthy things, but what he was interested in was her reference to pups. He and Rannoch were likely to see a lot of her if she was interested in that particular trade, and it piqued his interest. “Rannoch and me and @Lucy’re puppies,” he informed the slender female solemnly. “Do you know any good games or stories? And — ” his voice wavered, but only a little “ — you hafta help keep Lucy safe from monsters. And you can’t leave and not come back anymore.” Those were his stipulations. He turned to his father and to Rannoch, who seemed to be allowing him to take center stage, and blithely made things awkward and uncomfortable: “If she says yes, we can keep her, right?”