Witch's Marsh Firework!

she was partly right, then, and yet was still glad when Engel changed the subject. she was glad for him, but the topic felt a little bit like quicksand - she was utterly nervous that she'd say something wrong. he moved next to the topic of Easthollow, and for a moment, she paused.

she'd had her doubts about Valette, and for a creature who sought the approval and happiness of its master, not knowing just how she stood in the alpha's eyes weighed on her. shifting, she spoke after a moment of thought, not sure how she wanted to broach the topic. "I'm not sure what Valette thinks of me. she doesn't want to eat me, which is good, but I'm not sure she - she accepts me, really." She was fine being murdock's sheepdog, in truth, but she could not shake some heavy feeling.

Engelhard watched her as she paused. Then she spoke. He vaguely remembered this 'Valette', the alpha they had met. "Well...it's good she isn't trying to eat you, so a step in the right direction." Still he was sure that Murdock at least accepted her. That was very much apparent by how they both acted towards each other. "How is Murdock these days? Been some time since I last met him."

hurt blossomed faintly when he brushed aside her worry, though quickly she realized that certainly, she must be in the wrong - perhaps Engel was right to offer his slight reassurance and change the subject; perhaps it was nothing of consequence. still, he touched on Murdock again, and even though they had only recently spoken of him, she supposed he wanted to know how he fared beside their mateship. "he's good - he was kicked by a buffalo, though, and now he breathes ... funny, sometimes. I think he hurt his ribs, too." 

Engel grimaced upon hearing that. He would need to visit the male, but he had other places to be. Buffalo, they were tough. Not something to mess with at all. And to hear his breathing wasn't right...he worried. "You look after him, just as he looks after you..." He paused for a moment, then spoke again to Poppy. "I'll come by again, soon. I promise, okay?"

---

there was something that didn't sit right with her about Engel's hasty departure - some dying hope that he would serve to be a confidant for her worries. instead, he offered only sentence-long strings of advice, and she felt at once silly for wasting his time. "okay,"  she agreed meekly, dipping her head. "I'll see you soon, then."  she offered a wag of her tail, small smile at his promise. and with that, she turned on her heel and returned from whence she came, not entirely sure how to sort her thoughts.