Bearclaw Valley “What am I to you?”

Indra was off doing stuff on her own and Laurel had decided to take some me-time too. There weren't a whole lot of boys to manipulate in Bearclaw Valley, which was unfortunate. She had no clue that her heat was only about halfway now, and was naively thinking that she had somehow acquired a super power that was going to last forever. Laurel was preening her fur, wanting to look as pretty as she could in case she ran into any boys later on, while admiring a scenic view by a narrow frozen river.

It wasn't until she heard the chuff that she realised Xan was nearby. She had decided to simply forget about him entirely because he wasn't worth feeling shit about. Obviously he would still be mad, too, she thought this whole time, because she had shoved him and yelled profanities in his face when he ditched her and her sister for that stupid mutt bitch of his that day. Just another sign that he didn't care about them at all, that he thought them insignificant. But he might still be angry about her actions, she realised, and though she had glowered about being ignored she had not sought him out herself for fear of facing his anger.

It surprised Laurel to see that he wasn't at all looking mad when he approached. She could tell very little about what he was feeling or thinking, which unnerved Laurel a bit because she liked to know what to expect. Instead of going for the usual angry-Laurel-routine and asking him what he was here to do, she took a gamble and haughtily said: "Here to beg for forgiveness?" She knew that she was in no position to grant forgiveness, that he probably didn't think he'd done anything wrong, but whatever. He would probably get mad one way or another, so she might as well put the stakes in high and hope that the rewards would be equally high.