Ouroboros Spine sunrise, tomorrow

The deer were where they should be, finally. Valiant could see them from his perch atop a rocky hill. He stood there for a long moment to admire them, tail whisking slowly at his hocks. He reveled in the feeling of a job well done, and in the satisfaction he knew would come when he returned to his girls having accomplished something that day.

But he didn't go just yet. He watched the herd graze, wondering, idly, what it was like to be a deer.

Ciri was quiet as she moved to join Valiant on the hilltop, mindful of the herd who grazed together in the lowlands. She kept a keen yellow eye on them, curious to see if any might be unsettled by the predators' watch, but all was still.

If they'd been noticed, the deer did not seem to care.

She lifted her sunflower gaze to look upon the pale hunter's face and she smiled, though it felt somewhat forced. What are you thinking? Ciri asked, voice hushed.

He looked back at Ciri, startled by her presence, but had settled again by the time she asked her question. The answer was a silly one, but he felt strangely comfortable with the Ostrega woman. There was something about her that reminded him of home — of a nebulous past he couldn't quite put together. He wasn't sure which part or why, but it comforted him all the same.

He wished again that he'd championed her as second hunter. It would not do to mention this, now.

"I was thinkin' it must be real strange to be a deer," he replied, honest despite his better instincts. "I wonder what they think about. What all they talk about when they ain't runnin' from us."