Jade Fern Grove people would tell us to get a grip of ourselves

Blood flooded into Alyx's mouth from where her teeth scored flesh. The life went out of her prey at once. After its last feeble kick, she dropped the rabbit into the ferns and straightened, licking her chops and panting.

There was silence in the forest now, but she had grown accustomed to the singing of birds when they greeted the dawn. It was unsettling to be without them. Alyx stooped to pick up the cooling carcass and trotted back toward the nearest stream with it in tow. There were always birds to be found there.

She wasn't disappointed when she settled on the bank and tucked in to the rabbit's belly, ears pricked to listen to the chorus.

Acheron burst through the trees at high speed. He was running for his life, or rather he had been at first. He had eventually lost the oddly intimidating badger, but he continued to put as much distance between them as possible.

His focus was poured into slamming pale paws against forest floor. He hadn't picked up on the stranger eating her meal or the stream he would eventually intersect. 

By the time he realized both the woman and the water, there was no time to stop. Acheron tried anyway, but his paws only slid through the muddy bank and then he was thrust forward into the water face first. 

He jumped up quickly and froze, water pouring loudly from his thick coat. He was unsure how much trouble he had gotten himself into.

It was peaceful. That was what Alyx liked most about this place. It reminded her a little of Sun Mote Copse, so she found herself here time and time again. It helped that there was plenty of small game to hunt and lots of places to stash the leftovers. There were signs that a pack once resided here: overgrown dens, mostly.

It was peaceful... Until it wasn't.

Acheron came barrelling out of the trees and into the stream so quickly, Alyx couldn’t get out of the way before she was splattered with muddy water. Not even the steady drumming of his paws nor the birds that erupted from the brush in his path was enough of a warning. Shrieking, Alyx hopped to her feet and backpedalled, shaking her head wildly, the half-eaten rabbit forgotten.

What the EFF, dude! she shouted, lifting a paw to try and swipe the dirt out of her fur. Ugh!

Acheron stared at the woman with wide, apologetic eyes. She was pissed, and understandably so. Some wolves cared a lot about their appearance, and clearly she was one of those wolves. 

Um, shit, I'm sorry, he answered. This crazy badger was chasing me, and i just took off... the freckled man glanced behind her, checking to make sure the terrifying beast hadn't made it here. Things were clear for now. 

He walked from the water and shook out his coat, careful not to splash her again. When he had gotten as much water from his hair as possible, he turned to the stranger. You okay? he asked. I know some stuff about healing. He took a few steps closer. Oh, I'm Acheron by the way.

Okay, so maybe she’d overreacted a little bit. It was very characteristic of a Redhawk to overreact to things, especially a Redhawk raised by Niamh. It was impossible not to feel a little bad, and a lot foolish, when someone was making big sad eyes at you and tripping over themselves to explain and apologize in the same breath.

S’fine, she mumbled sheepishly, embarrassed at herself for getting so worked up about a little mud. It was a big deal for her! She was once the little girl who boldly told her big brother she would abandon her entire family if a mud monster came to take them away, after all. She was doubly ashamed when she looked away from her sullied fur and up at him.

Oh. Oh my. Those big sad eyes were such a stunning shade of sapphire blue. And those freckles? Get outta here. This guy was kinda hot.

Oh, I’m, uh... I’m not hurt. Sorry, she said in a flustered rush, I don’t like getting dirty. There’s a badger chasing you...? That meant they should get out of dodge, and fast, didn’t it?

Good, she wasn't hurt. He felt a little better about that even if he did still feel like an ass for getting her dirty, which she admitted next was something she didn't like. Yeah, it's not my favorite thing either, he said. 

She asked about the badger and Acheron looked behind her again. Well, it was chasing me...maybe I lost it? He hoped so because he did not want a bite from that thing. 

When he was sure they were okay for now, he took a seat. You from around here? he asked. Now that he could think better, he was curious about this stranger who hadn't yet given him her name.

Well! Acheron was a man after her own heart. It wasn’t unusual for Alyx to develop these flash-in-the-pan attractions — few stuck longer than a few days, so it was mostly a teenage girl thing rather than a real crush — so it wasn’t unusual for his admission to fill her belly with butterflies.

It was still thrilling, though. It was easy to forget about the mud wetting her fur when he was good looking and cleanly and calm all at the same time. He didn’t seem worried about the badger, so she supposed she shouldn’t be, either. She did cast a look past him and resolved to keep one eye on the foliage.

Here? Nah, she said with a wave of her paw. I’m from down south, but I like to hang around here. There’s a lot of prey. I’m guessing you aren’t, either? From the sound of it, the only reason he was in the area was because it was where the badger had chased him.