Emberwood the art of barter

There was a spring in her step as Smash grabbed the soaked rabbit from the stream and began loping away from Redtail Rise (her first time leaving the territory since joining) in the direction of the distant forest. She made good time despite the cold, wet carcass swinging from her jaws and found Luke with relative ease. She braked to a stop over him, gently laying the rabbit at her feet and remaining uncharacteristically silent as she waited to catch her breath.

As soon as she could speak, Smash cried, "Howdy!" and flopped down beside him, orange eyes fixing on the pair of dried trout. "Those look... uh, I'm not going to lie to you. They look gross." She scrunched up her face, then laughed and gave Luke an apologetic grimace. "But it's good to see you, Mr. Bluenose!" Life had been too quiet for her tastes lately but she knew this guy would totally charge her batteries.

She continued panting for a few seconds, then asked brightly, "So, you ready? This is one of my specialties: icebox rabbit!" She hooked out a dark leg and dragged the soaked and slightly bloated carcass toward them. It looked just as gross as the pair of dried trout, honestly. "It tastes better than it looks," Smash promised, wrinkling her nose and laughing again.