Nova Peak back to the start

Tryphon announced his presence with a series of thuds. Bazi whipped around, startled, and frowned at the befuddled wolf and his bone. "Startling an agitated mother will get you killed," she half-snarled, unable to keep her irritation from spilling over. Nature mirrored her feelings, dive-bombing through gaps in the dense tree cover to nip at her ears. The mother cast a quick look at her den, confirmed that none of the pups were making a bid for freedom, and trotted briskly over to where Tryphon sat. She hadn't seen him in a few days, but then they both had reasons to be distracted.


"How's your addled brain doing?" she inquired, taking a seat on the needle-strewn ground. Sunlight had a hard time reaching the ground, and only a few choice patches of very determined foliage managed to grow here.