Phoenix Maplewood Don't forget that I'm human

Reek had the best intentions, of course, but as soon as he pressed his nose to her side, she whipped around with a vicious snap that just barely missed him. She pressed back her ears and rumbled discontentedly—even though she loved Reek, she was a wild animal first and foremost and pain was met immediately with retaliation. Her eyes burned with a fevered glare that bores into the side of his head, but it wasn't truly directed at him, and after a beat she whispered, "I'm sorry. It hurts."

His assessment complete, Reek informed her of the outcome. Even though Saena was expecting to hear bad news, her heart sank in her chest all the same. "Guess Wardening is out of the question for me for a while," she said bitterly. She tried to swallow her acerbic thoughts, but they followed her all the way to the creek and by the time she eased into the frigid water, her brow was sore from frowning. The rush of water over her damaged ribs felt nice, but beneath it all there was a constant aching throb that would take many, many days to heal, and would never truly disappear.

Before she could sink further into despair over this, Saena tried to focus on something else: "Did I miss much?"