Silvertip Mountain Empty handed

June's stomach twisted into a knot when Zaria bit the meager offering in twain. The juvenile couldn't help wondering how the Dotharan woman did it so easily. Whenever June attempted to partition meat like that, she made a mess of it, and more often than not failed to do it. Her eyes were still on the mouse, her brain still churning at any effort to memorize the woman's deft movements of jaw, when Adeline joined them from the depths of the den.

June's eyes flicked up at the youth's approach. Adeline looked much like the other pups, bearing a dirty brown coat with patches of silvery-white in unusual places. It was a heart-wrenching reminder of FitzDutiful, and suddenly June's hunger soured in her stomach. Though June did not view them in the same way she viewed Mason—for they were trueborn Silvertips and these pups were not—they were only cubs, and shared her blood to boot. She was incapable of taking food from their mouths even at the behest of the Alpha female.

She used a paw to press the mouse back in the direction of the family, insisted that, "you need it more than me," and with a smile, turned to carry on her way. Guilt gnawed at her stomach for not wanting to spend much time with Adeline and Odette, but June was still hungry, and there was bound to be another mouse somewhere to sate her.