sentry

"Just acquaintances."

Bazi's face relaxed back into a smile.

"Sorry," she said, turning to gaze into the torrent - it was raining hard now, and it was difficult to distinguish clouds from falling water. "That might have been a bit exaggerated. She was loitering around Duck Lake, and that is not a logical place for a Silvertip wolf to be without good reason. It's too close to the Creek, and my pack-mates were not happy. We're very diligent when it comes to our borders."

It was nothing personal - the two females had gotten along fine (even if Bazi was blatantly using Lunar for information) until Tuwawi took umbrage with her presence. It was the dark wolf's dramatic departure that influenced Bazi's dislike for her now, and she wrinkled her nose at the memory. "'I thought you were different' she told me when she skulked off. If different means siding with a stranger's wishes over your family's, I should hope not."

That was enough sharing. Bazi shifted weight from one paw to the other, bristling in the cold breeze. They were seated no more than a foot apart, but the youth dared not close that gap - not yet. Her new attitude towards men told her that it might mean something to instigate physical contact. "Who else do you know around here?" she asked instead - a work question as well as a personal one.