Hushed Willows we'll create an empire for you.

Harlyn didn't know what was going through the pup's mind as she allowed him up again, but there was something comforting in the submissive lick he placed upon her chin. She reached down and placed her jaws on either side of his muzzle with a soft chuff before letting him go completely and stepping away. His actions were proof to her that he hadn't meant what he'd done in any malicious way. He wasn't twisted or depraved. Simply young and naive. It did not sit perfectly well with her of course, but it did put her more at ease.

She watched the boy thoughtfully for a moment, her eyes on the blood around his muzzle that was hers. It was a testament to the power of her matriarchal instincts that her thoughts now were only of how the pack would react to this. Harlyn didn't have the willpower to force herself to clean her own gore from the pup's jaws, but she did have an idea anyway.

"Tam," Harlyn said softly but sternly, grimacing at the pain that ached in her bruised body and mangled limb, "Your blood is on my face because you saw me fall and came to lick my wounds. That's all. You did not... You just tried to clean my wounds, like a good pup." She couldn't bring herself to say it, but there was no real need. He wouldn't be able to tell, and there was no reason to suspect that it hadn't been the wolverine that had torn her flesh from her ankle.