Grouse Thicket murder (in four parts)

Silaluk and her company did not stop, continuing to move through the thick woodwork. There was the sound of rushed footfalls, and Silaluk's ears swiveled atop her head before her proud crown swung toward the source of the sound. In moments time, there emerged the familiar features of the runaway girl. Silaluk regarded her with a brief chuff of familiarity; she, herself, held no grudge toward the girl. Silaluk had done what she was necessary, and the girl had responded in kind—Silaluk carried no bad blood toward those who responded in ways that were natural to them, nor their spirit, so long as it did not make them foolish. And the girl before her had survived another day, captured a meal of her own. Though it would not satisfy Silaluk, it would surely help fill the others stomach. She sensed Anuniaq in her periphery, and turned her eyes to see him licking his chops. Silaluk let out a quick rumble: none of that, and he turned his head innocently in the other direction. They, together, could eat larger meals than the other herself had earned alone. Were they starving, Silaluk would not have cared what he had done... but this was not so. They were well-fed, and the twinkle in their eye was more for the Great Hunt that lie ahead, the one that made their blood collectively quicken and their lungs burn. Silaluk held her ground for a moment more, impressed with the girls catch at her perceived age and idly thinking on it. Her wolves, in the meantime, congregated together, moving nearer to one another and to her now that they knew Thyri was no mother bear.