Blacktail Deer Plateau for the first time in forever

Grayday returned to the rendezvous that day after another successful hunt, brimming with triumph and self-assured swagger. He felt much less violent and edgy since getting Engel out of the territory - none of the other males around brought out those sort of feelings in him, he'd found - and was in a particularly good mood as he sauntered over to the sounds of a struggle that came from Pema's den. He almost bumped into his smallest daughter, but her jerky movements clued him in at the last moment.

"Whatchya doin' babe?" he asked curiously, only able to detect her in the area despite the fact that she sounded rather like she was fighting with something. He leaned down almost automatically to groom her silky fur, blowing hot air into her pelt as his mother and father used to do for him. Grayday didn't know that she lacked the sort of undercoat that would hold the hot air against her skin.