Lion Head Mesa Rules were meant to be pushed and pulled

He grinned as he got the first real interaction from her of the day; a clear answer no, and for some reason it was hugely satisfying.  Perhaps because it felt as though she did him the honor of giving it; she could have disappeared into the shadows without even greeting him, as he might have expected from one who had been through what she apparently had.

"Could've fooled me.  I'm a man of the forest myself, but put a cliff in front of me, and something just goads me that I gotta at least try and go up."  He focused on his next step, back foot slipping a bit in a jarring way.  "Foolishness runs in the family," he explained, his heart pounding in a most delightful way at the feeling of having come so close to slipping back.