Bearclaw Valley pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers

he came into vision just as his hackles began to raise.  her mouth parted gently as she momentarily forgot about the flowers that she had cultivated, her ears sliding back on her crown.  

his demeanor shifted once he came closer and she returned the lazy wags of his tail.  she was assuaged for the moment, at least.  she watched as he came closer, and though she took a step back he nuzzled into her cheek.

the dark man stirred from the recesses of her mind.  the guard hairs rippled to life along her spine as her lips peeled back.  her jaws clamped shut around the yielding stems of the wildflowers, and then in a swift movement she made to knock him flat across the bridge of his muzzle with her eye teeth.

she hadn't been touched since the incident; she had not allowed anyone close enough.  her heart caught in her throat as she grounded herself — it was xan's gentle touch she had punished and not the baleful presence of the one who had hurt her.  

surely, this would hurt him.  surely she would be punished.  she had to be careful!  what if it had been indra or laurel who she had lashed out at?  she felt as if she were on thin ice already, she had to be careful!

the raven cowed before him.  she rolled over, her wrists curling up to her narrow chest as she exposed the thinning fur on her undercarriage, her tail tucked over her still inflamed vulva.  she whined desperately before flipping back over and pushing the flowers at him.  this was supposed to fix things, this was supposed to make them okay!  and she had ruined it!