Heron Lake Plateau Something smells fishy

The lake didn't have much besides birds, and sometimes fish. Screech didn't know how to fish that well but he knew that the bigger birds did - he'd watched various herons in the days since coming to the plateau, so he knew there were fish, just that they were pretty small and quick and much too skilled at evading the wolf. So he set his sights on getting one of those herons instead — he'd staked out a portion of the lake and watched as one of his targets (a very old, dingy-blue heron) snapped at the water, walked around a bit, and snapped some more. When he felt like he might be able to get close, Screech slunk towards the shore with his body hugging the shallows.

Within the hour he'd taken out the old bird. Maybe the creature had been slow to react to his charge because of its advancing age, or its full belly, but either way Screech was proud to pull its carcass from the water and towards the pit he'd dug earlier in the day. As he worked to gut the bird (which was the whole point of the experiment), the smell of the half-digested fish made him want to vomit. He wasn't usually a picky eater, but something about eating a partially digested fish out of a dead bird just... Didn't sit right with him. So, he began to scatter the contents of the bird's belly across the territory.

By the time he'd covered the heron's grave (er, the cache), he was pretty tired and a little frustrated that things hadn't worked out better. If he wanted fish, he'd have to learn how to move quickly in the water and be patient, both of which were things he was absolutely not suited for. Screech decided to give up for the time being, and turned from the lake in order to tread across the plateau — he now hunted for a good place to nap.

Instead, the scent of rotten fish carried on the air. He didn't think much of it until the scent grew thick, and he thought he saw something small roaming around in the grass. Seeing as the experiment had left him without a meal (or really an appetite), he almost bypassed it— but then he caught sight of the small bundle of black fur rolling about atop one of the discarded bits of the ex-heron's meal. Gross.

Hey, kid — stop that, he instructed with a scowl, striding closer so that he could usher them away from the pile of nasty. He didn't think to look around for the kid's parents, knowing that this must've been one of the newest member of the Blackthorn family and also knowing how much trouble he'd be in for involving himself. But oh well, Screech resigned himself to being in the wrong place at the wrong time months ago.