Kintla Flatlands The fall of the dream machine

His mention of Cyrus did not surprise her. Although Koontz had almost never ventured far from Flightless Falcons while living in the valley, her few field trips had included her relatives' pack territories, including Venia Dei. She remembered that Hamied was a bit of a scapegoat amongst his elder siblings and that Cyrus was one of the few family members who didn't give him a hard time. Koontz, of course, had never partaken in the teasing, not only because she wasn't around for it but also because it just wasn't in her nature anyhow.

"Well, I'm glad you two have each other," she said with another wave of her tail. "I'll have to catch up with him sometime. Are you two staying around here permanently? I run a pack of my own if you're interested." Koontz said it lightly, trying to make it clear that there was no sense of familial obligation out here. "Or is Cyrus trying to start his own?" she wondered suddenly.

Hamied redirected her attention to the raccoon and Koontz laughed and said, "Oh, right. Actually, I had just decided to become one of my pack's hunters, even though I'm not particularly good at it. We just really need one. I'd love to get in some practice. How do you want to go about it—got any strategical ideas?"