Bearclaw Valley the beautiful know they have power

he had begun to steal closer, puppyish hackles bristling, when the familar tread of another entered his awareness. "nuna!" merrick exclaimed. unlike the others, his friend had not stayed caught up in everything surrounding lucas. the coypup did not understand why that was, or why his own mother seemed so sad. lucas was bearclaw, yes, but merrick was her son. and he was here. why was she like this, then?
"do you know what this is?" he asked of nunataq. the only creature to have once put merrick's entire head in her mouth, she was also the only person that the boy trusted in many ways. one of which, as it turned out, was his willingness to admit his ignorance. to anyone else, merrick must put on a brave and brazen front. not so for nunataq.
"i think it'sa monster," the child added quietly.