Blackbeak Bluff And I'll never be alone

Sequoia, still a child, still occasionally had trouble separating reality from tall tales. This happened to be one of those times, and she was thankful when—instead of answering her question—Wraen reminded her that the Catawampus was nothing more than a story. Likely a story used to keep children from wandering off too far from home. Sequoia put on her brave adult face, took a deep breath, and nodded knowingly.

Just a kids’ tale! she said, more for herself than for the wolf who had introduced her to the hellish creature (imaginary or not, the mere thought of the Catawampus was likely to haunt her dreams). She wondered what other scary stories Wraen had up her sleeve, but she knew that she should also probably head back to Drageda soon. Getting home before nightfall was absolutely necessary.

Hey! Do you want to walk with me back to Drageda? We can keep talking on the way, and I’ll bet if you wanted to stay, the leaders would let you. Okay, so she did not really know that, but Sequoia liked to think she was Drageda’s youngest and most prolific recruiter. And hey, Wraen seemed like just the kind of wolf that Sequoia wanted around to be her friend. Even if Wraen didn’t want to stay, the company on the walk back home would be appreciated.