Wapun Meadow ❝a kiss cannot reach her through the incrusting ivory.

Aure might be happy and chipper today, but Vercingetorix was not. He came down from the mountain like a storm cloud, his eyes twin bolts of lightning cutting through the darkness. That's purple prose for "really fucking pissed," because he had learned of Aure's trip into the mountains, the fight that had ensued, and her (thank god) eventual return. But imagine if she hadn't come back.

Who attacked you? Verx demanded, looming over her rolling form. Or did you strike, first? Goddamn it, Aure, you can't just go away somewhere by yourself and get into fights--what if something worse had happened to you? Did you think? Did you think that that might cause problems back home, given that we have two fucking children who are depending on you?

He wanted to say more, but he cut himself short then, giving her time to respond while glaring down at her. He was angry, sure, but it came more out of fear than anything else. Fear of the unknown. Because if she died before these pups were weaned. . . Hell, if she died at all in their childhood. She was their mother; they needed her.