Sun Mote Copse But when your load gets heavy, maybe call it a night

When there was food at stake, Elfie didn't need to be told twice. He ran ahead, with Wildfire trailing after him and smiling at his antics. She laughed outright when he not only stumbled right over the stockpile but tumbled into it too.

She came to stop over him, looking down at the puppy spread eagle on a cushion of stiff corpses. Although he was really getting too large for it already (especially with his healthy appetite!), the Sovereign gently scruffed and lifted him clear of the cache, setting him down beside it.

The food inside sort of turned her stomach a little, though Wildfire nonetheless nosed through the cache's contents and announced, "Would you like a rabbit, a rabbit or half a gopher?"