Hushed Willows valley;hand;inflect;impression;loom;last;molten;you;

for @Olive!

he liked the minnows. he liked watching them, but he also liked how they tasted. it had been horrible having to stop drinking milk; he'd pitched such a fuss that mummy had let him suckle for longer than the others. . .although once she noticed he had a liking for fish, she made sure that there were always fish a-plenty in the nearby cache. the jig was up.

but that was okay. they tasted different than milk—not better, just different. it wasn't the worst thing in the world to make the transition. cam's only concern was, if he was hungry, and there weren't any fish by the den, how was he going to eat?

how did one catch these things?

gingerly, he stretched out a paw into the cool water, bringing it down, down. . . only to have all of the minnows scatter in apparent fright. they were very small and very quick. and small and nimble as cam was, himself, he was no match for the flighty creatures. he frowned, caught a glimpse of his reflection in the clear, rippling stream—and made a face, grotesque and exaggerated, before pulling away.

he shook the droplets from his paw, blowing air in a frustrated snort from his nostrils. maybe he should go try and play with the sparrows. that seemed a better use of his time than this fruitless errand.