Lost Creek Hollow I'm not gonna try and change your mind.

When her father came in to view she relaxed considerably, but then as she closed the distance she thought of how serious and commanding the giant from the glen had been, and tried to emulate Ira with a straightening of her posture and lift of her chin. She imagined what someone like that might sound like when they were hard at work — and when she replied to her father, Ibis sounded like she was doing a pantomime of a soldier at roll-call.

I am here to report good news from our neighbors. Our messages were delivered promptly, and they wish us well. Easthollow's Alpha has a new litter of her own; Swiftcurrent is perhaps the most fortunate with multiple litters, and then there's Elysium— Here her voice hitches, and the act slides away before she can stop it. Ibis smiles at the very thought of her old home but it is fleeting for the news she bears is a little bittersweet in her heart: Mama Olive has three new sons—I have more brothers.

She wanted to be happy about it. She was, sort-of. But she was also uncertain, and the uncertainty played across her features without any trace of a filter. With everything reported she felt good, though — her adventure had been worthwhile.