Hushed Willows gamma;meeting;lighting;signal;island;

he jumped a little at the stranger's approach, bristling as his eyes turned toward the creature. it began to. . .speak! he didn't expect that whatsoever. other things he had seen that looked like it didn't speak at all; they just chattered without words, strange sounds that he couldn't understand. but now, he understood every word.

and some of the words weren't very nice at all.

i'm not hunting bugs, cam said crossly. he was old enough now to know what that meant. it meant killing and eating, and while he liked eating, killing really wasn't his thing. not since he'd accidentally squashed the butterfly. i'm trying to play. and my legs do work! he insisted, tail lashing behind him. he lurched to his big paws, growing much faster than the rest of him. see?

cam's head tilted almost comically as he stared at the. . .thing. . .wondering what it was going on about. what'sa rodent? he asked, latching onto the one concept he didn't understand.