Sun Mote Copse long time the manxome foe he sought

For a moment, Sugar felt as though her two simple words had had an impact. Elfie didn't soften, exactly, but his tone was no longer so caustic. He told a story about Bronco's mom making a kill, then the aftermath with the decomposing body parts. She found this morbidly fascinating, though she didn't say so. Sugar didn't get a chance to speak again before Bronco responded emotionally, ratcheting up the tension once more.

She watched him tear up and turn away, promising to go tell his mother what Elfie had done. Sugar's heart went out to him and she considered following, though she turned her black eyes on Elfie and calmly said, "The flowers aren't for the dead people, they're for the ones left behind." She stared at him for a beat, then frowned. "What'd you do that for?" Sugar demanded, referencing not only his uncalled for behavior toward Bronco and herself but also the desecration of Colt's grave flowers.

But it proved a rhetorical question and Sugar didn't wait for an answer. She unhurriedly snatched up the flower and marched after Bronco, to make sure he would be okay.