Wapun Meadow No Admittance (Except on party business!)

merrick’s jaw clenched as the bird sounded off a long and raucous noise, but it seemed his words would not fall on deaf ears.
the boy held his ground, lip circling; he was cold, cold; he felt nothing beyond the deepening bite of rage. how difficult would it be to reach out, to grapple the bird’s huge and hideous neck, to snap it?
”you can’t have her. i want to make a trade,” merrick offered in a cold voice. ”i’ll hunt for you until the debt is paid. in return, you let me bury my m —”
oh, how the word choked him
” — bury her. all of her,” he added with a dire glint to his copperburn eyes.