Witch's Marsh A Toad's Memory

the foxy... oh. immediately, marten's face heats up, leaving him to wonder if the snow beneath his paws was beginning to melt. o-oh, iris, right? he says, quickly shaking the embarrassing feelings he was feeling as he finally puts her face to a memory. that was pretty recently too, wasn't it? kind of worrying, but marten reminds himself that he's going through a trauma, and his memory probably isn't going to be functioning as well as it should be. he felt sort of bad, though, she clearly remembered him pretty well. sorry, i've had a... rough month, he says, trying to come up with an excuse, but he still feels bad. 

he shook his head as she began to search for the frog -- toad. it was a toad. he didn't bother correcting her, but he silently reminded himself of the difference. warty, indra had said. frogs were smooth. 

she mutters to herself, and marten's ears flick forward curiously at her choice in words. were you friends with him? marten asks the yearling, almost regretting the question as he asked it. it showed, too, his ears flicking back and his face turning into an embarrassed sort of smile. he quickly backtracked, shaking his head. sorry, you were definitely hunting it, weren't you. i used to be friends with a toad when i was a pup, he corrected. did he sound stupid? marten realized sort of abruptly that he was terrible at socializing with anyone that wasn't family.