Haunted Wood thousand voices dead at my feet

it is Black Hat that finds her, after all, and though she's mildly put off by his stopping, as she's not half-done her patrol, she takes it in stride and pauses. there is a moment of hesitation between his question and her answer, solely because she loathes the throbbing pain she knows will start across her face as soon as she moves her muzzle to speak. 

"training. I killed a coyote a few days ago, and I took Valour's rank." the latter serves as proof that she's been learning successfully, less so as a brag. "where've you been?" perhaps it's petulant, but it's a question born of genuine curiosity. he'd been absent when the coyotes had trespassed, and seemed scarcer than usual. "the man in the pit wants to kill you." perhaps he knows this already, but a reminder can't hurt.