Ouroboros Spine These drums and hard snares bring out the worst in me

She spotted him, living up to his name by frolicking near the tree line a few yards from the lakeside. Quell opened her mouth to call out to him when she saw him swivel and make a beeline for the water, slipping expertly into the shallows and disappearing from sight. Her mouth fell into a moue before her pale purple eyes saw the swift shadow moving a little further back in the trees.

"Stop, in the name of the law!" Q yelled, wincing even as her own shout made her head throb. She wasn't actually worried about her furry friend—this certainly wasn't the first time he'd been pursued and that sucker was fast, clearly—and she'd intended only to capture the stranger's attention with a joke. But she couldn't even deliver the punchline as she bit her lip, waiting for the ache to settle.