Swiftcurrent Creek the interviews

For @Hemingway - if you have time!

Things were spiralling out of control. Without Njal and Tuwawi to run to for guidance, Bazi could only rely on herself - and Scimitar, though recent events had left her feeling uncertain about herself in that arena too. Her paranoia was at an all-time high. There was not a waking moment she did not spend fretting, and sleep was slow to come - if it came at all.

After several days of swinging between the extremes of rage, grief, and hysteria, Bazi took herself down to the river to bathe. The sun was out, standing in stark contrast to her mood. She spent over an hour in the water, cleaning between her toes and scrubbing at the yellowed fur on her knees, which was sore from where she had chewed nervously at the skin there.

When she was clean, Bazi felt ready to begin her work. First on her list - Hemingway; last to join and - unless he conformed to her idea of what a packmate should be - first to exit. The pale alpha put her nose to the ground and began to search, keeping close to the water in the hopes that she would find him there.