Those hunger pains

As quickly as he'd given up, he took up the task again. Turquoise forced herself to smile in return, if that's what it took to keep him encouraged. He held out a paw and she looked at it a moment before saying gruffly, "Yes, let's start where you last saw them. If the herd's large enough, they've surely left a trail we can follow."

She began to walk even as she spoke, brushing into his paw—her way of acknowledging it, even if it could be interpreted as brushing it off—and then stopped to glance over her shoulder as if to say, Well?

"C'mon, Andre, we don't have all day," she remarked, a lightness sneaking into her tone even though she tried to look and sound impatient with him. Despite herself, he was growing on her.