Sawtooth Spire cold, cold man.

Its been about 2-weeks since the thread with Virtute, for self reference. Vague on cougar details. They're nearby the territory limits but have not noticed yet. Minor PP to fill that big chunk of time, can edit just let me know!

It had not felt safe to linger at the mesa, and Stryx did not think too long about which direction she would go. The young girl, Connie, remained with her. It was simpler to double-back across the meadow where they'd dined together upon the carcass. Stryx hoped to find it, or something similar to it, so that both could be satisfied. Perhaps along the way she would encounter the girl's parents and be free of this obligation she'd stumbled in to.

None of those things happened, unfortunately. The meadow was barren save for the fully rotted carcass, itself having been picked clean by other scavengers after the wolves had taken what they could, before. Stryx had to herd @Conquest away from the remains with a flurry of protests from the child, and they headed towards the mountains from there.

Upon sighting the distant spire, Stryx estimated it would take them another week or so to get across to the other side, and perhaps longer to descend in to the valley. She'd done her best to pacify Conquest with mice, rats, a fat little bird at one point, but if they did not find somewhere to camp soon, Stryx feared for the girl's development. She ate like the world was ending — no amount seemed to be enough, but at least the physician's body was adapted to this lifestyle and could give up her portions to calm the child.

She finally turned around to address the child, and noticed that they weren't immediately flanking them on the path, but instead they had planted themselves firmly some feet away and were refusing to go any further. With a roll of her eyes Stryx back-tracked and then stood before the petulant blob.

If you sit there too long you'll become a stone. That's how mountains are made - grumpy children, all piled high. C'mon now. She moved behind the girl, nudged her shoulders brusquely with her snout. No change.

Children were not her strong suit, despite her recent acquisition. Broken bones, blood, bile — all the inner workings of the body, that was where Stryx' power lay. Having this needy urchin with her was proving difficult, and she was becoming more irritable by the day. Hiking the narrow hills of the range did neither of them any favors.

They had to keep moving.