Bearclaw Valley the gold-bug

instead of lurching toward her, he cowers. he falls back. is it a trick? her brow wrinkles in confusion, and she takes a few more steps back, finding the place where she'd left the bone. he gives her words as well, although they sound a little strange—acccented differently from the words of her family.

she takes the ivory in her mouth and slowly, slowly, approaches the giant. she lays the bone a few paces from his massive paws and then looks up at him. dead, she says, gesturing at the object.

she doesn't know whether it's a gift, a peace offering, a distraction. . . she is so flummoxed by his appearance that she does not know what to do at all, and that indecision frightens her.

Avicus lowers herself onto her haunches, sitting upright, and stares at the creature. waiting for him to speak. waiting for him to make the next move.

the den is just a scamper away. . .