Hushed Willows Would I run off the world someday?

In the days since his father's death, Valiant floated aimlessly, easily led and directed by those around him. He marked borders haphazardly, hunted poorly, and slept often — but when asked to provide an offering, he made sure to put what was left of his heart into it.

The result was a yearling fox, her pelt golden and her paws delicate and quick. It had hurt him to kill her, but after several failed hunts in a row, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to strike when he'd caught her accidentally on unawares.

He slunk toward the sound of the call with her cold body held carefully off the ground, and when he saw that one of his fellows had brought plants instead of meat, his stomach dropped in sickening shame. Still, he laid the fox down and tried to look unaffected, glancing sideways at the other Souls to see two large hares and a single quail.