Bitterroot Valley a green truck hummed low

Her company was noticed by the squirrel before Friede herself. It scurried away as fast as one could, given its current state, leaving her with no other distraction but the woman behind her.

Friede’s jaw hung low with a continuous gasp as she tried to remember the woman’s name. Oh, my, goodness! Girl, it’s so good to see you! She scrunched her nose and sneered, then leaned slightly to the side for a better look at her former packmate’s burns.

Another gasp came though with a more genuine shift of expression. You look really bad, Friede said, Does that hurt? She’d been lucky enough to make it out relatively unscathed, unlike Cynefrid.