Bearclaw Valley deep in earth

she feels immense gratitude as Merrick pins down another leg, allowing her to release her own and deal the killing blow. they were a team. they made a pretty good team, really. trembling with excitement, she lets go the now-crumpled limb and seizes the gopher's neck in her mouth.

thinking of her mother, of the mountain woman.

squeezing. she is bathed in a torrent of blood, spilling down her throat, her chest. 

eventually, perhaps, she'll learn to deal a quick death, snapping spines between her powerful jaws. but she finds some interest and some enjoyment in feeling the pulse falter, grow slower, the blood ebb from tide to trickle. the gopher, struggling, wriggling, eventually stills.

she—they—are victorious, and she flashes her father a thankful look before tucking into her well-earned meal.