Shadewood tap your toes and clap your hands

Between nearly drowning, their game of tag and Valravn’s haste, Alyx was so out of breath that she couldn’t even call for him to slow down. She chugged along after him with her legs and lungs screaming. The only reason she didn’t start whining, which she certainly would’ve done at home, was because he was a boy who wasn’t Rosie and she didn’t want to look pathetic.

She followed him to a den’s location deeper in the forest, only to freeze up when he called for… mama? Oh, man, she wasn’t ready to meet his parents! Of course Alyx knew it was the best chance she had of getting home, but here she was trying to impress Val, and he took her to his parents! She doubted her dirty, bedraggled fur or wheezing breath or the way she pressed herself against a tree for stability would be very impressive to his mom, in particular.