Moonspear dealing with danger

She swooped in to get him and though he knew her anger was a farce, Altair couldn’t help but feel that momentary urge to be flighty again. Of his caretakers, Alya may have seemed the most matronly, but he knew that she was every bit as severe as his mother in the right places. Her teeth would seek to pinch him and make his flesh smart, and with the experience he knew she had at doing such things he was at a disadvantage.

Still, he rose to meet her challenge by way of jaw-sparring back, letting their teeth clack together as he noisily answered her comment. It was a challenge too—a ’come and try’ sort of rally he had often announced in any tumble with Mira or his elder brothers. He sought to pinch her right back before she could grasp him, however futile the attempt. At least if he was going to be reprimanded, he wanted something for her to have praise for too—his mother had been teaching him to defend himself, and who better a competitor than his aunt?

Of course, she would know all his tricks. She had been there too.

194 words