Bearclaw Valley So raise your glass now and celebrate exactly what you've done.

k-karst?! she barks, her voice a mocking echo. she is pleased that her threat seems to have worked, watching him back away into the shadows. she presses inexorably onward, enjoying the thrill of the chase. had he shown any sort of defense or retort, as he had before, she might have found a new respect for him.

as it is. . .he remains prey.

Avicus places her paw within a massive print near the entrance to the hollow, scuffing around in the dirt there. friend, she emphasizes, giving the boy a gimlet stare. she hadn't meant him. it's the large man, the one she hasn't seen for some time. who'd shown her kindness and patience. this is—was—his home.

once that's been established, the girl begins to make her way toward the pathetic whelp once more, looking over the graceful, delicate curve of his dark-pelted throat.