cooking up a dream

His words did little to lighten the mood, and her brusque response only affirmed that fact. Still, he fell into step behind her, letting her lead the way. She made no mention of the things that had come to light and neither would he. There was little point in bringing it up, not because he feared the ruin of their hunt, but because he did not anticipate his own reaction to it. He expected someone to have something to say at some point, but it wouldn't be him who cast the first stone.

First and foremost to Mordecai then, however, was their survival was a whole. Though the pack was undeniably splintered for the time being, and the deserters from their ranks high, there were still enough of them to say that they were a pack. Not a duo or a trio, certainly not a quartet. They were a pack and if he could, he would subtly draw them to work together. It was simply the way that they had to be. Within a few moments of silence, the thoughts of her reactions had sank to the back of his mind, and his eyes saw beyond her to the terrain ahead. He watched for the elk, but also for the other dangers that could have lurked within their diverse landscape.