Redhawk Caldera some day they will all be dead

she considered whether or not to tell him the truth— this was causing more ache as her tense body shivered, and as her breath shortened against the cold. after a few moment of acclimation, however, she had to admit that the sharp pain in her side was dulling to something more bearable. vesper really didn't want the entirety of the pain to go away, anyway. a... bit, she finally told him, which was true enough to not be an outright lie.

lying is wrong, she heard her young voice tell her parents. the memory came back suddenly, and the darkling closed her eyes against it, willing it back down.

got on the wrong side of a wolverine, vesper answered this easily, though it was much more that a wolverine had gotten on the wrong side of her. it likely would have just kept to itself had she not goaded it into a fight. she moved closer to him, towards the shore, grateful for the sun on her dark back as it broke the surface just slightly. how will you clean it? vesper asked, suspicious— it seemed a bit intimate to allow a perfect stranger (claiming family or not) to lick her muzzle.