Sunset Valley salt

the glimmer of red under the sun caught coraline's eye, and set her heartbeat fluttering and stuttering. mireille! she hurried to hide behind a tree, guilt rising in her throat like bile. she wanted nothing more than to go to her sister — but there were a hundred things holding her back. would it offend mireille that she had been followed? would she tell coraline to leave? or, worse, would she expect her to mingle with the wolves in the valley as she did?

fear held coraline in place until mireille turned to leave, and suddenly a great panic seized her. she did not want to be alone! the sandy sea wolf surged forward at once, closing half the distance before she froze, struck once again by fear of the consequences of revealing herself. the two panics warred inside of her, and she stared desperately after mireille, one paw lifted and tucked to her chest like a chihuahua in distress.