Duskfire Glacier sonraun

She snapped for him fitfully, and teeth grazed through his fur without the malice Kigipigak had expected. He should have known better than to anticipate rage from this girl; she was hurting and she was stressed, but she had more sense than to dole out those feelings indiscriminately. She was more composed than he was, at her age.

Pulling away after, they were a tangle of limbs. Shoulder meets chest, briefly winded; he turned his head to suck a breath as she curled in to a ball, or something close to one, and was a bundle in the snow at his feet. He found his feet quickly enough and knew the hit had been good - Kigipigak knew what a fresh bruise could feel like.

He was panting. Watching her, not yet submitting. Kigipigak waited to see if she would get up and joust with him again or let herself fall prey to exhaustion - and he did not know which he would prefer.