Redtail Rise leggiero

what's wrong with him? why is he not stirred by her scent like the others?

she thinks, perhaps, it's whatever had caused him to run from the fox chase, or cower at orders Merrick had given. it's cowardice, an inability to take what's in front of him.

and yet, inexplicably, she wants him. why? does this condition cloud her judgment, or is it bringing to surface latent feelings?

so caught up in these thoughts was Avicus that she missed each and every one of his words.

she picks up the ginger root again and begins to gnaw it, slightly aggressively, looking away from Ashlar and staring up a nearby hillock instead.