Swiftcurrent Creek little puppet made of pine.

Fig's jaw and neck began to ache from the effort of holding onto the creature. It took all of his strength to fight against its thrashing and keep its teeth away from River. When she dove in for the kill, he felt his breath catch in his throat. He fought harder than ever to keep it from harming her, only relaxing when it finally went still.

He released the creature and dropped back onto his haunches, panting heavily as his body trembled. His eyes leapt straight to River, searching her to see if she was alright. Her words and actions certainly seemed to suggest she was, but his brow was still furrowed with concern as she spoke. "Just paying it forward," he responded, "Are you alright?" He resisted the urge to get all up in her business to see for himself, but only just.