Bearclaw Valley a[m]plius lava me ab iniquitate mea

while humans thought otherwise, among quadrupedal scholars it was widely accepted that it was the liver that housed all things of value for an animal's spirit (with the exception of herbivores, who claimed it was the stomach). with it ruined, however, the novice haruspex needed turn to the alternative option, which would be the tough meat of the heart, much less conductive to prophecies, but useful in a pinch.

her agry jaws tore at the days-old wolfmeat until the glistening dark organ was revealed. her paws dug at the surrounding tissue until they too glistened, just as dark, and eventually the heart was out, dangling by the thick aorta out her mouth, and the supplicant stood proud.

the voice cut trough her, primarily because it was unexpected. bernadette froze, and her shadowed eyes moved to look at the bruin-heart. she hadn't sensed the other's approach.

with stilted movements of one still gripped by strong emotions, the beardog lowered the organ between her frontpaws. when her head rose again, the usual placid expression was upon the chow's features again.

"haruspicy." she stated, not even assuming the she-wolf would be familiar with the concept, but wishing for a moment of feeling more educated than another. "divination trough internal organs." was all she said.

her posture was wholly neural, expect for the traitorous wagging of her tail, twin to the human habit of bouncing one's knee when under stress.