The Tangle [M] And roar beside the lions thinking how is it so easy

He raced towards them but the instant he saw Augur, Ashlar's body language shifted, almost as though he had been struck. Augur had never given him reason to fear him, but instinct told him to fear anyway, and were the motions he made in play? Or were they a warning? He did not know.

As his delight melted into uncertainty and nervousness, he slowed to a stop, failing to join in on the chase. His eyes tracked them as they went, but that same fear held him. He did not want to compete with a wolf who was, in so many ways, his better. Alone he could forget, but with Augur, he was reminded his place.

He should go back. The disappointment cut, but not enough to even begin to think of challenging Augur's right. It wasn't something he even imagined being allowed to share.