Redtail Rise Never Bet the Devil Your Head

She strode along for a while before she heard a noise and dropped abruptly, hunching motionless on the forest floor. Only her ears moved for a moment, as Masquerade attempted to ascertain the source. Then her head rotated slightly and she began to slither forward through the underbrush. The leaf litter made it more challenging lately, though she quietly thrilled at getting to practice “on hard mode.”

She didn’t quite succeed at silently prowling this time, so she only caught a glimpse of the hoary marmot as it darted across the forest floor and disappeared, either down into a burrow or perhaps up a tree. It moved too quickly for her to be sure. Masque paused and listened for a moment, then began to rise properly onto all fours again.

Absently, she scanned her surroundings, giving a little gasp of surprise when she saw young Reki just a few yards away. How had he managed to sneak up on her? Masquerade marveled at it, wondering if she might have competition for the rise’s stealthiest youth. She wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about that, though she couldn’t help but smile softly once she recovered.

Are you sneaking too? she whispered to him, moving closer and eyeing his larger build, wondering if her provisions had contributed to this growth.