Phoenix Maplewood You couldn't stand to be near me.

He tensed when a she-wolf appeared, looking nothing like Void. Atreus stared at her, trying to decide if her pelt was actually cream or if she was just filthy. She looked rather disheveled, though her voice was pleasant as she gave him her name and then asked if she could partake in the blackberries.

Atreus looked down and then up again, saying, I guess.

Deciding he was done with them, he carefully stepped out of the blackberry patch. He didn’t take his eyes off the woman as he moved to its edge. He wasn’t sure what to make of her, not just because she was a stranger but because she was female. Atreus’s experiences with women included his deadbeat mother, his surly aunt and her horrible daughters (Redd was guilty by association).

He frowned, debating whether to engage further. Perhaps he could learn something from her, like he had with Void, but he disdainfully doubted it.