Otter Creek brass knife sinks into my shoulder

Dusty was embarrassed when Meridian didn’t seem quite so bothered by the treatment as he was. ”I know,” he muttered at the familiar refrain. His worth did not depend on how the rest of the world viewed him — but it sure did make it hard to find companionship out here.

He perked up, on that note. Companionship had bowled right into him!

“I missed you,” he said, too much feeling behind the words. He gave his brother a tackle-hug to better express the sentiment, and definitely didn’t shed any manly tears while he had his chin hooked over the other male’s shoulder. “I’ve been hangin’ around this pack up in the pass, and they’re alright’n all. They let me hang around and they feed me and everything — but it ain’t like home at all.”

The coywolf looked a little melancholy once more, but as always, he was quick to turn his attitude back around.

“You’re comin’ back with me, right?” he asked, surveying his brother with a critical eye. Meridian had always looked just a little wolfier than Dusty, with his smaller ears and less aggressively bushy tail. They surely wouldn’t mind him if they didn’t mind Dusty, right?