Blackfoot Forest sick cycle carousel

Pied had merely caught Zombie in a dark mood, made darker by the loss of lunch. Not that Zombie's mood was ever quite stable, but she was capable mustering a modicum of pleasantness most of the time. She frowned slightly as Pied made her hasty exit, ears going back in—you guessed it—more annoyance. It wasn't a grudge that was likely to last long; they were all in a state of uncomfortable and anxiety with the vacuum left by their leader's disappearance. With things so uncertain, they were all bound to be on edge and perhaps a little less patient with one another than they might have been with stable leadership and stable nutrition.

More upset by the sudden loss of companionship (even if they weren't particularly friendly) and the abrupt plummet back into loneliness than anything else, Zombie growled at the white female's disappearing form in discomfort. After a moment, the thin yearling released a heavy sigh and loped off in the opposing direction.