Dragoncrest Cliffs Anglerfish

The lean young man did not dare move an inch when she decided to speak. He was afraid that if he stirred, even slightly, that she would stop her talking and would return to the cold-faced girl she had been only minutes before.

Suzu spoke of a bird that she had rescued. Its food had been caught in driftwood. Instead of killing it, she had saved its life and treated it with care. She spoke of it as though it was a puppy. She’d given it food and had shared her space with it. The more that the pale-faced girl spoke of her deceased gull, the sicker to his stomach Swordfish grew.

What horrible luck, to have killed the bird that she had taken as her companion.

When she had stopped talking, the boy watched her.

Swordfish couldn’t understand her reason for caring about that bird. He didn’t think that it was possible to find friendship in the prey animals that they used to fill their caches and bellies. It didn’t matter whether he understood her reasons, though.

I’m sorry fer killin’ yer friend.

The boy finally shifted on his paws. Tingling pain spiked from the bottom, climbing up.