Redtail Rise i crush the seven golden stars

She’d not fought for the prize, but felt that finding such a thing in the squelchy mud of the swamp was enough of a feat that she’d earned the right to take it. 

She’d stepped on it and yowled. Normally, the swamp was soft underfoot, but when she pulled her paw free, the sharp, hooked claw came with it. It fell into the mud and at first, she wrinkled her nose and thought about pounding it back down into the murk where it couldn’t hurt her again. Then, she recognized what it was.

She spent over an hour cleaning it in fresh water, pulling the last bit of gristle and fur from the base of the joint, so that only bone and claw remained. Given the fact it was detached from any other remnants of skeleton, she guessed it’d been in the swamp for years, preserved there. 

Now, it was a gift. 

She carried it along with her, as she searched for Ancelin. His path wove this way and that, a bit of a nuisance when all she wanted to do was hunt him down! Eventually, she caught his scent on the wind and made a beeline through the trees, so she could intercept his winding path. She rumbled an affectionate greeting as she caught sight of him, the fur along the nape of her neck prickling in anticipation.