Redtail Rise And I felt his blood pour fast and hot,

While Riley’s ears were trained on Masque, his eyes were not — so when a fit of sneezes overcame her he side-eyed her slightly, but carried on licking his paw.

Until that one sneeze became three. And the three turned to five. And then six — and by that point Riley lost count, having never taken a math class having no concept of arithmetic beyond “that’s one” or “that’s many”.

But Masquerade’s bevy of sneezes landed firmly in “that’s many” territory — he was about to ask if she was alright when the fit stopped, and she turned towards him.

Propped on his elbows already, Riley shifted somewhat backwards — fully expecting the impish snaps at his chin. While they were halfhearted, his response was not. Something about the sneezes got his blood pumping to the point as Masque spread out across her belly, he rose to his feet — clumsily leaping over her and taking off towards a pile of leaves.