Ouroboros Spine or in the temple of absent gods

His smile was easier, then, but still just a little grim. What he read between the lines was not, perhaps, what he was meant to. He was a man who saw most often exactly what he expected to see.

"Desirin' things's never done me much good," he replied, settling nearby to take the weight off his paws. He had more to say than that, perhaps, but those words would not come quickly. His mind was ever churning, but worked in such a way that most thoughts never made it to the surface. He suppressed a dark undercurrent that whispered about all the beloved things he had lost.

With his dusty forepaws crossed in front of him, he watched moonwoman unroll the hide. He could still see where his teeth had left their damp impression, and he could not help another chagrined splay of his ears.

"She seems well," he replied. "Her people are devoted to her. Even a boy from Moontide came to do her bidding. Raiyuk — the son of the man Arjun's gone huntin' with." Try as he might, a thread of worry worked its way into his voice. He shook the feeling away with a twitch of his shoulders. "She's restin' up while she heals, sure enough. Everyone's real happy to help her out in the meantime."

It was like him not to take her day-to-day happiness into account. He didn't have much interaction with her anyway — but he couldn't have told Kukutux what sort of mood she'd been in during their briefing.