Overture Downs more than could be chewed

The stranger might have been kind of cool but she was kind of not fun either. She was a bit of a stick in the mud. Or an antler in the snow as the case may be. He heard the irritation in her words and resented it, but her gentler follow up  had the intended affect of soothing his ruffled feathers. Maybe there would be more bones then.

Swift wagged his tail at the thought. Then he hiked a leg and signed his name to the half-swallowed skull, careful not to tread too close to where the ground dipped and ensnared. Regardless of how stubborn and flippant he may have been about the situation, he had learned a lesson about the hidden dangers of winter.

Once he had appraised his claim, Swiftlet looked back to his rescuer. Thanks. He said with a nod. But I would have got out eventually, he asserted with a shit-eating grin.