The Heartwood Clean bandit

He moved on from the lake, walking toward a wood rich with fall's colorful splendor. Peregrine felt hunger gnawing at his gut and dropped his nose to the ground, simultaneously combing for Finley's scent and any sign of prey. He found no trace of the former, though quite a variety of the latter. He chose the hottest trail, which belonged to a squirrel. He pictured the rodent scurrying about the forest floor, foraging for acorns and fattening itself for winter.

The squirrel he ended up killing and carrying off to eat was disappointingly lean. Peregrine settled down near the roots of an oak tree and made quick work of his kill, enjoying it despite its small size. When he finished, he licked his chops and considered trying to capture another one to round out his meal. He stood, hesitated a moment, then set out into the forest, snout dropping once more to the game trail.