Grouse Thicket 'cause i'm a dragonslayer, girl

She woke up with a fierce appetite this morning. Masquerade made a beeline toward one of their stockpiles but frowned at the meager pickings of aged meat. She craved something fresh. She wasn’t sure if Riley was in earshot but sent up a few yips to let him know she was heading out to hunt. He was always welcome to join, of course.

She sniffed her way into the neighboring thicket, the thought of bird eggs causing her mouth to water. They weren’t much of a meal but Masque was suddenly incredibly keen on finding some. Grouse kept their nests in shallow scrapes on the ground, she knew, and though they were often odorless and difficult to locate, she was determined.

More by accident than anything else, she frightened a brooding hen into the air. Masque barely paid the adult any attention as she quickly seized the pale yellow, spotted eggs. They were gone with seconds. She licked yolk from her chops and glanced around, curious where the mother had gone.

She didn’t see her, though she cut through some dense undergrowth only for another bird to abruptly flush from the ground. Masquerade startled a little, then jumped a second time when she found herself only a few yards away from a golden-furred stranger.