Emberwood We'll be here when the world slows down and the sunbeams fade away

The coywolf had been quiet since Reina's disappearance and their subsequent flight into the wilderness. He had no real feelings about the woman herself, and he did not mourn or worry for her — but it was troubling, wasn't it? That she'd been dragged off while some slept and others, like him, patrolled the borders?

Part of him wanted to blame himself. Dusty Rose told that part to go fuck itself.

But he was affected all the same, and spent much of their travel on high alert, slightly apart from the others whether it was ranging ahead or doubling back, or just fanning out to better see what was around them.

He came to them now as they unpacked, tired and wary but otherwise in good spirits. He could understand why Reverie was not — but the kids were probably sad enough, weren't they? Dusty Rose thought they ought to be given them chance to brush over this loss and forget it. Might as well try, right?

"The last time I traveled with a group like this, we were hunting for las manatiales. Water. Where I come from, you only see water on the ground for a few months out of the year. Then it's underground, and you gotta dig for it. And when you can't dig for it anymore, you gotta pick up and leave. It was fun, though. Everyone else was doin' the same thing. So you'd meet a lot of kids your age, and their parents, and their rastreadores. Helpers. Sniffers. They don't look like you and me."

He laid down on his belly, twitching his snipey black nose at them.

"We would sing songs while we traveled," he told them, flashing a glance up to Reverie. He knew that her people had danced, but he could not remember if they'd talked much about singing. But — "I'll teach you," he told them. "And then you can teach all the friends you make along the way. Yeah?"