Otatso Wetlands sandhill

He was amused by how careful they were with each other. Perhaps Tybault wasn't afraid of being hurt by him, but he was afraid of him in his own way. How fearful they had to be even in friendly conversation! The world never stopped being cruel.

Wildflower was done playing its games.

He offered Tybault a wry smile.

"You can watch me eat," he offered, his tone suggesting this was a rare treat while his eyes laughed at them both. He was empathetic, though. They said the worst thing a coyote could be was lonesome — and maybe he wasn't a full coyote, but he had the same fear in his heart. He wondered if it wasn't just the same for full-blooded wolves, too, and then decided it didn't really matter. Any amount of lonesome was a sorry state to be.

So he ate, forcing his shoulders to relax while he did. Maybe he'd die this way. Maybe that would be about as much as he deserved.