Swiftcurrent Creek It's such an arbitrary line that we dance

Naturally his luck only went south from there. Of all the wolves to find him —

Panacea made an effort to look alive, sober, and totally sane. Surprisingly, two of the three were actually true. He blinked, straightened, and stepped away from the tree with a slight wince.

Yeah, just uh - tired. Too much hunting, I guess, He lifted a bloody paw to show what he meant. It looked worse than it felt, truly; his pads had softened during his time spent confined to a den, then dried and cracked as he fled across endless miles. Now the skin was missing in ragged red patches.

I'll have to find Arlette later, probably, Panacea set his paw gingerly back on the ground. After a moment, he added in a tone of observation: Lots of kids to feed around here. That was a good enough explanation, wasn't it? Totally sane.