Otter Creek a raft of otters

Better start planning that feast then, Needle quipped, grinning. And you can enjoy eating your words while I dine. Her tail waved like a banner, tall and proud – unyielding as long as Stark was at her side.

Days and nights together had only seen her appreciation for him grow; she felt safer than she had in moons, and his hardwired severity made a good match for her temerity. She would’ve walked all over a lesser wolf.

But, doubts still lingered.

Needle wondered often what he thought of her. If she was too much, or worse, not enough. She worried that he would drop her at the slightest inconvenience – that she would be left on her own again should she disappointed him. She tried desperately to ignore the growing shadows in her heart.

Stark? Her expression turned thoughtful. Why did you leave your home? The question was sudden, as it stemmed from a thought about the wolves he knew in his past, and whether any of them felt as she did about him. Was it because of your sister?

He’d mentioned a sister, and how he’d had to claw for every inch while she was given miles.

Was it because you wouldn’t rule as long as she was there?