Hoshor Plains I have no time for confession

Tiuttuk tilted her head, silently wondering why the presence of pups should prompt them to wander further afield. Didn’t Pala want to curl up around her pups in the cozy safety of her whelping den and never leave them? Of course, they would grow fast, though they would be vulnerable for a while. Perhaps when she said “we,” she really meant the others from the vale.

Gifts aren’t necessary, she insisted, laughing a little as she added, and I don’t need convincing. You’d be more than welcome to pay a visit at Moonspear anytime, Pala. I think we can safely say we’re friends now. She paused, as if waiting for validation, then said, I’m not a leader yet but I’ll take word of this visit back to my mother, Sialuk, and perhaps this could be the beginnings of a formal alliance?

It came out like a question, as the idea had only just struck her. But a little thrill wriggled through her. She’d turned a mere foray into something more, first by discovering this other pack, then striking a friendship with one of its key members. Treepie felt that was a good building block for her eventual step up into leadership.