Bearclaw Valley follow me into the golden wild

twitch goes still. her ears twitch at his words, her shoulders pulling just a fraction tighter, but she doesn’t look at him. she just keeps staring down the cliffside, down at the jagged teeth of rock and dirt below, letting the wind bite at her fur like little pinpricks against her skin.

because i see you, twitch. you hide—but still i see.

her claws dig deeper into soft soil, enough to feel it yield to her, squelching beneath her paws. her gut knots. she hates that. hates that.

“mm.” her response is barely a sound, just a vague noise at the back of her throat, rough and unsure. he steps closer. close enough.

she finally, finally looks at him. its a dead stare, uncomfortable but searching for meaning in his words before she breaks away again. “no need to be cryptic, y'know,” she mutters after a long pause.