Bearclaw Valley in the end i danced with a ghost

she doesn’t flinch when vail steps forward. tries not to. her paws tighten against the ground like she's expecting it to give again, but her reaction is otherwise schooled.

"not about morals," she remarks, "i just didn’t wanna fish your corpse out of a pit this early in the morning. sue me." a beat. her mouth presses thin, tail flicking behind her once, restless, quick. she draws in a breath and lets it leak out slow between her teeth.

"don't care why you're here, but if you’re gonna lurk around our land like a half-dead scavenger, maybe don’t act surprised when someone notices." her voice hitches, not harsh, just strange like it’s bumping over stones. "—n' maybe don’t snap at the one person who stopped to say something."

she regrets saying it after it comes out, but its too late now. her eyes flick away like the heat’s caught up with her, like she’s already regretting giving her that much. the air feels tight around her ribs. she clears her throat.

"just- follow me."