Ouroboros Spine Send up my heart to you

Thankfully, even a clumsy pounce was enough to end the suffering of this bird. It'd weakened during its frantic flight, and was very soon yet another casualty of the hunt. Or, as Valiant liked to call it: dinner.

He cheered behind his own burden, and then dropped them to praise the boy again:

"Good job. Let's get these back, huh? We'll pluck 'em and show 'em off to your — to Raindrop. How's that?"

He hoped the bot hadn't noticed his little stumble. He wheeled his tail and gave Ludovico's shoulder a rough nudge with his snout.

"C'mon," he said, picking up the birds again before it could become a discussion. Now it was his turn to lead the way, and he did so at a crisp but companionable pace, feeling just a little more at peace with life.