Bramblepoint Dump her on a doorstep

"Ah," he said, huffing out a rare laugh. "No," he agreed, "the cat is not for eating. Her name is Moke — she's a friend."

But, friend or not, he shooed the cat away. She retreated a foot or so to aggressively wash her paws.

"If you're not hungry, we can get started. We'll search this forest, first — the plants we're looking for are fleawort, comfrey, and witch hazel. We'll search the meadow, first."

He began leading the way, leaving scent markers every so often along the way, and instructing Delos to do the same. At one point, he caught his attention and made sure the boy could see his face before saying,

"Tell me about the pack you've come from," worded as a command but with a questioning lilt at the end. "Were you born to them?"