shaking the wings of their terrible youths

While Caiaphas did not relish the idea of company, it seemed Kove was reluctant to leave her to her own devices. Understandable -- she was, in truth, alarmingly close to his home. She stood frozen, her stance splay-legged as she regarded the swamp. Even her tail seemed to twitch indecisively as she weighed her various options.

She didn't detect much threat in his voice as he suggested she advance no further, though her eyes slid to him briefly to assure herself he was not being aggressive. He seemed benign, if not slightly reluctant in his resolve, and with her aspersions soothed she looked once more across the ugly expanse of swamp. "Is it dangerous?" She asked of him carefully, lifting one paw from the damp soil to shake the blackened gout of marsh that had already accumulated between her paw-pads.