Soft come the dragons

No worries. I'm glad you were able to find a resolution. :)

When Ariston gently made fun of her, Koontz shot him a glare which looked convincingly severe at first, but which was soon joined by a reluctant grin. "Ass," she muttered quietly through smiling lips. Despite her mother's proclivity for swearing—or possibly because of it—Koontz didn't often curse. It felt good to do it every once in a while. And sometimes she took a smug sort of pleasure when she saw the resultant look of shock that passed over someone's face when such a filthy word dared leap from her otherwise eloquent tongue.

All thoughts, silly or otherwise, suddenly took a backseat when the pair of wolves simultaneously picked up on the sound of footfalls somewhere deeper in the forest. Her brain shut off for the time-being as her senses kicked into overdrive. Exchanging a glance with Ariston, Koontz began to creep toward the source of the sound. As she went, her slow, open gait transformed into a silent prowl. She kept low as she slunk, carefully considering the placement of each foot. Knowing Ariston, she kept shooting him glances, her pale eyes begging him to keep quiet as they hopefully closed in on their prey.