Jade Fern Grove gold in your eyes, dancing like fire

The child struggled only a few moments, and as she fell limp Alessia guiltily loosened her already-soft grip by fractions. It felt strange, to her, to hold another's pup without being invited; but there were none around to invite her, and perhaps they ought to have raised a more docile child if her intrusion was unwelcome. She did not really mean the thought. The girl's spirit intrigued and charmed her, and perhaps triggered the faintest maternal stirrings within the yearling.
She set off at a swift pace, turning back the direction the girl had come from. Plans for when she found the group whirled in her mind; in an ideal world, she'd stay hidden, dropping the pup off near the group and sending her on her way with a nudge. She'd slip away without being seen and tuck the encounter away in her memories. But the world was hardly ever ideal, she knew, and as she'd said before: this was a bad idea.