Otter Creek trickle down the spine

annaliese had not yet returned, and not for the first time did mahler question how harsh a task he had set for so new a geist. yet he had promised her accolades upon arriving back in diaspora with the information he sought. if she wished it, the foxfire would come back to claim her prize.
he had come across a crushed dam, dragged from its sharp-shattered depths the bodies of two beavers smitten to death and left to be buffeted by the harsh current. one he had placed in a guarded cache, the other he had eaten himself, and felt the coursing of new strength in his great limbs.
he wandered now after the trailing scent of bear, wondering if at the end of it there would be a carcass to scavenge, and found himself upon the edge of an icy creek not far from where a familiar muzzle was flung up, gasping, from the shallows. "have i found you in danger, maegi?" mahler joked dryly, drawing near.