Sun Mote Copse and stood awhile in thought

She glanced at the squirrel's remains, making a note to return and clean up the mess here too. Most likely, she would eat the parts she could and bury the rest. Facing forward again, Sugar bobbed her head at Chanel and picked up the pace a little bit, intuiting that her pack mate was eager to get the grime and gunk off her pretty pelt.

They reached the stream in no time at all. Sugar noticed a thin skin of ice on the surface, which broke apart at a touch. The brittle shards of ice drifted downstream and she dipped a paw in the frigid water, holding her breath and shivering a little as she splashed it across her chest and face. Pink runoff dripped down her legs and all her palest patches of fur were left stained, though at least there were no more sticky chunks clinging to her.

She looked sideways to see how Chanel was faring. "Thanks for being my assistant," Sugar thought to say, her tail waving.