Hushed Willows east of the sun

Valiant's ears cupped forward in interest and bemusement as Alejandro went on to list a host of relatives — each one of them with a sound-name that Valiant had no hope of remembering. He was disappointed and relieved that none of them rang a bell, and neither did their surname. "Sorry," he said with a shake of his head, "I don't think I've met any of them."

Conversation turning to his family made him much more obviously uncomfortable, but he was willing enough to share: "I have an aunt at Whitebark Stream. My sister was there as well, the last I heard. But they don't know I'm in the area." ...and I'd like to keep it that way, he thought but did not say.

He was done with his rabbit and made quick work of cleaning off his muzzle so that it was a pale salmon color instead of bright red.

"I can help you search, if you want," he suggested, giving a hopeful wag of his tail. "I'm not really doing anything important."