Sun Mote Copse Bill Barilko disappeared that summer

The one who answered to Alyx changed on a daily basis. Real Alyx was so often called Quetzal, and vice versa, that it was kind of a miracle she knew her own name at all. Bronco's arrival sent a stir of excitement through the pups, resulting in RealAlyx barreling right over her mother's paw and tripping into the ground. Having established by now that she was no lover of filth, she sought to correct the offending paw for making her chest dirty by turning around and giving it a hard nip, which was the cause of Niamh's exclamation.

There, dumb foot, thought Alyx. That'll show you. She scraped her hind feet on the dirt in the direction of her mother's creamy toes, her particular sign for screw you, which of course, she only knew as a feeling and not an actual expletive at this point. She seated herself on prim haunches to smooth the fur on her chest and pick at the bits of dust and dirt nestled there, only for her oversized ears to flare dramatically when Bronco called her name.

Hi hi Bo'co! she yipped as she scampered after him, dirt-smudged chest forgotten as her tail windmilled just above her tiny hips. Whew goin'? Goin' Meek's?