Moonspear nightmares

Her gentle cajoling seemed to have the opposite of her desired effect. "OW!" Meerkat cried out as she reflexively snapped her foreleg after all, both actions entirely involuntary. But her sense of self-preservation eclipsed her fear of harming "Fierce," who flung backward and subsequently released the tawny youth's limb.

There was a row of bloody, jagged puncture wounds. Meerkat stared at them for a beat before "Fierce's" whimper snared her attention. Her lips parted to say something when the white pup began scrambling around, gathering up some greens in her mouth before inching back toward Meerkat.

"What're you doing?" she wondered, noticing "Fierce's" repentant crouch. "It's okay. I'll be all right. You just got carried away 'cause you're Fierce," Meerkat reassured with a wobbly smile.