Noctisardor Bypass 1 "They're not as big as I thought they'd be."

Indistinct voices prattled behind her as Druid made another questioning noise, then flailed a foreleg in an attempt to reach the small ledge. She felt something press beneath her midriff and suddenly she was raised up enough to scoot across the threshold. Her rear end still dangled until little hands pushed her further into the den’s dim confines.

She wriggled toward her mother’s and sister’s snoozing figures, mindless now of anything else, including the masked creature who might linger in the doorway after lending her assistance. With a happy whimper, Druid thrust her nose into the crook of Sequoia’s foreleg. Soon she inserted herself beneath its protective warmth, where she promptly fell asleep and dreamed of rabbits and raccoons.