Silvertip Mountain Most pitbulls are just three shih tzus wearing a trench coat

With his permission, she walked over to a small pile of pre-moistened moss. Every morning she would take the moss she had dried overnight and and soak it in the creek. She would also collect more if she saw it. So far, the plant didn't seem to be affected by the cold weather. 

She brought it over and sat back down in front of his lifted paw as he began to speak. Careful to be gentle, she grasped the hanging nail between her incisors and pulled. The nail came off, she dropped it to the ground, and then quickly placed the cool wet moss on his toe. She would let it soak there for a few minutes to soothe the pain and to clean the area. Her expression was apologetic whether or not he expressed any pain. 

He told her that Moonglow was gone, which meant Nyra was gone. Her heart sank at the news. She immediately thought of what Merrick's reaction would be. The prince was correct: he would be angry, and she was not looking forward to it. She worried what it would do to the bear king; he had been so temperamental lately—not that she blamed him.

 Aves worried the bear couldn't help them with this problem. The bear doesn't always guide us through tough decisions, she said softly. And sometimes we may not be listening. It was easy for her to get caught up in what all needed to be done; she thought it would be easy to miss the help offered by the bear. 

But his plan was a good one. It was winter, and the journey wouldn't be easy, but it wasn't like any of them were used to easy; life had been anything but lately. I think that's a good idea, Aves, she said. And you're right: maybe that will help soothe some of Merrick's anger when he finds out we no longer know where Nyra is. She inspected his toe for a second before adding: I miss the valley. It would be nice to spend time there. I think we all need it.