Bramblepoint Green-Cheese Moon

kapros turned his back to her.

how many spines had qiao struck from behind? she stilled that old, bloody impulse with a plain smile. "bah, you don't look like you would have caught it. it was a fox. scare it off with your big eyes, maybe." she shook out her pelt, dropping her head so the greenbrier rope slid from around her thin neck.

"afraid that fox wouldn't have suited you, anyway. stringy and tough, and full of foxglove." qiao shared a wide grin and a wink with her sullen company as she extracted from the peltskin a dried piece of fish. it looked as old as her, with foul dark wrinkles around its edges and a peculiar smell. "for your lost meal."