Dragoncrest Cliffs intervention

a weight settled in the air like an anvil; sobeille watched as sialuk considered the sundry bones from her cache. she ran her paws over each and then raised one skyward.

sobeille hoped for something visually special about it — a crooked edge or maybe a malformed tooth — but she could tell little about it. what kind of bone it be? sobeille wondered, curious how sialuk had parsed from its nondescript ridges a personality that spoke of wonder, beginnings, and joy.

did that mean there was a bone out there that symbolized the opposite? ending, exhaustion, and death?

she looked at the boneflower suddenly, wary of its sharp tines.

for the rest of the afternoon, sobeille held a patient sialuk captive. eventually, it was time for the moonwoman to go. sobeille saw her off reluctantly, but looked forward to their meet in the coming month.