Dawnlark Plains well the sun don't shine

with a murmured farewell, shale departed the scene, leaving aditya and the stranger--and the lamb at their paws--staring at each other. adi smiled, shaking his head. "we'll take you and the lamb, too," he said amiably. "i'm not of the mind to turn away someone who's brought us food, especially with all the mouths we have to feed."

thus invited, aditya stepped aside, allowing the man to step over the border if he so chose. "what's your name?" he queried. "i am aditya. the man you spoke with in the maplewood is shale." no wonder shale had been so keen to bring this man to dawnlark plains; his litter was the biggest of all, and growing like weeds. they'd pick apart this lamb in mere seconds, if their stomachs were as big as their appetites.