Arrow Lake behind closed doors

As he followed after her, his head dropped to the soil and the scent of a fresh kill urged his nostrils to flare; he didn't slow down but he did veer off in a new direction as he followed that smell, then deviated back when it led to a dead-end among the trees. He snorted with his head canted towards a burly shoulder in order to clear his face of that smell, and then retraced his steps to find Kazimir's trail; it was odd, because he anticipated to find a wide path where her body had crushed the grasses or pushed aside saplings. It looked more like her weight was aligned to one side, as if she were overcompensating.

Just over a small rise, he paused and stared. There she was - this broad shouldered adult with a grizzled coat, but there was something off about her. Mesa had not been attentive enough to realize she'd been through some sort of trauma and at first he didn't notice the missing limb; but then as he watched her, silent and barely able to contain the urge to run ahead and snap at her, he noticed the way her weight shifted to one side. The absence of a limb evidently caused that. It was a good study that the boy could one day employ if he was tracking injured prey.