Bitterroot Valley footloose and fancy free

Ico couldn't resist the silent invitation to lean forward and look at her own paw pad. He saw a scar there, stark white in the moonlight. Concerned, but wishing not to be impudent by asking what happened, Ico noted that it looked far worse than whatever fussy little thing he had stuck in his own silly hoof.

The lady had a story, and he had every wish to ask for it.

But first there was a matter at paw. He hesitated, not wanting to be a bother, but really Ico was the sort of fellow who had to accept help where he could get it. "Thank you so much, I think that'd be a great help. If I did it I bet I'd lose my nerve and take forever."

He turned his paw a little and the moonlight slanted through the trees and illuminated the little shard. Upon closer inspection, the observer would find that (thankfully) it wasn't lodged in his flesh at all but stuck between his claws; and, furthermore, it wasn't a splinter or a bone but a very fine, polished blue gemstone.