Panther Park Then surely I'll do the same,

“Learned enough. Disagreements.” Back to clipped answers it was. Finley could respect the reluctance, and she responded with a quiet nod. Must have been quite a “disagreement,” to drive a Court’s guard into aimless wandering—but if there was personal hurt buried in the dismissal, Finley missed it entirely.

They walked in silence for a time, no shelter in sight. The moment stretched oddly long to Finley, as it dawned slowly on her that this encounter could have taken far worse a turn were their loyalties still aligned elsewhere. But as it stood, it seemed neither had anyone to stand for but themselves and what egos they had left.

There were worse wolves to meet.

An announcement of the lightened rain—barely, but evidently enough for the other—washed away Finley’s wandering thought trail. What was she going to do indeed.

Part of her was tempted to divulge their similarities, a lost wolf’s confessional; the rest dismissed the thought with as much casualty as the ex-guard’s topic shift. Did she even know Finley wasn’t in a pack herself?

With a shrug, she finally settled on a word: “Likewise.” Whether that referred to a pack or temporary shelter was up for the other to determine. “By the way, what’s your name?”