Mount Apikuni cat and mouse in partnership

the boy’s tongue smooths over the fur upon his chin and wintersbane feels his lips tug into a small, albeit soft smile. a warren is what we call a rabbit’s home. it’s like their den. he explains, hoping that thade doesn’t point out the obvious question of why don’t they just call it a ‘den’? the question crosses wintersbane’s mind often and each time he finds he has no answer for it; knowing that if thade did ask that wouldn’t change. someone he knew once called it a ‘rabbit warren’ and he simply picked up the habit.

of course, wintersbane encourages as soothingly as the rasping, smoky reticence of his voice would allow. he makes to give the boy a small nudges as he leads the way; keeping his pace slow so that thade could keep up and to keep from spooking their flighty quarry.

tracks are a real good indication of your prey’s presence but with the rain, they’ve no doubt washed away. so then we turn to other signs. tufts of fur caught on broken branches or twigs, wintersbane explains. droppings too. we’ll be able to see those even with the rain.