Silvertip Mountain Most pitbulls are just three shih tzus wearing a trench coat

Sorting plants? That sounded pretty busy to Aventus. Definitely more important than his dumb toe. Arielle didn't give him much of an opportunity to protest again, though, so he ducked into the den with her, chewing on the inside of his cheek the entire time. He had a reason for being here besides his toe, he just couldn't seem to remember what it was at the moment.

His eyes adjusted quickly to the low light and landed on the little piles of herbs. Arielle was so organized! He had no clue what any of them did, but he could tell the dead ones apart. She must be picking through to separate those from the good ones. That looks like hard work, he said. Delicate work. Like her. She was fierce in her own way, but he was beginning to notice littler things, too, like how easy her smiles came.

He plopped his hindquarters down and lifted his paw for her inspection, still feeling a little like he was just being a big old whiner. I ... I admit I hoped to talk to you about something, too, he said, shooting a little sheepish smile of his own and thumping the floor with his tail. His eyes lacked mirth, though. He was still so angry with himself for Moonglow and Nyra, but it was important that he not let that affect Arielle. It wasn't fair to her.