Northstar Vale Right Beside You

Reyson needn’t worry about plowing over the silver doe, her own back peddle taking her closer to the tree side she had abandoned earlier. She watched the bumbling creature, noting it seemed to be in no rush and then giving a mournful look to the rabbits and partly started cache.


She’d known hunters to try to hunt them—killed only when the soft flesh of their belly was broken. But she had never known anyone to do it without getting a face full of painful quills—and the stench the critter emanated was almost ghastly. “Maybe it will just go away,” she whispered in a hush, as if the porcupine was unaware of their presence—it wasn’t.

As it continued forward, poking about, Meadow eased closer to the tree, relaxing slightly when she realized if they left it alone, maybe it would leave them alone too? And then, “It’s kind of cute,” she mused quietly, studying it.