🐻 —

   — He blinks, and action quickly followed by a hearty laugh, “Ah, how refreshing. To be spoken to so bluntly,” he paused, smile present upon lips, “Though I must ask what it is that makes me so untrustworthy in your eyes,”

{ ☼ } – The woman was quiet for a moment, letting her arms cross over her chest. Well, she was going to be honest like she would with any of her children.

     “I can easily do the second and third… But I make no promises about the first. If I’m worried about your health, I may make a comment. If it’s not to that point, I can manage to hold my tongue. I never make promises I can’t keep.”

   She smiled and tilted her head to one side. It was true, she never made a promise she wasn’t certain she could keep. It was one of the things she made sure to instill in her girls.

     “My priority is making sure you’re healthy and happy, love.”

“Mmmn.  .  .” The refusal to leave her drinking habits alone wasn’t a deal breaker. Her own father tended to comment here and there when he grew concerned, and she still loved and appreciated him. She supposed, with some time, she could bring the older woman into the fold — if not as a mother figure, then something damn close to it.

She was exhausted and lost, frantic and determined. She was also cornered, her tail and backside pressed to the side of a cliff. Hunched down, hackles raised, she snarled at the wolf poised opposite her. As a zoan, it was harder to speak normally — under less stressful circumstances, all she could manage were guttural words and short, choppy sentences. She would have tempted the idea of shouting the wolf away, but her labored breathing made saying anything at all impossible.

Even roaring wasn’t possible.

She was positive that no one, not even the stall owner, was paying attention to her. Quick as she could and with not a hint of regret, she snatched up as many pieces of fruit as she could stuff down her shirt. A small bunch of bananas, nectarines, peaches and apples. Always peaches and apples. With the bottom of her shirt tucked into the waistband of her shorts, she was easily able to carry them away, a snicker on her lips.

“The hell did I hit?” As soon as the door thonked against something solid, she peeked around the edge and found — a person! Whoops. A decent person would have shown concern and asked if the stranger were alright, but she wasn’t wholly decent. Rather than ask, she let out an obnoxious giggle-snort. Fortunately for the one hit by the door, her giggle fit didn’t last long.