momma said

Good god he'd forgotten just how big this cat was. Her paw, bigger than his whole head, loomed over him and cast a shadow he could have sat in without spilling over. All she did was brush some of the ash off his hat but good grief, she could have just as easily drove him into the ground like a spike. That knowledge made him covetous of her strength all over again. He missed having a formidable ally. None could take the place of Atlas, whose antlers he'd slept in, but he rather liked the idea of a big friend to run to when his scams went wrong.

He took his hat off and held it in his front paws as she asked about Motif. "It's a long story," he said with a sigh. "For the longest time Motif was held as a slave by a wolf named Sirius, first in Ashen and then in a fighting force called Ashen Armada. We were in the west of Boreas when the volcano erupted so I have no idea how the Abaven wolves fared." Armando rung the brim of his hat between his paws. "I was working to free her when her sister Poem struck a deal with Sirius and traded herself for Motif's freedom." He shrugged helplessly and sniffed before continuing, "We got separated and I haven't seen her since, but she was okay the last time I saw her."