and it all starts here

She’d heard him before she saw him, and Malalia got to her feet before wheeling around. She was already set to fend off an advance, fully expecting her friend to tackle her — and oh, he could try, but instead Mortis bounded past her, claws sinking into the tree. Her head tipped to the right, incredulity and utter confusion coloring her features. Wolves climbing trees... there was always something new in this place, wasn’t it? She almost wished she could join him there, in the trees, but the first branch was much too high for her.

Mal couldn’t have rolled her eyes any harder. “You know, it ain’t all that hard,” she deadpanned, and moved to place her two fore paws on the lower trunk, “Seeing as how I’m short, and you’re overgrown.” Her tail flicked as she grinned up at the boy. So maybe she wasn’t the absolute shortest female out there, okay, but compared to the dire pup, she was essentially... a mouse.

But hey, if he wanted to play that game, she was all in. Mal huffed faintly, let her paws fall back to the snow before giving him some distance to land safely. He’d gotten himself up there. How easily could he find his way back? “Well.... as your superior, I order you to come down from there and be shorter than me.” How could one be shorter, one might ask? That was for Mortis to figure out. “Also.... fetch me lunch.”

An evil dictator, Mal was not. Sure, a couple of tackles and mudpies between friends could be glossed over, but she was terrible at throwing her weight around. Her threats were pretty mild. She was a bit hungry, though.