one way or another

As much as she loved her garden, there were some things that simply wouldn’t grow there. It wasn’t dark enough or damp enough, and soon everything would be buried under deep snow. This was her last chance to dig up what she needed. The Archer-Lyall didn’t like leaving Armada lands, especially not alone after what happened at the obsidian beach, but it was necessary.

The sound of scratching, someone else digging, filled her ears and she stopped, Otis’s fingers digging into the thick fur over her shoulders. She gave her tail a flick, feeling the weight of the small blade that was strapped there. Yer need not fear the dark forest, Matilda’s words echoed in the back of her head, because yer should know in yer soul that yer th’ most terrifyin’ thing here.

She would have snorted, except that it would have given her away. She spotted the dark shape, something tugging in familiarity and kinship at the back of her mind, and yet, she paused, offering a chuff of greeting instead. No point scaring the other wolf.

"speech".