I come bearing mushroom gifts

Aurielle listened patiently with a subtle glint of exasperated humor in her eye as Kaija scrambled to cover her tail. Having raised five children herself so far, she was familiar with some of the antics of the young, though her own weren’t quite so given to lies or major rule breaking. Aoife was maybe the worst case with leaving pack borders to spend time with Aerie’s Amadeus, which had led to the boy trespassing.

Her eyes flicked to Sparrow as the child briefly cut off, momentarily assessing whether the child meant the woman, but deciding that Kaija, though generally fearless, would definitely have been giving some clue if this was the one she’d been afraid of, and she hadn’t been in any distress when she’d arrived.

Her head cocked, an almost sly grin blooming on her lips, teeth baring as she asked, “And if I ask your mother directly?” Though in all honesty, Justice would likely not have been too worried unless something truly happened… and then the world would see the woman’s scary side.

The question was rhetorical, for the most part, and she bent to examine the mushroom. “It’s a lovely mushroom. If you take it to your Uncle, he may know what it is. Never know, it could end up being medicinal.”

She straightened and studied the woman as she spoke, nodding her agreement and adding, “Polar bears can be vicious, but grizzlies are more common of an annoyance and, from my experience… cranky. Very cranky. But they all make good rugs.”

A shoulder rolled in memory of some of her encounters as she smiled at the woman.

“Thank you for taking the time to escort a wayward pup home. I’m sure her mother has some hide tanning to do. And who do I thank?”

A brow arched questioningly at the earthy woman. Oh, she caught the subtle joke there, but left it to one side. Whether she’d address it remained to be seen.

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think