Dirty and Gross

Redrum’s golden gaze flicked to the small, snarling beast beside her—some kind of big rodent. It bared its teeth with a sharp, discordant snarl, and for a moment, Redrum’s lips pulled back in a slight, bemused twitch. It was unusual to see a creature like that so possessive over another, let alone a wolf. But he didn’t let it bother him. Even his falcons up above were indifferent to him unless he had scraps to offer them.

“Rocks that… move?” he murmured, echoing her curiosity with a faint lilt of intrigue. He wasn’t much one for taking in the flowers, he mostly made sure he wouldn’t brush past the wrong one and end up itchy. His gaze shifted to the lake bed, following the odd tracks through the mud, his brow furrowing in thought. He’d never seen something like this himself—this strange phenomenon of earth and stone making their own way, leaving trails across desolate ground.

The Dunamis woman stepped out onto the lakebed, her slender frame barely making an impression on the mud. A ripple of amusement rose in him as she tested the rock, almost as if expecting it to resist. He glanced at the little devil, its eyes sharp on him, then up at the bird circling above. The wolfess seemed well-guarded. But he wasn’t here for violence. He was here to understand, as much as his mind could. Maybe test what and who all this family had brought to his home, sure.

“Strange. But— Rock-girl—,” he asked, his voice slow, his speech fighting against the twitches in his jaw, though he forced himself to focus on continuing. “They are rocks, yes? Not—crabs with—rock shells?” His lips twitched again, an almost-smile, but the expression faded as quickly as it had come.

His gaze lingered on the rocks, their trails snaking through the mud, leading nowhere and everywhere at once. For a long moment, he watched her, curiosity smoldering in his golden eyes as he fought the urge to circle her. He wagered that habit of his would set off her friends, so he settled for moving a touch closer, tapping on a rock to see if little eyes would pop out of any side.

"Murder"