There ain’t no second prize

As much as a child as large as Daphne could do, she attempted to slink back towards the hot springs. Her foreleg was still wet, a red flag clear to any that happened to see her that she had disobeyed her mother’s orders and gone near the water. Not only that, but now the cooling effect of the water was removed, well, her poor paw was still a bit tender. She was doing her best to not obviously limp, refusing to skip more than a stride or two with the limb pulled tightly against her chest, but hell, the girl wasn’t made of stone. She wouldn’t cry about it, but it did hurt!

A strange chittering sound filled the air, followed by the sound of rustling in the leaves. The girl froze, eyes wide as a familiar grown up scent came to her at the same time. She was in trouble, but only if she was found, right? Trying to make herself small, she tried to take cover under a bush that might have covered her about a month before. Maybe if she stayed really, really still, she wouldn’t be seen.

"speech".