The dottering old woman had gotten herself and Liliya into this mess by getting captured, but Verusha was barely cognizant of this fact anymore. She didn't hate slavery -- it was more work than they'd asked her to do in the Russo complex in Sobirat'sya, certainly, but it was not difficult work. Sewing was a fit way for an old woman to earn her keep, and she'd been able to keep watch over children -- children! The idea still overjoyed Verusha, and a dreamy smile crept across her face.
The hiss, however, made the smile disappear from her face, and the woman jumped a little, looking around with wide, terrified eyes for the source of the sound. A coyote appeared, one battered and emblazoned with the marks of dozens of fights, and Verusha drew back, though she was not able to say if the woman was or was not part of Salsola. Wasn't she? Verusha tilted her head to the side and tried to figure this puzzle out, but she lost the coyote's first few words in her contemplation.
Fighting? Oh, no... The coyote moaned, her fingers moving to cover the ring in her nose. Please, hide me, keep me away, she said, taking a few steps forward to grasp at the other woman's arm. Verusha's raised hackles and egg-wide eyes bespoke her fright, but her cracking and raspy voice was only as a result of her age and possible early dementia.
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