Alma took the Optio's pacing with quiet confusion. Evidently, that description was familiar, although she wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. Her mind went back to the image of the dog comforting the puppies, and placing them beside the injured coyote. She'd wondered, not for the first time this night, if those puppies had been hers and not the coyote's - although if it was so, she couldn't figure out why her attacker would want to place the pups near someone who had stolen them.
A growl from her scarred clanmate shook her out of her thoughts. Alma's ears flicked backward in submission for a second, until she realized that it wasn't directed at her. The news that the yellow dog - Amy - had tortured someone else before, and someone another clan member knew, no less, dissipated all the doubts in her mind that she had been wrong to intervene. That scene comforting the puppies must have been a ruse, intended to confuse her. Now those poor things could be suffering the same thing as Vesper's friend had. Guilt clawed at her once more. She hadn't been able to save even one of them. Alma's face took on a grim expression. "I wish I had..." She began, then amended her sentence, still not sure if she wanted to reveal her failure. "-at least injured her."
The rust coywolf followed her clanmate to the guest house. She managed to remain quiet for a time, but that only gave her more time to repeat the events in her mind, making her simultaneously guilty and angry. The two emotions pulled her in different directions, one that told her she should hurt herself for her failure, and another that told her she should hurt Amy for it. Her lips twitched into a snarl, though no sound came out. The hand holding her injured arm gripped it tightly, digging her claws into her own flesh.
"I-I- I hate her." She said, with far more venom than she intended to show. Her anger had simmered to a boil; she couldn't stay silent anymore. "That thing deserves to die. If only I had my bow with me when I saw her." Or at least, some ability to fight in close combat, so she wouldn't be defeated so quickly. "There were puppies and... I-I wasn't able to save any of them." She pinned her ears back in shame. She hadn't meant to confess this, but she didn't think she could bear to keep it a secret forever - it would have to come out sometime, and she may as well face to consequences for it now.
[/html]