Word Count :: 400
A sigh left the golden Epsilon’s lips as soon as Terra spoke of Augustus. After making the sound, she tipped her head up and turned her earthen eyes to the sky for a moment, looking as though she were picking up a scent on the wind. Really, she was considering just how to respond to that comment. She and Augustus had talked about it before finding and killing the cougar. He’d asked Ciara what she would have done with Terra, and while the female felt the coywolf should have been driven off, she had not thought of killing her. Augustus, however, was from a different world. Ciara understood that, even though she didn’t know any details of his past, she could see that it haunted him. No one else seemed to understand, and they found the dusty male harsh and unyielding on occasion.
“As injured as you were, some would have considered it a mercy to kill you,” she said softly. Her eyes moved back to look over the suddenly relaxed female. Ciara’s ribs were aching, so she settled her dominant posture, allowing her tail to drop a fraction, as well as her head. “I agree that you shouldn’t have trespassed, but I can imagine you didn’t realize quite where you were after that traumatic experience,” Ciara continued, heaving another painful sigh. “If it were up to me, I would have had a healer tend to you on the border, and then send you on your way. Zalen is wise, though, and he had his reasons for allowing you to stay in pack lands to recover.”
Wanting for a change in topic, the Epsilon then smiled as Terra brought up the cougar. For once, when she thought back on that day she only saw the exhilaration and glory. Flashes of pain did not haunt her, and she did not grit her teeth at the thought of the vicious feline. “She certainly had fight in her,” the golden female replied, allowing a wry grin to form on her muzzle. “Not fight enough. You did well in injuring her during your battle, she was weakened and that made it at least a fraction easier for us to finish her.” That earthen gaze once again travelled the length of the rusty female’s body, taking notice of the injuries and that they were healing well enough. “You were brave. A little stupid, but brave.”
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