Vesper was unnerved by the addition of a third, bigger falcon to the other two. She had puppy memories of her mother batting her into the mouth of a den when a hawk flew overhead, and that instinct resurfaced in the feral coywolf despite her number of feathered friends. She knew that Stark was larger than the individual peregrines, but she didn’t know how he’d fare with three of them attacking. Her mind roamed over the various scenarios of attack and how she might defend her companion when he made a hissing sound.
“Only fledglings,” Stark assured her in a low tone, and then cawed once more to the trio of falcons. “Just out of shells!”
The Centurion only sat down and shook her head. She’d recently learned that her winged mentor, normally calm and almost peaceable, had a bad habit of picking fights with any birds in the vicinity. The fact didn’t bother her generally; it only amused her to know that he was more like her and the other Inferni coyotes than she thought. Still, she had to feel uncomfortable under the harsh gaze of the raptors, and her body remained tensed even as she drew in the lingering canine scent.
A strong voice called out to them, and Vesper’s ear perked in confusion; she recognized the sound of it. “You—the collie?” she said aloud, and shook her head, amending: “I mean, Neela! What are you doing this far south?” She started to step toward the shelter beneath the oak then remembered the falcons—and also remembered that the collie woman didn’t have to be in the north since Ichika no Ho-en had disbanded. She frowned and took a seat again. “It’s Vesper, the Infernian.”
Image courtesy of henrikj@Flickr; table by the Mentors!
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