Pine eyed the other girl warily, but sheathed her fangs anyway. In their place she continued to glare and glower at the ‘princess’. She held no dominion over her, and had spoken to her as though she were an ignorant child. Instead of arguing, or snarling, Pine closed her ears to the scolding of the other child. She did not even attempt to hide her disinterest. In fact, she pointedly turned her attention to their surroundings and everything else except the girl chiding her. Once the scolding stopped, Pine returned her forest gaze back to Zarah, boredom pouring from them in such large quantities it would possible the expression made the wind stir. She snapped her jaws once, teeth baring for a second, only to wordlessly get the final say in.

Never had parents, not that she could remember, just Big Wolf. I asked him if he was a dad, and he said no. But he takes care of me. Still studying Zarah, she did not know what to make of the girl’s sudden offer to help her find a gift for her adopted guardian. She did not think this girl would know anything about what Big Wolf would or would not like. But looking down at the carcass she did suddenly feel incredibly inadequate. Ears drooping even lower, Pine whimpered softly. She so badly wanted to make Maverick proud, but did not know what she could possibly bring him that he did not already have. Looking back at Zarah, her head still hanging, she sighed.

Okay…. you can help. But if you tell me to bring him a pinecone, I am never speaking to you again. She did not know if she would regret this.