Red?
Why would someone be out here?
Astraea drops instantly, slipping into what I have come to think of as her reconnaissance mode. She moves forward, silent and precise, each step deliberate.
I will never get used to it, the way the wind through the undergrowth makes more noise than she does. She is excellent at this.
"...you can do it. Trust me. A bad experience will inevitably make this harder. I understand that, but you can do it."
A deep voice.
Vaguely familiar.
We edge closer, pushing through the undergrowth until two figures come into view in a small clearing.
One tall.
One much smaller.
The taller one has his back to us. From the shape of him, clearly a beta or an alpha.
"It hurt so much, and it all happened so quickly," the smaller one says, panic threading through ever
