"Come down."
A calm, clear instruction.
The elf girl's ears perked.
She pushed off the branch and dropped straight into the elf sister's waiting arms.
"Yes, Sister!" She beamed, nuzzling into the nun's shoulder.
Mira stared.
Her eyes narrowed into slits so thin they could have cut glass. "She did it immediately," she whispered, her voice hollow. "I begged..."
The wolfkin sister cracked her neck, drew a slow breath, and opened her mouth.
"RETURN!" The snarl that came out shook the leaves off the nearest bush.
The dogkin girl froze mid-sprint on the far side of the clearing.
Her ears flattened, her tail tucked between her legs, and she came trotting back with her head low and sat on the blanket without a word.
Then the wolfkin turned toward the hole.
She dropped to all fours and dove in headfirst. The earth shook, a muffled shriek echoed from below, and the dwarven boy came flying out, dangling upside down by one ankle in the wolfkin sister's grip.
