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Okay. OKAY. SO she hadn't managed to take part in the stupid gosh darn rescue mission. SO WHAT?! So WHAT if the Blacksmith didn't owe her anything now?! She was good enough on her own anyway! Yeah! Stupid fox! (Biting him had felt nice, though. Pelt'd realized that approximately a week later, when she'd finally managed to stop drooling just thinking about those energy balls and food had finally started to taste like food again.)

Pelt was ABSOLUTELY adamantine in her confidence in her own skills. She was FAST! She was STRONG! She DIDN'T need the help of any goody-two-shoes furry dude to be better! And she was going to PROVE IT.

Ahead, a flying pitch rat swooped over the river's surface to scoop up water in its mouth. Pelt raced after it, lunging out of the water to snatch it in her jaws. Her teeth snapped closed on its torso, crushing down with enough force to fracture ribs. Pelt flailed it around, beating it against the water's surface to the tune of its shrieking. See! she thought viciously, jerking it through the water. I'm BETTER! Even something with wings can't escape me! The feeling of power was unbeatable, she thought, eating only the meaty body of the bat and casting aside the bony wings. She was a better hunter than to have to waste time struggling to get every last piece of meat! And now she would return to racing along underwater, searching for her newest victim.