By the time they reached town, Amuné was slightly more comfortable with Ethan, if only because he seemed to be trying really hard to be nice.  That was good, right?  But she reminded herself that smiling faces could be lying.  She should leave.  She would, once she had a few things so she'd be okay on her own.  Flint.  Steel.  A bag...did she dare steal food too?  She shouldn't need that much.  Her parents should come find her soon -- she was sure of it.

The town didn't let them in at first.  When they did, she saw that it was a tiny place, even smaller than Pinesgrove.  The nice healer split off, and for a moment Amuné thought about going after him.  But she didn't really want to go inside, even with Adrian.  She was uneasy -- she hadn't been in a town since....

The girl shook her head, trying to dislodge the awful thoughts, and buried her face in Wyth's fur for a long moment.  The other child seemed to want to go as well.  Was he running away too?  Maybe she should stick with him -- he'd understand better, wouldn't he?  But someone approached them before she could act on the idea, a young woman with a staff, saying sharp things and asking about her parents.

Amuné took a step backwards.  Images flickered across her vision, too quickly to make sense of.  She was glad when the foreman arrived, and took the woman's -- Freya's -- attention away.  "Wyth, his name's Wyth," she said softly at the accusation.  "And he's a good boy, he protects me."  She wrapped her arms around the moorcat's neck and smiled unsteadily when he nuzzled her face.  Would they make Wyth leave?  She wouldn't let them -- she'd rather go than be separated from him.  She'd find another group of travelers, or maybe she could sneak into a town, or...anything rather than let him be turned out while she stayed.  Tigers was scary, but not as scary as being alone among strangers.  Even nice ones.