rio whipped her head around at the sound of a voice — fish flopping in her jaws. a familiar pale face leading to a dark muzzle, and a gait full of grace. her voice melodic. sometimes, she could see her mother in the crane. not in the color of her pelt but in everything else. rio dropped her head. her violet gaze landed on her prize, and rio for a moment crossed her brows. eventually, she mustered the courage to give up her meal, and offered her fish to the empress.
just exploring. i was out fishing.
she spoke, grinning gently up to the queen. she nosed her offering closer to the woman's feet. you can have it, though.
she reassured to woman — actually, it was just reassurance to herself. this fish was for the empress all along, definitely.