As he spoke of family and poor luck, Liss sat upright again and listened attentively with her front paws touching together... in a pose so neat and polite it might be unnerving, given the complete lack of indication she was even capable of such serenity up to this point.

But when he invited her to join the search for Sølvi, her tail started wagging again. She sounds amazing! I'll definitely ask around. Someone like that has to have stuck out in people's minds! Sølvi reminded Liss of the Sun Goddess, mother of wolvenkind, and thought it was no surprise her radiance was missed.

She almost said so, but she was still kinda thinking about how he felt like a black sheep (red sheep?) and ultimately that pulled her attention back. Her nose wrinkled.  How can you be bad luck just for being a color? You know, my Mam's people thought she was cursed, too. They found her out in the snow as a baby, and the Ade leading the pack, at the time — my great-grandad, wanted to leave her for dead. A pouty, though serious, nod.

She has fur whiter than white, and eyes that turn blood-coloured in daytime. He said she was a monster. But her dad, my grandpa, stood up for her! Which was really brave! 'Cause you're not really supposed to argue with the Ade, even if you're his kin. But Grandpa didn't care. He said all children are gifts by the gods, and raised her as his own. She grew up to be a Hunt Master! And then Elksa by Papa's side. Not bad luck at all. The pout deepened into a frown, Someone should have stood up to your mom, too.

A heartbeat of a pause, not long enough to appreciate the gravity of her own words, and Liss continued, But if you're really worried about it, Mam also says you can roll in juniper berries to keep ghosts away. Plus they make you smell nice. A blink, Uh, not that you smell bad right now, or anything. I just mean. In general.