"Miss Pavelle, O'Connor didn't mean anything by it. He's just friends with Felix, is all, and was just curious. Honest."
Pavelle gave a tiny, tight smile at the little bird sitting on her shoulder. "I know, I know. Just... I first met Felix on a very bad day for me." She took another deep breath, calming down, and then added, somehow wistfully, "Sorry for being so unstable with my emotions. I had an interesting encounter with my father this morning, and it kinda set a bad precedent for the entire day."
"'Aow about ye 'elp an ol' mutt with bahd joints carreh this rope bahck tu the rivere, eh?"
Pavelle smiled again, and this time it was a little more natural. She was grateful for the change in subject, and she couldn't help but think that the others were, too. Though that might have just been her emotions flavoring her perception of her companions, who knew? She accepted the rope, looping it over her shoulder so it was easier to carry. "So, this all we need?" She tried to keep her voice light, carefree. She didn't want another repeat of memories, or anything else, for that matter. That sort of stuff always exhausted her, for some reason. Plus it was highly uncomfortable and unwanted.
Meanwhile...
Felix helped Magnus break off the last of the better branches from the tree, carefully staying away from the big dog's touch the entire time. He mock-wiped his brow purely for effect, as if he were tired, and then bent down and heaved up a branch. It was thick enough that he could hardly put his arms around it. Of course, his wingspan wasn't even close to a human's, or Magnus', for that matter, but still. The thing was pretty thick. "Okay, Magnus, grab as many of the branches we cleared that you can, and come this way." He motioned back towards where they had come, and started half-dragging his branch in that direction. Behind him, he heard a stale grinding of wood against wood, and looked back over his shoulder. Magnus held three of the branches in his arms, balanced precariously one on top of the other. Felix had to try not to ogle. This one branch was hard enough to lift by itself. Felix really couldn't get the whole thing off the ground, though that was partially because the thing was too long, taller than he was. But still, the dog made him feel weak, in comparison. Magnus had three whole branches lifted off the ground. They had to be almost as tall as the Great Dane, and as thick as the one Felix held. Magnus started lumbering after him, feet digging into the meager grass, and passed easily by Felix as the raccoon dragged his sole branch away. They eventually got to the original place they had started at, by the river, and dumped their wood on the ground. Truthfully, they should probably cut the things down a little, they were so long. Of course, if two raccoons, a Scottish Terrier, and Magnus, plus Tory, were all going to fit on one raft, if only for a couple minutes, they would need as much room as they could get. They returned to the forest for a second trip, on the idea that it was better to have more than enough wood than not enough at all.
