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Nighstar paused at her friend's stumble. "You don't have to move that fast if it hurts," she informed gently. "Do you need to see Boulder or something?"

"I'm fine," Silversnow insisted, putting her full weight on her paw to prove it. She managed not to wince, giving a small smile instead. "See?"

"Ok," Nightstar replied, shadows of doubt hanging in her tone, "If you insist."

Silversnow heard the doub in her voice, but didn't acknowledge it, turning to face in front of her again.

The patrol went on, but other than Daystar's occasional silly stutter, nothing interesting really happened. Nightstar felt good being back when she walked into the Tribe of the North camp, wanting to rest her paws. Ohzu trotted up to her. "Hey, Nightstar, Silversnow," he greeted, "How was the patrol?"

Silversnow shrugged. Her paw still twinged with pain, though it had lessened the more she had walked. The patrol had been rather dull. Walk, scent, walk. Just an ordinary patrol.

Ohzu noticed that Silversnow held one of her paws at an awkward angle. "Hey, Silversnow, are you all right?" he questioned. "She's fine," Nightstar interjected. "Just strained it by accident on the patrol. She'll be all right." Ohzu still looked slightly skeptical. "Are you sure she doesn't need to see Boulder?"

"I'm fine!" Silversnow insisted, unable to keep frustration from edging her voice.

Ohzu backed off a bit. "Ok, ok, if you insist," He said, a bit surprised by Silversnow's snap.

"Sorry," Silversnow mumbled after a moment's silence. Her ears flattened back against her head in displeasure. "I'm just tired of being asked that."

Ohzu gazed at her skeptically. "And I would know that because...?"

A small spark of frustration entered her green eyes. "Sorry, okay?" she repeated, stalking off. Why was she so angry? To be honest, even she didn't know.

Nightstar stared after Silversnow. She wanted to pursue her, to help her, but experience had taught her otherwise. Silversnow just needed a moment to cool down. "Sorry, Ohzu," She apologized awkwardly. "It was a long patrol." Ohzu smiled slightly. "Understood. Can't say I've come back from every hunt perky and happy, after all." Nightstar laughed lightly. "True that," she agreed.

Frustrated and confused, Silversnow headed towards the fringes of camp, wanting to be left alone.

"Silversnow?"

"What?!" the she-wolf asked, snapping in her anger. She saw David, who looked startled. Regret coursed through her, but her strong emotions prevented her from apologizing.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"No!" Silversnow replied, the words only slightly less harsh than the last one. Her green eyes were muddled with bottled up emotion. He silently sat down near her. Though she knew he probably only wanted to help, she wasn't in the mood for company. Not Nightstar's, not David's, not anybody's. Yet she refrained from growling at him to leave, silently trying to sort out her emotions.

"What happened?" David asked, looking at her with concern. Unwilling to answer, Silversnow glowered at the ground near her paws.

"Ah, looks like she's found someone to help with something," Nightstar commented, glanced towards he friend. Ohzu followed her gaze. "Mmm hmm," he agreed, "She dose seem to have a soft spot for David, doesn't she?"
Nightstar responded with another light laugh. "Indeed, she dose."