PONY RETURNED WITH a fresh kill. Deer and elk were abundant in the mountains so it hadn’t taken her moor lion persona long to bring a young elk down. Transforming back into her human form, she hung the elk up in the stables, gutted it and carved a portion out of its flank for dinner. The children found some wild onions and Mikado rooted through the nearby trees to find some mushrooms growing on a fallen log.
When the children were fed, Pony took them down to the lake for a cleansing swim. The outline of the distant mountains beneath the shimmering glow of the moonlight flickering across the surface of the lake offered the children a false sense of safety. Pony kept a watchful eye then ushered the children inside. Nana watched over them as they fell asleep in the large bed at the rear of t
