Hat's Hartwood Lore
Almighty Hat has been a huge influence on the Hartwood, as she's the one I've thrown ideas with back and forth as we've both worked on our respective BJD collections. Hat is also a prolific writer, and has written some ficlets set in the Hartwood. Jump to each short below, or if you want to see the fandom stuff she writes, check out her Archive of Our Own page.
Cousins
"Cousin," said the Wolf, in cautious greeting, from just within the tree line.
"Coz," said the Good Dog, in the pasture with her flock.
What a lot of mutton you have, cousin," said the Wolf.
"It's been a good spring," agreed the Good Dog.
"Can you spare one or two? Older or sickly?" asked the Wolf. "There are pups hungry in their dens, and surely your pack can't eat all of these, cousin."
"You're begging at the wrong table, coz," said the Good Dog. "My compact with our Throwers is to protect the flock. It's the Throwers who decide which sheep to eat and when."
"And what do you get from this compact, cousin?" the Wolf asked. "If you don't get mutton whenever you want it?"
"Meat I don't have to catch once a day," said the Good Dog, "or at least eggs or cheese if meat is lean, all the bones I need, a warm safe den for my pups, and all the Fetch I care to play, until the day I die."
"... That's not a bad bargain," the Wolf had to admit. "But I wouldn't want to make one if it meant I couldn't hunt when I pleased."
"Some don't," agreed the Good Dog, "and that's why we're only cousins, coz. But there's other compacts you can make, with the Throwers."
"... For meat? Mutton?"
"Or eggs or cheese. Or other snacks. Throwers make lots of snacks."
"What sort of compacts can a Wolf make, if a Wolf doesn't want to be a Dog?" asked the Wolf.
The Good Dog huffed, because she didn't know all the things that went through Throwers' heads. "Ask the Bone Buck," said the Good Dog, "or if you're not on good terms with him, ask a Crow, or some Cats. ... Can't promise the Cats will all answer you, or tell you true. They're Cats."
"I will think on that," said the Wolf. "Truly-- is there nothing you can spare? Not for hungry pups?"
"No mutton or lamb, coz," said the Good Dog. "And don't try your luck with the Geese. But there's a rabbit warren not far from the droving trail. I smell them, bringing the Flock to the grass, but have no time to catch them myself. No reason nobody ought to eat them, coz."
"Pups can eat rabbit as well as mutton," agreed the Wolf. "You are cleverer than I expected, cousin."
"That's the difference between a Dog and a Good Dog, coz," said the Good Dog.