Ragged Starlight

The grey velvet of the long coat was bare in places, looked, on peremptory glance, like cat skins sewn together, stitched here, patched there. Velvet Joe stood up on his hind legs, positioned his front paws on the silk lining. It tore with a burst of powdered cloth and a heavy object, not quite a stone, dropped to the floor with a leathery thump.It made, this heavy, organic object, a sticky brown stain. Velvet Joe nipped and gnawed at it, not with the intention of a meal but because he had to carry it quite a distance and, after all these years, there was no room for error.It's rush hour in Havoc Wood and the Way Sisters are run off their feet escorting Visitors, Travellers and all manner of Guests through the highways and byways of their home. When sightings of a white deer in Woodcastle go viral the Ways must deal with the fallout from the hunters and poachers this prey attracts. As the net closes in on the otherworldly creature the Ways understand that sometimes the Gamekeepers have no choices, that the only thing to do is watch and wait.