He watched her take the rock in her mouth. Wasn’t quite what he had intended, but that way seemed to work too. ‘That's . . . satisfying.’ Yes, I suppose it is, he thought in response. Doing something with his hands certainly did help to quieten his nervous energy and allow his thoughts to be more coherent.

“Be canny, ye don’t wantae git a skelf.” He tended to get small pieces of wood stuck in his paws, which were really no trouble to remove. But around the mouth may be more problematic.