[ He tilts his head back when they part. Behind them, the tree twinkles. He touches her cheek, then lowers his hand to settle it on her waist. They don't need to talk about it. This says enough. ]

A sandskid. One of those massive worms. [ The kind that you can feel emerging miles away, like a small quake. ] Ugly bastard. Sturdy teeth, though.

[ He actually cannot tell if its body contains more teeth, or if its teeth are made of the claws on its body. They appear identical in shape and material. The biology of the beast makes no difference in how it dies, so he's never looked too closely into it. ]

I killed it some weeks back. Went out there for Howler, and watched this thing swallow it whole instead.

[ So he'd cut it open and retrieved both. Paid for two kills for the effort of one, which is about as well as a job can go. He can't complain. And it netted him a tooth that she will find is incredibly durable. He'd had to dig around in the back of its mouth for one of the smaller ones. He kept it for a bit, then finally brought it to a jeweller. Had Christmas not been near, he'd likely have given it to her without any real occasion behind it. ]