You already know what I think of this for the most part, but let me give you some more insight publicly:
So, obviously I absolutely love the overall look! You managed to convey the idea I had, and you managed to do it perfectly! The shadows don't look out of place, and are instead in harmony with the lighting and characters. I'd say you mastered this challenge indeed, and you've gotten noticeably better yet again in terms of shading, details and the usual stuff of great art!

Now personally, there is only one single thing I've noticed which I look at with mixed emotions. "Mixed" meaning neither negative nor positive, just something I wanted to point out which I like on the one hand, but dislike a bit on the other. It's obvious that you were in the process of finding your own style, and in doing so you went from "realistic cartoon style with an LBT flair" to "LBT cartoon style with a realistic flair". For example, you didn't do the dewclaws here (though they would've been very difficult to add, I admit), and the way you draw some claws now, in contrary to a few months ago, is very "friendly" (them being a bit round and less sharp). As I said, this is nothing I would criticize, however, I can't help but point this out as I tend to like realism more than accurate representation of fandom looks, if that makes sense.

In any event, again, I can only say that this is just another one of your best pieces, and I look forward to working together with you once more.

I agree.
Shorty's depiction is quite on point, his actions fitting to his personality. He doesn't mean harm, but also cannot sit still and let others damage his pride, even though it might be unintentional and he just subconsciously believes that others are. Which makes up for a very interesting and, I agree on that, an often overlooked character.

I can't see anything "boring" in your writing. There are no errors I could see, and it has a good flow to it. If I could suggest one thing, though, I personally would like to see a little bit more description whenever a special action takes place, such as Shorty launching the rock into Dimitri's path. I feel like by lengthening even a quick action just a bit, you can add a certain tense to it in which the reader nervously anticipated the outcome.
For example:

"Shorty nudged the rock into position, lined himself up behind it, taking aim. Eyes firmly fixed on his target, he let his knees bend slightly and angled his tail back. He took a deep breath, relaxed his muscles on the exhale, tensed in one fluid motion, and-

CRACK

Disaster.

He hadn’t fully accounted for the distance, or the erratic morning breeze. None of that he had really thought about. The rock plunged like a flyer in full dive, with deadly precision, straight into a patch of soft earth below Dimitri's feet. Shorty watched, entranced, as the patch of earth crumbled away, and the sudden loss of footing shifted Dimitri’s weight violently to the right. He seemed to hang in the air for an eternity, toes barely gripping the edge, tail thrashing in an automatic attempt at correction. To no avail.

And then, in an instant, he toppled."

Now, I do not know if that's just me, but by adding those very small additions I feel like you can add some spice to it. Or maybe I'm just spewing nonsense.
After all, everyone has a unique style.

Anyway, this is off to a very nice start and I look forward to seeing how this develops.

T

Correct. "White Tip's Journey" is one of my favorites from the 2003 documentary Dinosaur Planet. It's the story about a female Velociraptor finding a new pack and starting a family in the unforgiving desert of Mongolia.

W H I T E | T I P'S | _ O _ R N E _

Right letters: S,O,E,I,H,T,P,W,N,R

Wrong letters: A,B,L

Misses remaining: 7

W H I T E | T I P'S | _ O _ _ _ E _

Right letters: S,O,E,I,H,T,P,W

Wrong letters: A,B

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_ H I T E | T I _'S | _ O _ _ _ E _

Right letters: S,O,E,I,H,T

Wrong letters: A

Misses remaining: 9

And correct again...

_ _ I _ E | _ I _'S | _ O _ _ _ E _

Right letters: S,O,E,I

Wrong letters: A

Misses remaining: 9

_ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _'S | _ O _ _ _ _ _

Right letters: S,O

Wrong letters: A

Misses remaining: 9

Feel you. I used to own a HTC Mozart, Windows Phone. Needless to say, it was the worst piece of garbage I had ever possessed. Literally everything about it was crap, except some selct few design choices. Now that I own an Android HTC One, I can really see the difference in App variety, functionality and quality of the whole OS.

I should note that I am not defending MS by any means here. Like I said, I am very conflicted about this and still hope they refrain from applying this money-grab tactic even for business users.