Deepwood Weald older than the trees

Valiant held his breath while Minnow assessed the location, and then let it out in one great sigh when she seemed to like it. It was a check off the list, but there still seemed to be an impossible amount to accomplish. He couldn't exactly name anything other than seeing the den completed, but he still felt the heaviness of imagined tasks.

"I wish I could be here for it," he said. It felt like a waste of time, standing here instead of digging — but Valiant could do nothing but gaze helplessly at his very pregnant sister in that moment. "But as soon as my kids are born — and when Vairë's settled'n'all — I'll come back. And you can introduce me, and I'll tell you all about their cousins."

He tried to will this future into being, but the truth was that he was afraid this might be the last time he saw her alive. All too easily, he could lose them both.