Great Bear Wilderness at the edge of the future

As Verrine settled in beside him, Mordecai listened to the admissions that he brought forth… and found himself surprised. Much more time had passed than he realized. He knew that Verrine had taken a mate from their unexpected meeting the last time, but now this? The older Ostrega couldn't resist the urge to smile, and widely at that. As bad as things had been, this certainly put a brightened twist on things, perhaps the silvery thread that he had been looking for all along.

“That's fantastic!” The joy he saw in Verrine was contagious, and though Mordecai had never met Julooke, he couldn't help but wonder what their progeny would come out like. For the most part, they had all been uniform creatures bearing the same color schemes, one way or another. Barring an anomaly or two, of course. “How soon?” was his next query; he already pondered when they would be old enough for him to meet. It had been far too long since he had any interaction with children, especially so closely related. Truly, the last had more than likely been Verrine and Deshyr themselves.