Blacktail Deer Plateau tumble down

Her name meant light, well fitting for her appearance, and he gave a faint smile in return. "I guess so," he said, though he couldn't help but wonder if her parents had hoped it would take on a greater meaning as she grew. "Mine means messenger. I guess my parents had high dreams I'd be a scout, but I bet they were plenty disappointed when they got me instead," he shrugged and let a humoured grin steal his face, but past his joke his heart felt the familiar twist of cold anger and shame. He knew too well that hadn't been their intent in the least. My messenger - my angel, his mother had often whispered. If he had chosen to become a scout or a healer, his parents couldn't have cared less. They'd had only one prayer for him after their firstborn had died and he had become the eldest of their line: that he would become a protector to his younger kin, in his own generation and in those that followed. If only they could see what his life had become. They would surely grieve at how sorely they had placed their hope.