Grouse Thicket Thousands of sunsets

the other's eyes were the colour of a wintertime river, but her tones were gentle. inquiring. too soft for a stranger. eshamun knew this but said nothing of it; the woman lifted her chin. "a home." the copse where she and her followers had settled had been unclaimed. it belonged to them, and though the woman was not violent by nature, she would defend fiercely the land she had claimed for the malkaria.

surely the other knew this. for the moment, however, eshamun was open. inviting. affable. "and yourself?" she murmured, wondering if this woman belonged to a pack nearby.