Northstar Vale houndmouth

As each of her muscles begin to loosen, so does Warbone start to relent on the pressure for her to do so. He only ever required physical respect, as words hardly meant anything to him anymore. For as much as he speaks, the weight of words never carried on him half as much as the distinct heaviness of tooth and claw did. And some wolves understood a bite better than they did a command. Fortunately for them both -- as the battle surely would have been epic -- the stranger finds value in the latter.

Needless to say, an unbidden stab of disappointment strikes him as he's told she's promised elsewhere. Warbone might have liked nothing more than to have the sun's spear at his side; another mother to the powerful children that would certainly be born in this alcove of the mountains. He liked the ocean, so he somewhat understood her choice, but realized that it was the vain part of him that was hurt -- the part of him that thought himself too magnificent a beast to be passed up by any woman intelligent enough to see his worth.

She saw it. Or at least alluded to it, and it served only to scar him deeper, knowing that this was not enough to keep her. "Not inspiring enough it would seem," he huffed, a dark edge of humor glimmering in his tone. "But I do not fault you for choosing the sea. She is the greatest force we know, after all, and will one day swallow these mountains, long after we wolves have long lost our bones to time."

Warbone sighed, sparing her his gaze so that he might glance northward, towards where the ocean surely lie. He looked back at her, neither threatening nor completely at ease with her. "Queen of the Valkyries... what is your name?"