Bearclaw Valley i wish i was a normal girl, i'll never be

Her voice was charming, with an accent rolled on so thick he had trouble catching words here and there. Nevertheless, the general sentiment of her speech seemed friendly, and he did at least catch her name at the end--Blondine. Blondine Abernathy.

"Pardon my rudeness," Phocion said, his voice sparkling with good humor. He gave her a short bow, extending his right leg ever so slightly in something that might have been called "courtly," in another world. "My name is Phocion. Pleasure to meet you."

He wondered at this pack that seemed to contain a plethora of women but no males, apart from himself and Xan. It seemed rather lopsided. The tribe back home had held a fairly even number of males and females; anytime the scales tipped one way or the other, chaos seemed to break out. He hoped that didn't happen here.

The rustling of the wind was the only sound for a long moment, and Phocion finally broke the silence, nodding down at her collection of herbs. "I don't know much about the plants," he admitted, one corner of his mouth lifting in a smile. "What have you got here?"