Bearclaw Valley when i was young, i'd feed on it

had indra been aware of phocion's internal conflict, she surely would have attempted to resolve it. it would have saddened her greatly to hear he had no soul-tie to this earth, no blood-bound other in which he was tethered. in many ways inconceivable to indra, perhaps it was better to be bereft of kin -- for surely, family only dragged you down.

since her meeting with skwol she knew better than to ask why phocion's tribe was past-tense; the question burned on her tongue, but she dare not utter it. it was not her place -- perhaps someday he would enlighten her of his story, but for now, she assumed like skwol's it was a page on a sorrowful chapter best left unturned. she offered a sweet smile and shook her head in agreement - it was certainly not like that in the wilds.

phocion's genuine inflection in his next words evinced a happy beat of indra's tail -- she rejoined cheerily: "i feel the same way! maybe tomorrow i can introduce you to laurel." she didn't mention that laurel happened to be the less sunny of the two redleaf siblings -- indra found no fault in laurel, but it did not mean no one else could.