Tormented Tarns you got time to reconcile with your fear

The sharing of information was a practice not often utilized by lone wolves, but Tulimaq was glad that he had found a willing participant. Wolves benefitted from aiding one another, whether they were sworn by blood to do so, by politics, or by the fact that they understood the toils of the road. It was an effortless thing to help your own kind. A creed that Tulimaq hoped would persist long after he was gone.

He was silent as he listened. If what this man told him was true, there were many packs and many opportunities for him to test himself; this was good, this gave him hope for his future as well as the future of their shared species. Should he encounter beasts of like-mind to the valley wolves, Tulimaq would probably lose heart.

Interesting. I will seek them out first, then. A river was an easy thing to cross, but a pack brimming with warriors was not. That was what made him want to try. The challenge was an idealization, of course. He was just as likely to stumble upon a maze of twisting trees but find it vacant, and if that were the case he'd be tempted to return to the valley — hunt this seemingly kind man down — and test his mettle against him instead, but likely to the death. He did not accept betrayals lightly.

Alas, he would not bring that up right now. There were other things for him to do, places to be, people's asses to kick. Thank you, he muttered instead, with a dip of his head, Travel well, friend. Perhaps I will run in to you again should the west prove as useless as this valley. His tone turned a little bit lighter, more like he was trying to say a joke but still somewhat rough around the edges. With that, he was turning and departing.