Bearclaw Valley b

Whilst her father may not be present, she at least had someone there to watch out for her when her mother could not. Although he doubted there would come a day when he was to meet this Greyback fellow, he had a positive view of him already; it said a lot about a man when they treated the children of their wife’s past lover’s kindly.

Despite her patience, nothing came of it. Kove did not continue to speak in regards to the subject, choosing to leave it alone for now instead; he had never been particularly fond of his past actions or of how he’d not had the opportunity to play a key role in the lives of his daughters. Everything that led up to him having such a strained relationship with his daughter was better left unspoken, as far as he was concerned. And so, his attention veered right off towards her comment, at which he couldn’t help but chuckle, too. “I suppose it does,” he agreed. “How my family thinks and lives, we are as connected to the spirits of our ancestors and lost loved ones as we can be. I guess I have a tendency to forget that not everyone is so accustomed to that way of thinking. For us, it is not scary to be close to the spirits and able to connect with them.” In Blackfeather, driven by the Dark Brotherhood, many sought to summon the dead and speak to them—perhaps even manipulate them against their wills. With the northerners, however, one would not dare to disgrace their ancestors in such a way. Over time, being influenced by those that surrounded him, he had lost touch with that part of his heritage—but now that he was away from them, he was free to embrace his family’s values without worry of persecution.

“I imagine it is,” he responded with a frown. “My absence and, later, my anger damaged what bond we could have had.” He remembered his anger, his pain, that drove such vile words from his mouth during one of her visit—-back when she had delivered the news of Scarlett’s passing. He had not been the least bit kind and, when they should have come together as a family to mourn their loss, he’d only driven them further apart. Although, maybe there was room for change now. “I’m glad, too. I don’t believe we ever would have met, had you not,” he admitted, though the fact that they had met brought the ghost of a smile back to his face—which faltered at her next question.

“I left when I should have stayed,” he answered—it was the simplest way Kove could think to explain it. “I came from a land far from here. When I was younger, my family and I believed that my sister had passed away. We were heartbroken—it’s hard to lose someone that you were born alongside, and I hope you never experience that pain.” It was a pain that could not be remedied, and one that he still felt for little Eska, who was not able to return as Sakari had. “News travelled back to me that she had shown up alive and I felt obligated to make the journey away to confirm it for myself. But, in doing so, I’d left your grandmother alone to lead a pack and pregnant. I don’t think she ever forgave me for that.” At the time, he’d been so caught up in the unbelievable happening that he just couldn’t think straight—every inch of his mind had shouted at him to go north, to see his little sister with his own two eyes. But now that he’s older… he would do anything to go back and change history.