Bearclaw Valley verbena

Ico had not returned to the spot on the riverside since that darkling night. Having been warned before joining the pack that Ursus was unafraid of blood or death, he had subconsciously been ready for such an event and had steeled himself, apparently untraumatised. But he was scared that the trespassing black wolf might return, and his fear was likely well-founded; the shadowy stranger had been wild and irrational, but, unlike the other wild and irrational beasts in these lands, he was not on Ico's side.

But fear was not something to hide from; it was something to face. And so he left the confines of his mostly-fallen maple tree, intending to return to that riverside. But Ico was interrupted halfway there, and lowered his elfin body in quiet submission as soon as the sooty phantom slunk easily into view.

Hullo Merrick.