Bearclaw Valley Because he was a better boy, and more loved by the angels

Aventus led them away from the snacking black bear, which lifted its beady eyes to watch them go, and up toward the rocky edges of the valley where sheer walls rose and guarded them all from intrusion. No, he admitted when Arielle asked after Evien. Not really. He healed me when I was injured as a kid. No point mentioning how that happened. Admitting that one of their allies had slammed him into the ground felt strangely weak, and he absolutely didn't want to admit any weakness to anyone, least of all Arielle.

My father and he were good friends, he shared. He kept Evien's skull when he died. For remembrance, I think. Was that too personal to share? For Aventus, it was a simple fact of living with Ursus that the wolves here had unusual habits and hobbies. His mother's bone pile came to mind. There was a reason Evien's skull had not joined that pile, and he assumed it was because Merrick wished to remember the medic fondly, and not associated with a moldering pile of bones.

Ahead, he spotted the yawning cave mouth where Evien treated the sick and injured of Ursus, felt the ground transition to moss and then damp stone under his feet as he led Arielle into it. I spent some time here, he said, pricking his ears at the sound of his own voice echoing. Water trickled out of the cave through the entrance, but the interior was comprised of dry rock raised around a natural spring. Sunlight broke through a hole in the ceiling to glisten on the surface.

Evien stayed up there, said Aventus, pointing his muzzle toward the higher caverns where a second entrance opened. He doesn't need it anymore, so if you plan to follow in his paws, you can probably have it.