Duskfire Glacier Ommatik

Meerkat did not appear pleased by his words, which left him feeling as though he had stepped out of place and had assumed too much. Issorartuyok did not understand fully. The young scout had declared that she felt things for him, and he had stated that he had been sharp to keep his own feelings in check. The more he thought back to their previous talk, the more he felt that they had not actually accomplished anything with it.

The girl seemed to dwell in this idea that more was required. The eldest Tatkret did not.

Issorartuyok was a man who came from people who spoke their minds and shared the feelings that weighed on their chest. They existed as a cohesive unit that supported each other. In the village of his homeland, when two wolves sought to make a life together, it was not done so with careful tiptoeing or tight-lipped longing. If two wolves sought to build a life, they would declare it and then they would set to work to make it happen.

Was this not what they had discussed, in a way?

Meerkat seemed to believe that he needed to ask her another question before she could give him any answer. Issorartuyok stared at her, uncertain and flustered. The dark brown in his eyes shifted from her features to the distant woods and then to the mountains. It was an expression of a man who was searching for the answer – what was he supposed to ask?

Another question?

The man blinked and tilted his head at her.

Are… you well on this day to discuss important matters, Meerkat?

That must have been it.