Bearclaw Valley whiskeyteeth

three bears and an idiot rolled up to the redpath; it sounded like the start of a bad joke, but really, it was exactly how val felt as they finally came to the origin of ursus. he was relieved he had not been tasked with holding any of the grim artifacts. more than once, he had inadvertently glanced the way of arielle and the skull in her mouth -- and to his utter horror, he found it stared back.

merrick's voice was the first to climb high over the still valley. arielle's followed, and then came val's. he was not good at many things, but he was a singer; his songbird cry twirled and weaved around the voices of his pack, climbing ever higher into a sky ringed by pale cirrus.