Duskfire Glacier Autumn was soft

"Oh, the stars!" Veteran said excitedly, delighted to find something they had in common. "I love the stars." He smiled over at her. If they walked his whole patrol route going clockwise, they would end their tour near his favorite platform on the Plain, which was perfect for watching the northern lights. His heart beat a little faster, thinking of sitting under the lights with Samani, watching the colors flicker across her dainty features.

He thought he would very much like to see Moonglow someday, especially if the moon princess could be his tour guide. Before he could voice this thought though, Samani asked about his scar. 

"Oh, um..." he faltered. "It was really stupid," he admitted, heat rising in his cheeks. He might have made up a heroic story, if his present company had been anyone other than Samani. As it was though, her presence flustered him to the point that his imagination was unable to race and build as usual. 

"I picked a fight I probably shouldn't have." A pause, and he added, "It was my sister. Half-sister. Ex-half-sister." Could sisters be exes? He wasn't sure. "She ran away from home a moon ago," he explained. 

Their patrol brought them to his favorite spot on the glacier: the eastern edge of the ice, which ended abruptly and looked out over the permafrost hollows down below. Veteran loved being eye-level with the treetops, and occasionally there were animals down below that he could watch. He could probably sit at this edge for hours watching the Hollows, but there was always a patrol to which he needed to return. Duty would never cease to call, he was beginning to realize.