Bearclaw Valley apertivo

now that val had gotten his first true taste of bloodshed, he could not say he cared for it.

he was silent as he followed stryx. doubt he even belonged in ursus saddled him. before, he and stryx had been strangers. now, a different kind of kinship budded within them.

they were survivors of an unspeakable trauma.

he wanted so badly to break the silence. to ask a million questions. to prod and probe -- but his nose, god, his nose! tears welled in his eyes any time he drank too deep of the air, or moved his tongue.

an immense gratitude for the healer cocooned in the young boy; she had risked her life to save his. if only he could find a way to thumb past the belligerent pain which ruled his muzzle.