Bearclaw Valley I've often seen a cat without a grin

it was the first time that merrick though he had ever heard arielle say it;
motherly
bad things befell mothers in ursus.
the woman with the cut throat. the blackbird standing in her blood. the raven queen lying in her own;
motherly
merrick was incensed and pleased, each with its own intensity.
"i admire your devotion, bruin-heart. i do not want them dead. not if they can be — remolded. reforged in the spirit of the bear."
merrick's eye held something akin to warmth.