Ouroboros Spine or in the temple of absent gods

The warmth that came into his eyes was born partially out of relief to speak on lighter topics, and partially out of familiarity. There was something very nice about hearing names he already knew. So often, wolves only seemed to exist while he could see them with his own eyes. Such was the life of a traveler. But he had been close to this place for weeks, now, and Vairë was one of the wolves that'd left an impression on him most positively.

"I met her when she visited Moonsong," he said, his tail sweeping the dirt behind him. "She's a real whip, that one. Ariadne's lucky to have examples like you'n'her."

This was something he could speak on with a little more authority — he'd met a lot of leaders over the years, and while he would never possess the kind of charisma and spiritual perception that Dutch used to such great affect, he had a good instinct for others' capability and leadership potential. Vairë had impressed him with her poise and relatability, and he saw something in her that he thought might be missing in her younger sister.

At moonwoman's question, Valiant gave an embarrassed little huff — but the tired smile remained warm and true in the slight curve of his mouth.

"My aunt, Easy — that's Dutch's momma. They call her the black bear. She's near-on as big as one. When he parents died, she kinna took me on, but we didn't stay nowhere 'til we got to some distant family. I didn't know anyone, but they were all so happy t'see her. Probably they were happy to see me, too, but I was young, y'know? And she was all I had. They must've seen how worried I was, thinkin' she didn't have no need of me anymore. They started callin' me little bear or bear cub — and she weren't my momma. She weren't much more than a girl then, either. But she made it real clear we were a set. So, it stuck. And when I got too big to be little bear, they called me ice bear instead. Isbjørn."

His smile widened, turning more rueful. "Easy'll still call me little bear any chance she gets," he admitted, his tail whisking once more. "Course, she's still bigger'n me. She's like that, though. Vairë made me think of her — clever-like."