Hoshor Plains I will always heed your call

Whether or not this was about Vairë, Valiant did his best to commit these things to memory. As he had suspected, parents were more involved in the process here than in either Round Valley or the spine. But he understood that it was not about control, but togetherness — and this appealed to the isbjørn on a level that existed separately from the moondoe.

He was quiet for a moment after she'd spoken, trying and failing to suppress a tiny smile. He breathed out something that was not quite a laugh, his relief palpable in the near-silent sound.

"I ain't a spine man," he told her, his voice rasping for how quietly he spoke. He swallowed against the feeling before he went on, still slow and still gentle: "I was born in the willows, just the other side of this mountain. I don't know what would've happened if I'd grown up there. Maybe I'd be different. But what happened was my family was torn apart, and I've been clinging to what I've got left ever since. I am not the one that leaves, Miss Moonwoman. Respectfully."

He didn't expect this to convince her. He could tell her anything he wanted to and still retain the ability to do exactly the opposite. But he could tell her what he meant to do, so that she would see that he was a man of his word.

"I wanna join Moonglow," he said, more firmly, now. "I wanna find my place there, even if it ain't by her side. I'll tend her children, but anyone else's, too. 'Cause no matter how it goes, I wanna stay and be part of what makes this village strong. I'll show her that. And I'll show you that, too."

He tucked his chin; his voice hadn't been loud or argumentative, but he worried it would be perceived as an argument all the same. With his ears slicked back, he continued, contrite:

"What I mean is — I'm just real grateful. For a chance to be part of a whole family again. However that looks at the end of the day."