Duck Lake cousin elk

The panther barked out a laugh at this rejoinder, not to mock, but to express the sudden helplessness he felt. It was shallow and fleeting, for he knew he had everything he could want already. But, "You tempt me," he admitted, wondering at the full context of such a statement. Did moving into a lodge mean you joined a family? It was something more intimate than a pack, he thought, since Chakliux still claimed Moontide, but it did not seem that all of them dwelled in his domain.

"But Moonsong — I am called to the glacier still." He studied the seal hunter's face for a moment before quietly conceding, "Perhaps not for forever."

The question brought a gusty sigh past the panther's lips. He looked out at the waters once more, his own thoughts drifting to cloudwoman, and to the ragtag team she'd put together.

"It is not only up to her," he said after a moment. "And she must be more than a leader. More than a friend. Where there are no blood ties, lives must be woven together with skill. And she is young yet. Injured. She will focus on her brood through the spring. When I left — " He wasn't sure. He thought of Sulukinak, and he fretted for a moment over how she might be getting along. "There were many loose threads. I worry they will be left awry in my absence."