Moonsong Glacier through the fog of an early morn

Dutch could not picture the girl as a wife, either — although it was not any easier to picture her as a mother. Something about the idea still made his stomach squirm uneasily, and he was reluctant to allow her even the chance of it, this year.

"You will have plenty to teach when the time is right," he said instead, fondness thawing the edges of his concerns. "We will teach you to be a mighty warrior, and how to care gently for little lives."

Although they were a little short on those, this year. She was the only woman of the right age on the mountain right then.

"But we will need someone else to bring new life to the glacier," he said, broaching a topic he'd been avoiding until now. "All the women have gone except for you and silenthunter."