Moonsong Glacier through the fog of an early morn

She could be. Dutch would not forbid it; he was not sure he could enforce such a thing, after all. He tried never to place himself in situations where those he cared for could go against him. Sometimes that meant manipulation, but more often, it meant bending his own wants to better align with others'. Even so, he could think of no easy answer for Sulukinak.

"If you were ready, then it would be good," he said to her, choosing his words carefully. "I cannot presume to know when a woman is ready or not — " Not aloud, anyway — "but you are not yet a woman. And you will be very new to your womanhood when the time comes."

Plenty were ready as soon as their season touched them. There was something in Sulukinak, however, that he was not sure spring would see healed.

"I think that you should wait until next year," he told her. "But you are welcome at my side, whatever you choose."