Moonsong Glacier And we won't let it in

The words Simbelmyne shared with him were much like the ones said to him by Chickadee. Like it had then, the certainty and simplicity of these things drew him out of darker thoughts. The spring would come. That was irrefutable.

It gave him enough heart smile at Simbelmyne's question.

"A brother is someone with whom you have shared a womb," he said, his tone putting an odd spin on these words. "You could call us brothers, then, perhaps." It was a crude joke, and though he'd amused himself with it, a shine in his eyes belied the weight of the matter. "It is a private thing. These children will be born to him, in his lodge, but they will still carry a part of me."

He'd treasured such a bond once before, seemingly a lifetime ago. This one, he thought, would not end the same.

"But tell me what you've been up to," he said, his eyes twinkling once more. He wanted to know just generally, of course — but he was curious about her time with Alaric as well.