Moonsong Glacier be the moth to my flame

Although he was not one to take the truth for granted, he saw no reason to be suspicious of her words. In this case, he believed that what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him — and so he believed her. And what a strange land she'd come from! Though not the kind that Dutch was entirely unfamiliar with. It was these sorts of packs that hired bounty hunters, after all.

Finally, on her last point, she earned a tiny smirk from the chief.

"Sure enough," he replied, borrowing a favored phrase of his cousin.

They had come to the common place, where kills were often left and where Dutch could often be found. There were sleeping places near, some sheltered and some under the open sky. It smelled of the pack, although not as strongly as Dutch would have liked.

"When your time comes, you must stay away from the red man who lives here," he said, deciding this on Eira's behalf. "There is a doctor here called Leith. You may ask him. Or my father, Aditya — you may seek him. If they do not please you, then you may seek outside the village — "

He wavered for a moment, on whether or not to add this: "But I would be far more invested, I think, in the wellbeing of my brothers and sisters than the offspring of a stranger."