Moonsong Glacier the place I want to be is somewhere in your heart

The panther frowned. "Perhaps," he allowed, but he had been taught that these things were not love; only selfishness disguised as it. He did not know the extent of Ulloriaq's worries. Either way, he did not want to argue with her then, when he should not have said anything on the matter in the first place.

Guiltily, he realized he was glad it was out in the open, even if it had shocked her. There, he thought, was the selfishness. Perhaps there was more to Ulloriaq's claims that he'd first thought.

"And I, you," he readily agreed, his tail whisking. He turned to lead them back toward the common place, and to the caves that opened up into the icy mountain nearby. "You will have rest here," he said, stealing another worried glance at her. "And fresh meat. I hunted — I have hunted, I think, since I first heard your call!"

He told her about the new faces among them: Simbelmyne, who thus far stayed as a guest. Hototo, the loud-mouthed but charming refugee. Eira, who was sweet and diligent, and who was quickly winning their sunset man's heart. His father, Aditya, who was as much fun as a bucket of fish — and had always been, according to his mother. Finally, "And there's Nephele." There was a look on his face. A look that said he'd been taught manners, and that among them were the old adage: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

"She's a hard read," he said, a slight change in accent suggesting this was a borrow term. "She came to us in search of a place to have her first litter. In her last pack, she was a negotiator." His uncertainties over her inclusion in the pack were clear, but it was not a matter he found very pressing.

"Also with us is Sulukinak," he went on, his tone lightening. "I don't know if you met her. She's a strange one, too, but a sweet spirit, I think. I have grown very fond of her. She and Fallen Sun — we would not have lasted long without them. Nor without Leith, though he sometimes gets wrapped up in his studies — he still hunts. We all hunt."

And Towhee Junior.

Dutch didn't know what to say about her.