Stavanger Bay shiver down my backbone

val's mouth parted -- that was not how he meant it, but he supposed everyone had their own perspective. he clapped his jaws shut with a rueful smile. everyone walked a different journey.

val thought of dwin as a very independent woman - she was right, she needed no man -- but that did not mean she was not deserving of meaningful connections, either. the thing about being independent, val found, was that sometimes it became too hard to ask for help.

as far as being jealous, val understood. he tried to push away his own thoughts on jealousy, for they made him feel incredibly small. luring children into caves? no. but i will have you know, that cave lured one of sapphique's children not too long ago. not so safe for puppies, i've learned. or adults, for that matter. he grew silent for a moment, recalling the strange dream he'd had some months back about the grotto. he rubbed his head.

it didn't surprise him that dwin and her sister were very different people. he remembered feeling that way about his own sibling, who was now dispersed to the thousand trade winds. he hoped where-ever she was, if she was even alive, that she was happy. siblings have a way of doing that. he confirmed, placing his paw back onto the ground. i think that is how you grow as a person. if you are not being challenged, are you really growing at all?