Ouroboros Spine tipsigigaa ⫃

Valiant did not know Ciri well, but he offered a wry smile and agreed — "And women," already sensing that they would work well together. It was no secret that he now had three daughters to worry about, and despite all his respect for Kukutux, he wanted them to grow up around women who were strong in other ways. He wanted them to know they could dream of being hunters and warriors, too.

Moonwoman quietly named him sivullik, and the words stood uncontested. With this decided, Valiant opened his mouth to name Ciri as his second.

But one of the younger men spoke up. Valiant didn't know Peregrine any better than he knew Ciri, and he had few reasons to prefer one over the other. But he believed naturally in the competence of women, having spent much of his life looking up to his hyper-competent aunt. He was less convinced of men, being that he was one, and that he was none too impressed with himself.

His gaze flashed back to Ciri, searching for signs of disagreement — and he found himself feeling a tiny pang of disappointment when she easily stepped aside.

There was a part of him that thought Peregrine ought to have kept his mouth shut. Cohesion was important, and Valiant felt an odd undercurrent now of things left unsaid. There was something about his phrasing, too — I want instead of I will. The isbjørn's brow held a tiny furrow while he examined these thoughts, asking himself why it should be so wrong to want something and ask for it. The answer eluded him, for now.

He stole one last glance at Ciri and swept another across the faces of the others before his attention returned to Kukutux. He had no arguments he was willing to voice.