Ouroboros Spine Aliuk-aimagvik

Welcome.

The greeting, friendly as it was, took the panther by surprise. He'd expected some sort of resentment or sheepishness in light of all that had happened, and it occurred to him now for the first time that he'd likely not crossed Kigipigak's mind nearly as much as the man had crossed his own. Their burgeoning camaraderie had been cut perilously short by his hunting with Chakliux. He'd not been a fixture in the man's life for some time by the time they'd departed.

That didn't mean he was immune to the hurt this dismissiveness left in his heart. He wondered, though, if he wasn't being to sensitive about the whole ordeal.

"Welcome back," Dutch replied, matching his tone and his expression to the trader's. To the former trader's, rather. The scent of pups marked him now as a father, and Dutch wished his own children were here already so that he could say, me too — and have something more to talk about with the man. But it was not so. "I am glad to see you well," he told him, quite honestly, "And your family expanded!"