Bearclaw Valley at your back door yelling 'cause I wanna come in

She was like a bear herself. Colored in earth and wide in build. Although he had enough sense about himself to not make this connection out loud to her. Lest she have the good sense to kick him square away.

I don't know.

He cursed himself for saying it again. Those dreaded three little words that seemed to control his life. It left him spiraling and a mess.

I need — structure.

Although he did not drop to his belly and beg for it, there was a tenseness to his voice that served as a plea in and of itself. Let this claw of a valley hold him straight, let it give him that cutting edge he needed to keep living.