Moonsong Glacier fall at your feet

He did not have it in him to be suspicious of a woman, so the stranger's concern read as genuine enough even in this heightened state of wariness. He regarded her with a tired sort of curiosity, too out of sorts to make efficient inquires as to who she was.

"Morningsong moved to the Weald, a day's travel from here," he informed her. This was a fact. Easy enough to recite. He could still smell Dutch's scent markers — not borders, but messages left behind for some unknown entity. It did not occur to him that this was she. "I thought to check the village, too. No one has lived there for months, as far as I know — but she's not in the woods."

It was time to broaden their search.

He began moving toward to village, inviting the stranger along with a swish of his tail.

"Her daughter is missing, too," he went on, his voice grave. He gave a quick description of Nutuyiruk, his heart aching as she entered his mind. He was a distant figure to her, but he had watched over her with as much love as he had his own daughters. Moonglow was his family, now, and all of its children were precious to him.

Finally, he looked at Tulugak directly.

"I beg your pardon — I never got your name," he told her. "I'm Valiant Morningside," he added, an afterthought. "First hunter of Moonglow."