Chimera Fields out there

The young woman sure was... bouncy — something that Blackbear pretended away any thoughts or feelings about.

"What all are they called?" he asked her, taking a tiny step back of his own, just to underline how absurd she ought to find her own behavior. A furrowed brow belied the true concern he felt for the stranger. Unless he was terribly mistaken, there was a mountain range between them and Easthollow. Did she know this?

And did she know how long it had been since that place had been called Easthollow? Or was it his own information that was out of date?

"I don't think so," he replied, without knowing just who he was talking to. "But we can recite our bloodlines, if you want. Compare."

Like any good scion of his line, Blackbear could recite his family tree for three generations, forward, backward, and sideways.

"I'm Blackbear Morningside, from Round Valley," he told her. "My mother, Easy, knew Valette. And my father was good friends with Steady. My sister is named after him. But we shared blood with neither."

Yet, he thought to himself, his head tilting a fraction to the side. The families, once (purportedly) very close, had lost track of each other. Perhaps they could change that.

"Who are you?" he asked her.