Ouroboros Spine cottonmouth

Valiant's posture adjusted only just barely when Arrluk arrived, at least in part as an after-thought. His feelings on the young male's ascension were not complex, but he, too, had not imagined that the whale wolf might one day be his superior in this way. He had no problem with it — this was Arrluk's birthright, after all — but it was taking a bit of getting used to. So, while he greeted the other man with warmth, there was a short beat before he let his tail droop a fraction in deference to the younger man.

Just a fraction, though. It was impossible to relax much more with a stranger standing in front of them. Even if said stranger spoke prettily indeed.

And he'd hoped it might be this— a stranger in search of a home, rather than another bearer of bad news. Stealing a glance at Arrluk, he wondered (privately!) just how much more bad news could be borne by the wolves of Moonglow. And, looking back at the stranger, he wondered (far more transparently) if he wouldn't make bad news of himself by the end of it.

It was getting more and more difficult to trust strangers.

"Many have," he replied, not unkindly, "Though they don't stay strangers for long if they wanna stick around. Why don't we start with names? I'm Valiant, and this is Arrluk."