Sunset Valley don't sweat the technique

Kitimat still smelled like home; Katmai drew in the familiar scents and thought, for a moment, about calling the whole thing off. Telling his brother that that he'd seen enough and that he was done, now, and that they ought to just go home. That embrace almost broke him — but it bolstered him, too. And he felt stronger as they drew apart.

Strong enough to carry on.

"Excellent," he said with relish, his jovial tone belying the naked relief and sentiment in his eyes. "Because Blackbear wandered off over a week ago, actually — he went roving."

Which had been a popular activity for the youths at Round Valley, but not one that he'd felt compelled to participate in, even if it'd been allowed. Even now, he felt more queasy than interested in the idea of tracking down women to flirt with. He wondered how their uncle (cousin?) was getting along, but truthfully, he could hardly imagine the intricacies of such a quest.

"He said he'd meet me at the cuesta," he told his brother, trying to gauge his level of interest without giving any of his own away. "Unless you wanna track him down first?"