Ouroboros Spine hey there, it's all gonna be fine

@Raindrop when you have time!

It'd been hard to make space alongside his grief, and time alongside his regular duties. He'd been an automaton for months, now, just doing his best to help the pack carry on. And, the thing was, he knew there was more that he could be doing. He could find a moment to hunt with Arrluk, or he could find a few kind words for Ajei, or he could try and learn to work with pelts so that Vairë could sleep on something new.

He could do those things, but sometimes, he felt like he couldn't. Most of the time, to be very honest. He felt tired and frozen and sad, and even knowing many others felt the same or worse, Valiant struggled to step up and help.

Today, though — he was taking a small step. He meandered along a seldom-used path between Vairë's ulaq and Raindrop's den. He'd seen a couple of her kids around, and even the woman herself from time to time, but it'd been months since he'd had a proper conversation with her. With anyone, really. His stilted chat with White Elk had reminded him of that.

So he was seeking out a friend. And he thought — well, maybe they'd hunt. Or maybe he'd ask her about pelts. Maybe they could go fishing, just for old time's sake.

"Rain?" he called out as he approached, not wanting to startle one of her girls by getting too close.