Big Salmon Lake A thousand years

That made sense. Valiant had visited her only once at the seaside pack, but he'd been there often enough to see to other things. There had been many good fishermen, and plenty of time for Raindrop to learn. Valiant had more experience with inland waterways, though usually rivers instead of lakes.

He waded deeper, looking for moving shadows, and then huffed out a laugh that had the fish scattering.

"I do," he replied, his voice dry. He looked over his shoulder at her, attempting to look unimpressed at the reminder. Instead, he found himself with a warm smile on his face. "I stuck a feather in your fur," he recalled, seeing it clearly in his mind. He hadn't thought of such distant times in quite a while, and he was surprised to look back on those lonely days with some degree of wistfulness. Perhaps just that day in particular.

"We oughta laugh like that again," he told her.