Big Salmon Lake A thousand years

She was as unerringly kind as always — it made Valiant feel silly for joking around at all, and yet, he did not know if he could suppress the urge. Pretty girls had often put him in a funny mood — that is, in a mood to try and be funny even thought he knew, patently, that he was not. Even Vaïre had not enjoyed his sense of humor, he thought, so much as she tolerated in the face of his other good qualities.

Whatever those might be.

(This was why he usually watched Raindrop from a distance.)

"'Course," he agreed, his head ducking contritely despite the weak smile that lingered on his face. But he turned back to rinse and rub the muck from his muzzle before actually moving to help.

And he was a gentleman. Unlike he had with Angel, he would not be allowing Raindrop to carry the fish back. He took the burden up himself — and, if it had the added benefit of keeping him from running his smart mouth, that was just a coincidence.

Fade here?