Moonspear know that the shine inside will always keep you strong

The zap! was unpleasant, of course, but not nearly as unpleasant as the agonizing sympathy in his chest. He remained close by until she seemed to settle, shaking his own head even as he withdrew.

"It's important to be there for each other," he told her, as he'd been told often enough in his youth. After all — imagine if they became dear friends, and his first memory of her was of not trying to help when she was terribly sad. "Besides — " Here, Katmai lost the battle with his tingling nose and finally gave a mighty sneeze. It left him just a little dazed, and he forgot what he'd been about to say. Probably something more clever than: "You're a people, and now we've met."

He gave her a moment to neaten herself up, feeling a sense of catharsis, as though he had been the one to cry. He could still feel the urge if he let himself dwell on Treepie's sorrows, but he tried to follow the mood of the conversation she wanted.

"Of course," he told her, though he had more questions of his own. Mainly, Is it helping? The familiarity of Moonspear? He still thought she ought to be with her family. Moonglow or — what was it? Redhawk Caldera. But it was not up to him.

"There is not much to tell so far," he admitted, rolling a shoulder. "Morningside is only a name. My family's name. I have hope that if I find a piece of land and settle there, and I tell the name to all who pass by — I hope that those we have lost will hear, and come find us. But..."

He smiled sheepishly, a little wistful, a little embarrassed. He knew it was a childish dream on some level.

"More than that — I just want to have a village, like the one that I grew up in. One with many children of different ages, chasing each other from den to den. And many adults, who hunt and laugh and sing together."

He looked a little more bashful, now, and he lowered his voice as if they might be overheard.

"I hope that Kinusi will stay with me," he said to Treepie. "And perhaps — perhaps she will lead it with me." 

He could not bring himself to directly express his romantic aspirations toward the young woman.