Moonspear it's real quiet here

The bird caught his eye as well, though he would have taken no more note of it had Treepie not greeted it. He wagged his tail and a confused, stilted greeting of his own, and then felt rather silly for doing so.

But Treepie was gazing at him attentively once more.

"We are plains hunters on my father's side, and seafarers on my mother's," he said, simplifying things as much as he could. "There have been very few healers, and fewer still spiritualists in my line. We focus on what is in front of us, and on the memories we hold of each other, and pass on from one generation to the next. There have been many great hunter master, and many more traveling singers and storytellers, and everywhere they go, they find wolves who are lonesome and adopt them into the family. They give them the name of Morningside to carry with them and use as they please, so that they will be recognized as family when they run into others."

He was proud of the family that he came from, even though he was compelled by the urge to venture forth from it. But despite his pride, he knew that it was not everyone's way, and that Treepie might not want it here after all.

"Do you think that our families could fit alongside each other?" he asked her. It didn't seem impossible, but they still knew very little about one another. "I don't want to settle here if it would crush what already lives here. I know already that I couldn't settle here and name my village Morningside, as I had planned for the plateau."

He offered her a tentative smile.

"But perhaps something new could be made," he suggested. "Something with a little of both our families."