Firestone Hot Springs with a pocket full of gold

This explanation of siblings made sense to Katmai as well — he had once considered the seal hunter children and Raindrop and Sumac's children as well to be more like siblings than cousins — but he was distant from all his siblings, now. Either way, he supposed, they were still family.

Other marital arrangements were stranger to him, but he knew that other wolves did things differently. He was confused, but open to this idea of trading bodies as well as goods and other services. More confusing still was the notion of two women being lovers — but the more he thought about it, the more that concept answered some questions he'd always had about his own father.

"I grew up closely with other litters as well," he said instead of commenting on her parents' various arrangements. And thinking about them, he felt a pang of guilt for holding back on the suggestion that Treepie had made.

"Treepie suggested that we settle Moonspear," he told her, biting the bullet and forcing the words out. He felt better as soon as they were no longer trapped inside him. "What do you think?"