Rising Sun Valley Sunday Morning

He was not completely assured, but she did her best to ease his mind, and that earned her some points. Thus far in the conversation Anselm had picked up on some aspects of Scarlett's personality; or at least, he liked to think himself astute in that regard. She seemed mild-mannered, even sweet, and had been diligent enough to scour the territory for other potential threats. She was smart, but also.. somewhat naive. To think that the bear posed such a little threat might have been foolish, and Anselm thoroughly thought so, even after she vetted the old beast, as she claims. But he was otherwise content with the meeting, and the prospect of a home.

"It was a surprise to me too, Anselm. I want safety as a top priority. I would not settle there if I was not sure about this bear roaming on one side of the valley. I was prejudiced but I've turned around." Prejudiced? What an odd term to use when describing the safety of her soon-to-be family. Anselm's brow furrowed slightly as she spoke, but he was otherwise silent. The natural order of things included such rules as, kill or be killed, or survival of the fittest; there was no room in this world for acts of charity between competing predators. "You might not agree with me, but I believe Arthur brings us no harm," Scarlett's red eyes locked with his own, although not in a challenging manner, and Anselm nodded before he realized what he was doing.

Her invitation hung in the air, plain as day. And after a final moment of thought, his worried expression melted away. Still rather stoic (as he wasn't the type of person to be so enthusiastic over anything), the boy's tail gave a short wag as he responded: "Yes. I'd like the opportunity."