Raven's Watch viii Sanctified by their affliction.

While Val searched for a way up, she glanced down below at the path they had created. The alpine lake was easily visible from their vantage point. She had never been up this far and had long assumed that there was no pathway to the mountain beyond the lake.
As she searched, Kigipigak's touch distracted her. Reactively, she turned her head and nipped at his cheek, but there seemed to be no seriousness in the correction. As she continued to catch her breath, he told her a joking vision of their reward. Indeed, they would be sultans of the land, the great mountain trail blazers. Valmúa laughed through her teeth with a titter, knowing well that her stoic brother would never treat her as the princess she acted. The relationship she held with her brothers was equitable enough, but she knew that they full well expected to be leaders. She was the third wheel of their yin and yang.
Moving forward past him, she shot him a glance that reflected his own flame. Not my brother, but his new aġnat. They are like a... harem. They will do whatever you say, she rolled her eyes. Such women, of course, were important to the growth and function of the Watch. They were also weak and thus disgusted Val. Her brothers attracted weak women easily.
Shrubs and vines covered the way up. Val searched for a way through, poking her head through the branches of a bush. The second route she tested was worth an attempt, so she crashed her way through it and onto a dirt-laden ledge. Her nose flared, eyes focused on a pathway up even though her mind was busy thinking of ways to get Meadow and Minah to do her bidding.