Bearclaw Valley soot & violets

maybe he'd said the wrong thing. val's eyes dropped, waiting for a lecture that didn't come. merrick rose and began to head towards the gloomwood. val followed unquestioningly.

he was relieved for the change in topic. tough conversations he struggled with greatly, and he had enough sense to know he had not even come close to glimpsing the true hardship in merrick's gaze... but hunt -- why, val could be a fine hunter.

and hunt he would, coursing rabbits from warrens and dispatching those too slow for his quick teeth. the caches would be filled, the rabbits dead, and val and merrick would live to kill another day.