Bearclaw Valley You're on your own

At first, when Merrick appeared from between the trees and spoke, Ashlar smiled and turned.  He did slow down his run to a cantering stop, but the joy that effused him did not lessen.  I learned it from a stranger, but I couldn't remember the words.  So I found some instead.  He answered a little breathlessly, but without the stutter that normally plagued him.  When Ashlar sang it put him at ease, and when others enjoyed his singing all the moreso.

He felt the unsure begin to creep back in as he recalled the way his lessons had gone so far.  @Skoll Amir had been unable to make a fighter out of him so far.  Not only that, but he'd failed a few hunts as well.  His record so far on display, singing was about the only offering he could give reliably, and it bolstered him that Merrick seemed interested.  D'you like to sing?  He asked, this more tentatively than the previous.

WC: 162