Ouroboros Spine Are you a loan? 'Cause you've got my interest

Raimo found himself wondering if this man had been dropped on a rock when he was born, or if some other injury had brought about his strong attitude. Perhaps it was a side-effect of being a lone wolf for too long; but Raimo discounted that thought as soon as it arrived, seeing as he had many lonely patches within his life as well. He wasn't bothered by the disingenuous way Zane acted around him and in the end, assumed it was the man feeling inferior, which stroked Raimo's own ego well enough to consider.

They departed the ridge together with Raimo in the lead. As he knew the paths well, his prowling was efficient and unforgiving; he did not give Zane much time to keep up with him and expected the other man to keep pace, whether it was stride-by-stride or by way of falling and rolling down the mountain between the trees. Raimo did not wait for him to catch up as he chose their path, winding them down among the blackpine until the trees thinned and the earth became a series of low undulations.