Moonsong Glacier [m] going toe to toe with an enchantress

Aventus grinned a toothsome and mirthless grin, lifting his hackles to match the surprised flare of Val's. It would always be exhilarating to take someone by surprise like this. If only his mother could see him now. Would she be proud of him?

Good. He was lurking in bear country. Ursus had no claim over this glacier, but with tensions still running high and Merrick spiralling more and more each day, Aventus couldn't be too careful about loiterers. Not when he knew Nyra had been in the area recently and might very well be squatting with their nearest neighbours. Then again, this guy didn't seem like he wanted to cause trouble.

Val's openness was baffling, his interest in something as basic as a shiny rock wall stupefying. The stranger had ten times as much life in him as Aventus could begin to boast. That was the trouble with being raised in a cult, you see. While Val looked at Aventus as mature and experienced, Aventus looked at Val and longed to find wonder in the small things, to shed the shackles of what was expected of him just for once. Freedom. The only Ursus wolf like that, who hadn't worn a mask of apathy and duty, who played with him and showed him the interesting things she found, was his mother, and she—

He swallowed thickly in an effort to stifle an unwanted rush of emotion. Despite his usual control over his facial features, he only halfway succeeded to conceal the flash of grief. He hoped the darkness did the rest of the job. Aventus. I live near here. Can't be too careful. What's in the north? He glanced at the iron vein, trying to share Val's interest in it, but it only made him sad.