Vortigern's empathy for the feline who had just tried to make a meal of him made my ears perk a little higher as I took a second look at him. I know we had just met, but he seemed full of surprises. Now that swagger of his was underlain with compassion. "Ditto," I responded, grinning at him as we made our way further into Spirane. Mostly I wanted her to find a meal so that she wouldn't get the bad idea to try hunting wolf again, but no animal deserved to starve to death. That was no way to go. At least, it sure wasn't how I would want to die. No one would remember the name of someone who died from malnourishment. And I wanted wolves to remember my name. Well, at least Vortigern wouldn't forget my name anytime soon, of that I was almost certain. I mean, who forgets the name of the girl who saved your hide? It would take a pretty hard knock on the head for me to forget his name, anyways.

As we made our way up the slight inclines that lead into the heartland of the mountains, our conversation turned from the wellbeing of mountain lions to our origins. I jested with him about whether or not he could climb trees. Low and behold, he had another surprise up his sleeve. "Seriously?!" The word was said with a laugh, because I had only meant the comment as a joke but now he was telling me he could climb trees? This was something I would have to see to believe. "I'm going to hold you to that." I gave him a look of mocking disbelief, but I had no reason not to trust him at his word. I wondered what kinds of trees they had in Taviora with branches low and strong enough to support a wolf's weight. Maybe I would have to go and see for myself sometime. Once more I laughed as he recounted jumping onto his grandfather from a tree. A fleeting look of longing crossed through my eyes, wondering what it would have been like to pull such a stunt on Alcide. But he had died long before I was even a thought in my mother's mind. I would never know what it was like to have grandparents.

The thought was only made in passing, and before long the conversation had shifted once more and he told me why he had come to Spirane. I nodded in understanding - even though our move to Diveen hadn't been by choice, it had been kind of cool to have free rein to explore a territory that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. I'd learned a lot about the land and the wolves who called it their home. And as good as it was to be home again, it had kindled an interest in learning about the other packs as well. "I can pretty much guarantee she'd be okay with it. Stick with me and no one will give you any grief. But you'll owe me one." I winked at him and then turned up a back switch in the trail. This path was a little more steep, but at its top was a nice overlook facing the north. Born to the mountains, the trail offered no real challenge to me and I made my way up it with ease. When I reach the top, I turned to look back and see how Vortigern handled it, then glanced out to the north. I was sure this would be a view of his home that Vortigern hadn't seen before.