He did not move away when she hugged him again. He felt her trembling limbs, and ached and felt joy in equal measure; selfish joy, for the care she still felt, for the comfort of her touch. And regret, for the pain he knew he had caused. He rested his head against her cheek as long as she wished.

In the end, he had kept his oath. He had returned to her. But it had still been a mistake to leave. He saw it in her tears.

The deerskin earned a smile, and Samo could not help the warm, tentative grin on his own face. There was much he wanted to say. Much he wanted to ask. Her grasp of common was stronger now; who had spoken with her, in his absence? Had the seal hunters returned, reported him lost or drowned? Had she found comfort in another? There was no reason for her to not have. It was not his place to ask, nor to hope otherwise; yet the thought still made his chest ache.

She spoke first, and her voice kept him from his darkest thoughts. She had found others. It eased the guilt bearing down on his spine, some, to know she had not been wholly alone here. A new tribe?

“Of course, yes,” Samo said. He would follow her wherever she asked. “They are seal, or caribou?”

Curiosity, trepidation, and hope all mixed together in an intent hazel gaze.