Summary

Qavech spent her early adulthood as a drifter, moving from place to place looking for work and several fresh starts. He was a good worker, most of the time - punctual and thorough. Yet, incident after incident drove him out of employment and eventually to the next town when recognition became too much for her to bear. When thinking with a clear mind, she knew what she saw in her bouts wasn't real, knew that the pain in her right eye was just a distant memory, and knew too that darkness was not itself something alive and threatening. Knowing, however, meant nothing in the face of fear. After years of continued breakdowns and lost jobs, Qavech fell into depression and turned to drink, if only to dull the edge of thought.

By chance, she settled in Clearmont. There was nothing special about the city near the mountains, no opportunity that kept her; it was the place where she decided to give up chasing a new life, and nothing more. Never able to keep a stable job, Qavech survived off temporary work and the uncertain generosity of strangers. For the next few years, her only friends were her old flute and the bottle - until Ais arrived in Clearmont.

The young coyote was also without a home, and found Qavech playing his flute on the street corner. She stopped to listen, many times, and later made conversation. Within a few months, they had become a pair - while Ais often disappeared to do her own "work", she always came back to Qavech in the end. It is this bond that drags Qavech out of tired routine; when Ais decides to stick her nose into the business of some newcomers to the city, Qavech feels he has little choice but to follow her.