OOCI've read over this so many times I can't tell if it's good any more. Sorry it gets kind of ramble-y.
Amusement shone in the Kelvic’s dark eyes as he watched Malisys barely rescue the front of his shirt from the fish grease and pudding left on his plate. It was a compliment in itself that his new acquaintance had been engaged in his explanation to the point of distraction, but the words did not hinder his swelling pride either. Belgar’s gaze moved from the almost empty plate to his own. There was certainly a dent in the pile of blubber, but he had not eaten quite as much as the men and women around him, whose plates had mostly been taken already by a different family of the community. He decided he would ask for the rest of the seal scraps afterwards, if they had not already thrown it out.
He took a rather large chunk of his meal in his fork, but did not lift it to his mouth just yet. “She is well; thank you for asking,” he replied politely, “She is living with her bondmate in Winterflame, a good five years from retirement, at least.” Like most bears, Belgar was not a man of family and was none the worse for it.
If Malisys had been any other Vantha, Belgar would have left it at that. After all, he could tell little else of his mother even if he wanted to. But the flattery had gotten the better of him, leaving the bear with an attraction he had not felt very often outside of his own race—that which was very similar to the connection between friends. So he continued, “My mother taught me how to be an Icewatch Bear. How to fight like one, live like one. How to hunt like one. I find I’ve learned much more from the Vantha, though. You’ve all something to share, and you are much better at keeping company! The barracks are comfortable, but no match for a conversation in a Hold.”
Only then did he finally eat his bite, struggling with it less as he grew accustomed to it. He thought it might help him finish with the others if he talked less, so he asked the teller across the table, “So tell me how a Coolwater catches a seal! Am I mistaken, or have I seen the use of a spear in one of your boats?”