The tavern was a pleasant reprieve. Valeria noticed the bear barreling over towards her for a hug and looped her arms clumsily around the fuzzy creature. He was strong and powerful, and Valeria could respect that in a creature. She never quite understood why the bear liked her, but she liked the giant creature back. Valeria saw the merchant and coughed, embarrassed, releasing the bear from her playful hug, hoping that it didn't make her seem less solemn or noble by hugging an enormous fuzzy grizzly.