Claiming Thread! I meant to post this yesterday but welll life..... anyway. This is the claiming howl for IkKanattuk!!!
This was the what they had been waiting for. He looked over the edge of the peak, staring down at the territory that now belonged to his family. Siarut stood watch, he couldn't make out the form of any bellow, but he knew they were their.
His family.
He wasn't just thinking of his sisters and their young. No his family had grown. Siarut wasn't well aquanted with everyone who had joined IkKanattuk, but no matter what he considered them all family. They were his pack, and he would protect them with his life.
They had been here for a few weeks now, reinforcing the borders, hunting to fill their bellies, and forming new bonds to last a life time. This was their time, they all had a past, some were more savory than others, but that was behind them. This was a new start for each of them. And Siarut would do everything he could to bring them a positive future.
This this in mind Siarut threw back his head and released a howl that carried his promise in its song. The sound carried throughout the glacier, piercing the silence of the evening. This was their land, and their future was on the line. This was IkKanattuk.
Sia's howl reached her ears and filled her with contentment and fierce protectiveness. This land was theirs now, and she would help her brother keep it and all of its inhabitants safe. They had finally laid their official claim on the glacier, and it made all of their hard work feel more than worth it. Her arduous travels to the glacier and back, and then turning right back around and leading the family here; all of them taking the risk of traveling with young; all of the hardships they encountered while moving the family here; it all was for a common goal, and Taki had no words for how she felt now that all of their plans had come to fruition.
With her heart full of pride, she lifted her muzzle to the sky and let out a howl, joining in with the other howls of their pack.
she was close to the babes, but she heard the howl as if Siarut was right beside her. it rang out joyously over the glacier, echoing off the ice, the landscape that was so like home. home. that was here now; it was no longer the abstract concept of a northern-pointing compass. for the first time in a very long time, she had roots, and she relished in them.
tossing her head back, Tahani joined Siarut in his song, voice rising to a crescendo. perhaps the pups would join her, adding their childlike notes to the mix. the wolves of IkKanuttuk sang out for the first time--this land was theirs. Tahani felt a peace bloom out and over her entire body, her ivory coat shimmering in the moonlight.
It had come true then.
They were all here, as Siarut had promised they would be. And the pack was founded on the glacier as he had said.
Why then did she still feel so misplaced, seeing this come to life?
Uki answered the summons, silently taking up a spot amongst the others as she filed in. What was it that made her feel this way, she questioned as she sat on her haunches. She had gone through the motions - hunting, patrolling, digging caches, etc. She didn't feel joy at the sight of Sia's dreams coming together - she felt as empty as she had helping to found it. If any words were said, she didn't hear them. If any speeches were made, they didn't touch her heart.
The howling broke her from her reverie. Her silver eyes found the man she had followed here, and then slid over his family. They were relics, as old as the gods she worshipped and the way she had been taught. They were like the gods themselves - fierce, snow coated beasts, northern relics that Uki so longed to be one of.
As her howl filled the air with the others, she did not feel a sense of familial affection for any of them. She did not feel friendship. She did not feel this place was her home.
As her howl went up, Tapeesa felt hollow.
She is with Tahani when she hears the howl, a wave of contentment. They have done enough to secure the glacier and the land around it, a fruitful supply for their numbers. She has grown to enjoy the company of the others. She gently lowers her nose to the resting children, giving
@Sos and
@Tunerk a nudge of encouragement, before she lifts her own nose and howls her song in conjunction. They are far enough from the Woods she does not feel threatened—not that she suspected they cared, surely they would have found them if that be the case—and her family is together again, well rested and deserving of what they’ve created.
The call roused him from his resting spot under a tree, far out from the rest. Panic seized his chest at first but as the other voices joined in it became obvious what was going on. Feeling more at ease he listened for a moment with hesitation and contemplation. Was his job done? He had guarded the place so they could all come to claim it. Yet his job did not feel done. There was more to guard here now and perhaps that made him more rooted to the place.
Finally he tipped his head back and joined in with the others.
The voices rose one by one across the frigid land, claiming what was theirs. Slowly his call came to an end, and he listened to the strength of his family. Each was unique and individual, just as each song rang true to each person. No smile came to the pale shadow, instead a rigid determination, his cold olive gaze glaring down on the world below. His silent promise committed to memory,
keep them safe.
IkKanattuk had been born, and there was no stopping them now.
thats it for now folks!