Duskfire Glacier The stars welcome him with open arms

AW but maybe @Siarut ?

Tapeesa chose a small corner of the mountain for herself, inhabiting it just as silently as she had gone about immersing into their lives. A small hollow - no more than a nook nestled into the side of the mountain - overlooking the vast glacier and the distant peak of the Hollows was her chosen home, the inside already starting to accumulate a lining of leaves and other bits of soft debri thanks to the girl's diligent gathering skills. As dusk approaches, she's yet to readjust to sleeping at night, a small head practically pops into being from the entrance, ragged ears perked alertly.

Tupilaq had chosen a spot somewhere between her need for privacy and her desire to remain close to the pack, a middling ground where she wasn't hard to find. Since settling she'd had yet to run across any of the others, nor had they sought her out. She's unsure what this means; they've reached home but she's received no further information on what exactly they're supposed to be doing. Without much to go on, the waif does what she can - hunting, patrolling and the like.

Watching Tiqaqq's pale face flicker through the branches of trees, the waif padded into the foliage - not quite familiar with the territory but not quite afraid of the dark forest. She wandered for a time, absently, before finding herself in a tiny clearing - no more than a couple paces across. It was grassy to her left though the grass thinned and soon gave way to hard-packed dirt and gravel on the right. The girl investigated briefly, determining the odd path of stone passing through the clearing to be a dried streambed. 

Silently, Tapeesa began to gather rocks from the bed for stone cairns - caches for food and medicine.

Thoughts swirled in the girl's mind, snippets of conversations passed. She could not help but feel she had made a mistake coming here. The Ateneq sisters are more of accepting of her now, but she came for nanuk - for whatever had drawn her to him. And yet, the girl has suspicions that his attraction to her is no more than fleeting. 

A strange emptiness settles in her chest - dissapointment in herself. She swallows heavily as she stacks the rocks, shoulders hunched defensively as if to hide from anyone who would approach.

Disconnected thoughts, doubts and insecurities whirled in her head - spitting venomous thoughts of stupidity and inadequacy that made the girl want to return to her den and never face any of them again - until she felt the prick of tears at the corner of her eyes. 

The rock in her maw clatters to the ground, and she remains staring into the darkness blankly - struggling to push the doubt from her mind. 


 

His life had changed more than he had originally anticipated. His family had always depended on him, and he had often helped their father with the duties as a leader. But he had never had to fill the role. Now he felt as though he alone in new territory, he was unsure of every decision he made. 

The evenings gave him time to bring his thoughts into focuse, and it was at this point that he caught the scent of Uki. A small smile game to his lips as he cantered to follow he trail. 

As she came into view, Siarut let out a soft chuff. "Uki." He called with his kind smile still present. Although he dropped it seeing her crumbled form. "Uki?" He asked again, approaching with soft paws and sitting along side her.

True panic flares in her chest for if there's one wolf she doesn't want seeing her like this, it's the cause of her issues. She'd much rather avoid Siarut forever than have him find her in such a state. 

She squeezes her eyes shut as he approaches, wiping her face on her shoulder hurriedly as the sound of his footfalls grows louder. Whether or not she's done a good job concealing what she was feeling was up to him. She kept her face downcast, with hopes he might not see the wet sheen in her silver gaze or the tear tracks on her face. 

"What?" She forces herself to ask, the words hanging heavy in the dark between them, her voice hoarse. She meant it to be clear, confident but it comes out much too small and empty.

Siarut saw her quick swip of her shoulder, and his frown grew. Her hoarse voice reached his ears, and he stopped just behind her, off to her left side, giving her space to breath. "What's wrong Uki?" His voice was barely above a whisper, but he knew she could hear him.

The moon glistened above, watching them through the haze of the evening. Although the night was beautiful, and bright Siarut's gaze remained fixed on the form of the pale woman in his company. Her alabaster coat matching the paleness of Tiqaqq overhead. He waited patiently, letting her take as much time as she needed to respond to his question.

"What's wrong, Uki?"

What could she say? I think your family hates me? I think you used me just so you'd have more members? 

She wanted to go home. She didn't know where home was, but she wished it were nearby. She wished she could flee and leave this glacier and these northerners who seem so self-serving. She wants to leave behind this man who seemed so sweet and now seems nothing but distant. 

Silently, she struggled for words that would fit. How could she answer his question without letting him know the real reason she was upset? 

None of them seemed to offer an explanation he would believe. Finally, Uki turned to him. Suddenly, she didn't care if it was saying too much or if he might guess some meaning under her words. She was tired and she couldn't keep it up anymore; she needed to know. 

"Did you ever like me? The way I liked you?" The words come out blank, hoarse with hidden emotions. She can't muster an ounce of emotion to display on her face and keeps her eyes carefully trained on the ground - she can't watch his face. If she sees the truth there, she might crumble.

Her silence stretched, the stillness of the earth landing between the two packmates. When finally, her voice shook the world, it was empty devoid of any sentiment. Her question was a surprise and yet also was not. Siarut hadn’t meant to hurt her in such a way, considering he knew a similar pain. Taking a deep breath, he considered his words very carefully.

“Uki.” He started, closing his mouth to think on the correct response again. Nothing seemed good enough, giving a small sigh he risked getting closer. Pacing to her side, her seated himself. “Uki,” Her tried again, “We hardly know each other.” The ice bear turned his head, seeking her eyes. He had rushed once. To quickly, and with the force of a hurricane. He thought he had fallen hard for Ceara, and so he had gotten hurt. Hurt in a way he would never share with his family, too embarrassed to admit how much he still cared for a woman that hadn’t returned his favour.

“When I met you, I saw a northern woman who needed a family.” His green gaze turned away preferring the scenery around them. “I very much want to give that to you.” He could see the acceptance of Takiyok and even Shivali as the trip continued. They had accepted her into their band, just as he. “I trust you Uki, just as my sisters do.” Giving another sigh, he continued to avoid her gaze. “I would like to think of you as my sister…. For now.”

Siarut couldn’t explain why he held his heart so close, or why he couldn’t admit if or when he might possibly return her affection. He wasn’t sure about anyone, except his sisters. And he knew he trusted them and loved them so dearly, gathering what courage he had left he turned once more to Uki. He was guarded, ready for her to snap and leave the home he had created, the ice bear could only hope he had said enough to make her stay. Maybe then he could show her she meant more to the pack then she thought she did.

 

His response was not what she had hoped to hear. 

At the very least, she would have liked to hear that he had liked her in the beginning - she had been so sure it was mutual. 

Tapeesa read into his words what he would not say. That it hadn't been mutual, he didn't like her - at least not romantically. He had seen a woman worth pitying in the forest, nothing more. She had needed a group, a family as he had said. They'd spoken the same language and that had been enough. It was worse - knowing that she had been wrong all along and not just for the past few weeks. 

"I see," was all she could bring herself to say, at last. The words sounded empty, even to her own ears.

"I wish you'd said that from the beginning, Siarut. That would have saved us this," a wry smile, humorless, graced her features them for she knew that things would be different now. Sia would pity her, perhaps even more so with her confessed feelings, and he would avoid her. He wouldn't mean to, just as he hadn't meant to lead her on, but it would happen all the same. 

"I will be your sister then," she finally added, schooling her features into something as hard as the glacier they called home. The tundrian would not bother him with her silly notions of attraction, it would only distract him from his newfound responsibilities. 

Uki took the rock in her jaws again and went back to the task of creating cairns - too confused to do anything else.

Her voice lacked emotion, but Siarut could only be relieved by her response. Normally her emotionless statement would spark concern within the man, but this was not the case. The brute knew it was his fault, it seemed that everything was his fault these days, and he longed to return to simpler days. At this moment he wished Ceara had joined them, that she had forsaken her family to join his own. Then surely none of this would have happened. This guilty thought weighed in his stomach, making it churn, acid bubbling up his throat. Doing his best to push the feeling down, and prevent his lunch from making an appearance, Siarut smiled slightly. Rather his lips turned up slightly, but his eyes never held the glad gleam that a common smile should.

No there was nothing about this situation that was happy, Sia couldn't even be happy that he had gained another sister, for this is not what she wanted. The ice bear wished that he could give her what she wanted, but at this very moment it wouldn't be mutual, and that could be more cruel than what had just occurred. No. Siarut knew he had spoken true to his heart, and in doing so had been merciful. Hopefully Uki would see that one day.

"May I help you?" Perhaps they could move past this awkwardness, perhaps they could finally consider each other family. The building of an Inukshuk could give them a new start.

Uki could not have guessed what he was thinking but when he turned an empty smile in her direction, the tundrian eyed him impassively - dropping it only moments after. 

She wanted to bear her fangs in his face. She wanted to tell him not to smile like that, as if nothing was wrong when they both felt awful. She wanted to ask him why he had acted that way - as if she meant something - and then ignore her for weeks. She wanted to ask him if it even bothered him to do that to her, if any of it bothered him at all.

Uki did none of those things. She placed the rocks carefully, situating them in the optimal positions to create a tower of rocks capable of storing food where no thieves could get to it.

"Yes," she answered simply, keeping her eyes low as she pushed half the rocks towards him with a series of nudges. She said nothing else, for there was nothing to say, and returned to her stone work.

He silently joined her, placing rocks alongside her own. They worked in silence, the awkwardness still thick in the air, but Siarut wasn't one to give up do to discomfort. No he was confident that this would work out, one way or another. Siarut trusted Uki, and truly wished for her to stay.

As they finished, Siarut gave her a nod before heading to his favorite place. The Ice Grotto. He had to think, and the chill of the ice was the only calming thing around him at the moment. He didn't wish Uki and goodbye, or any parting words. He merely disappeared.