Moonsong Glacier sistermine

a man, older. a hunter. tall. strong. chakliux felt a pinprick of jealousy, but it died in weariness.
somewhere upon the trail of the monster, he had found the tendriling discontent within him, and followed it down to a suppurating root. there was much to contemplate when a man was alone.
and now that he had come back to the wilderness, to moonsong, he found he only wished the sea and his wives. perhaps he would want more when he had been returned for some time, but the choking crush of failure had sundered a good deal of his faith in himself.
and so chakliux stood, silence where he might have made a joke. "how is ariadne? i must tell her i did not — catch my quarry."