Deepwood Weald Kaggik

For @Ariadne!

 

The white hunter had stepped away from Moonspear. He had set his paws to the earth and carved a path southward. The lands shifted drastically. The earth was warmer, colored by red stone and sand dunes. It was there that he had hunted the creatures of the summer lands. 

Until he longed for the mountains again. 

Kannoyak considered returning to Moonspear. They had been good to him and he had enjoyed hunting for them. He thought of Chakliux as his paws connected to familiar ground and he looked up to see Moonglow in the distance.

These lands did not feel like home, either. Ariadne had decided this about halfway through the territory, as she really felt the earth beneath her paws and tasted the air with tremendous consideration. It was still out there, somewhere, waiting to be discovered.

She stepped lightly with her nose to the ground, following the rabbit trail with tremendous concentration. Eventually, the land dipped where she hadn't expected, and she took a tumble, rolling head over heels down a small hill.

Many unexpected things had happened to the man in the moon territories. He had met many wolves. Each one of them had been memorable in their own way. 

Kannoyak’s ears perked. He lifted his head to the sound of the girl moments before she lost her footing and began to tumble down the hill. His plum-colored stare widened in surprise. For a moment, he froze in place. His legs stiffened, as though he might be at risk of the same thing. 

Breaking free, the white hunter hurried to the girl and sniffed for the telltale scent of blood. 

Are you alright? his voice broke the air as a quiet rumble.

There was a man who met her at the bottom of the slope. He quickly checked her over, searching for wounds that weren't there as he asked if she was okay. Ugh, she moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Had this been a cartoon, there'd be birds and stars swirling 'round her head.

A woman's head hurts, she explained, squeezing shut her eyes and covering her face with her arms.

Kannoyak was many things but he was no medic. The man’s eyes sharpened on her. The woman reached for her head, fixed with a dazed expression. 

The white hunter did not know how he might assist her. He paced, circling her figure with concern creasing at his brow. White ears swiveled with uncertainty. The hairs along his back prickled, wondering if his voice might reach the moonwoman. Could she help this girl? Surely - Kukutux was a woman of many gifts. 

This one is not a medic. Tell me what we must do.

Like Kannoyak, Ariadne had limited knowledge of medicine and remedies. This woman ... does not know, she admitted feebly as her mind raced to think of anything that could help them.

This woman's anaa may be able to help, she said slowly, lifting her head and looking at the stranger with squinting eyes. Her name is Kukutux—she is skilled healer and leader of a pack nearby—Moonglow. A woman can tell you where to go to find her, she hoped he'd be willing to do that for her.

Shock flickered across his stern face for only a moment. This woman was the child of the Moonglow matriarch. She spoke his thoughts, bringing wonder to his mind. 

This is not necessary. 

Kannoyak did not need any instruction. He knew where the moonwoman resided. He knew that she would heed the call of his voice to meet her daughter. 

The white hunter huffed a breath through his nose. He lifted his snout to the sky and called for @Kukutux.

"This is not necessary," He assured her with unyielding confidence.

A woman does ... not understand, she said slowly, trying to comprehend what was happening—he knew her mother? How? This man knows  this woman's anaa?

Yes, he spoke with a quiet reverence. 

And the sister upon the mountain. 

Shame flooded him. Kannoyak wondered if he would be welcome by their family after he had left Moonspear. He had always been a pathmaker. It was not good for him to remain in the village. 

Kannoyak wondered if Kukutux would answer his call, knowing that he had gone from her daughter’s home. He expected that he would need to explain himself to them. What mattered was assisting the young woman who had fallen. 

Plum eyes searched her figure with worry written upon his face.

"kannoyak."

a glance between the returned moonspear man and her child;

the grieving heart wondered.

the moonwoman drew close to her daughter, matching kannoyak's worry. "what has happened?"

Ariadne lay on her side with her legs tangled together and looked at him with surprise. Sialuk, too? she marveled, unsure how she'd been lucky to have been discovered by someone familiar with her family. All of this was a welcome distraction from the pain in her head, and she wanted to know more. But, before she could ask anything else, Kukutux arrived looking as worried as Kannoyak; she felt immense relief knowing her anaa was here.

This one was foolish and was not paying attention while hunting and tripped, she explained quickly, focusing solely on the moonwoman. A man was nearby, and quickly rushed to help—this woman is thankful, she turned back to the pale man and glanced at him appreciatively.

A woman's head hurts, and her body has remained still since landing, for all she knew, she could have other injuries, too.

Like moonlight itself, the woman appearer before them. Kannoyak bowed his head to her. Moonwoman’s daughter did not look well and he did not imagine that it left a good impression. 

White ears fell to the man’s head. He whined, quiet and short. It felt humiliating, lacking the skills that might have aided this situation. 

The girl had not moved since her fall. This concerned the white hunter. He did not believe it was a good sign. She continued to comment on the pain in her head. Kannoyak did not wish to stand passively while she suffered. 

What must be done? This one’s paws are swift.

kukutux hummed beneath her breath.

she looked into ariadne's eyes, breathing toward the eyelid to test the dilation of the pupil.

moonwoman searched for contusions upon head and neck.

"do you feel your legs?" she asked, then glanced toward kannoyak. "moontide is closest, cottongrass hunter. help me to carry her there."

dread; salt; pooling in her mouth.

Ariadne passed the tests with flying colors—except for her legs.

A little, she answered, looking down at them, but I have not moved them much. There was a thought picking at the back of her mind, warning and anticipating this part of her assessment. She moved her front right paw—her non-dominant one—easily, but when she tried to the left, a tremendous pain shot through her body. AYA!! she exclaimed in a howl, her voice an ugly sound. Her eyes watered, and she gritted her jaw as she looked up at them in agony. 

She had broken her leg.

The cry from the girl rattled the white hunter. He swallowed at the growing lump in his throat. Something was very wrong with one of her legs. It had only been discovered by an attempt to move them. Had adrenaline aided her that much? She hadn’t known until that moment, it seemed. 

The moonwoman said that Moontide was closest. Kannoyak lifted his head to Moonglow, wondering if this was accurate. Would it not have been better to take the girl to her mother’s hearth? 

It wasn’t for the cottongrass man to decide. 

Kannoyak positioned himself beside the injured young woman and braced his shoulders to carry her weight.

kukutux was careful, winding wide strips of grass to hold the leg before they lifted ariadne.

she wanted her shining-water girl home.

she wanted ariadne in moontide.

she wished to see the death ulaq.

in silence she would assist kannoyak until they had come to the borders.

She grew tense at the sight of the borders, feeling immense unease in seeing the ocean in the distance. She'd been thinking of the sea frequently since meeting @Barbatos—who'd told her his experience—and she began to think of how it had affected her own life. Her sister, whose village lived next to the water? Dead. Her, who had never lived near the beach before, was down for the count with a broken leg. Too many incidents were stacking up; she was convinced that something had cursed about the shore.

But, for the sake of the ones who'd carried her here, she kept her thoughts to herself.

Tag for reference!

The man did not wither, even after carrying the girl many miles to the seaside village. Their borders were marked. On the air, Kannoyak caught the faint smell of Chakliux. He wondered if the seal hunter would show himself, if he might see his hunter brother. 

Looking to Kukutux, the white man waited for his orders. Where were they carrying the injured girl? What more would she need to treat the wounds?

they would carry where ariadne directed, and there moonwoman would begin her examination of the leg.

"pieces of leather, soaked in water."

"long grass from beside the sea."

these things she requested from kannoyak. the binding would be tight as one could make it, once debris was cleaned from the leg.

the straightening, surely, was painful.

but it was done as swiftly as she could make it. "you need something that is for pain. i must go and find it." a kiss to the dire cheek, a nod to kannoyak; she turned and was gone.

They settled in Ariadne's seaside cave, and Kukutux went to work.

She laid on her said, feeling pain now that she'd moved her leg; this was only a tiny precursor for what she'd feel soon. When the work began, she saw stars and accidentally clamped down hard on her tongue—distracting and adding to her pain. She sucked in a deep breath, shut her eyes tight, and flopped her head down, screaming louder than before.

we can fade or keep going! <3

teas to soothe the pain. warm compresses for aching bones. hide wrapped around the broken limb.

kukutux chanted until ariadne fell into sleep.

she would remain for a long while after.

another daughter would not be lost.