She wanted to leave as soon as possible, especially knowing her mother's distraught condition. But she had pledged her support to
@Kukutux and
@Sialuk as well. Meerkat hoped they would understand, like Bronco. Either way, they deserved to be informed.
At first light, she made her way to the Alpha's
ulaq. As she walked, she suddenly remembered Sialuk's words:
"Her foot needs a full turn of the moon to heal." She stopped to look upward, where a sliver of moon still hung in the sky like a splinter of bone. Had it really been so long since Moonspear's fall?
She continued walking, the sun rising to warm her back as it dawned on her that she had actually fulfilled her promise. In that case, hopefully her departure would be neither unexpected nor untoward.
As carefulyl as one might bathe a newborn, Adrastus had tended to the pine marten he had caught, making sure that its fur was soft and clean, and that the puncture wounds at its throat could be covered when he smoothed the fur over it. Its pelt was a beautiful ochre in colour, darkening to sable along its back. He'd bathed its pale throat until the fur was clean, leaving no trace of blood to stain it. Once he was satisfied with his work, he picked the creature up with care, and began carrying it toward the ulaq shared by Kukutux and Sialuk.
Along the way, he caught sight of one of the wolves that had joined them some time ago, in the wake of the landslide. He did not know the details, but the wolves of the Glen were their company now; and he assumed this young woman, with the sandy pelt of a doe in springtime, had been pledged to Moonglow for some time before the Glen wolves had come.
He reached around to drape the pine marten across his shoulders so that he might carry it that way, and chuffed in greeting as he continued to travel parallel to Meerkat. "I greet you. Are you headed to see Kukutux?" He asked. There was determination in her step, after all, leading him to think she was going somewhere on a mission.
kukutux blinked sleepily in the light of early morning. her mind had raced and raced; she had not slept. therefore it was a rather wan moon that looked out across the green-sprouting terrain, spotting meerkat's sandpiper form and the much larger form of adrastus, a smudge of color around his broad shoulders.
pulling herself from the ulaq, she sat outside, ready to greet the pair.
and when they grew larger in her eyes, kukutux meant to stand to three legs, then four, steadying herself against the dulling twitch of pain in her ankle to nudge each in turn, gaze falling curiously to the animal carried in their way, and then to meerkat herself.
Sialuk had been near the ulaq, and when she saw Meerkat approaching, she moved to anaa’s side, noting that she now stood on all four feet. Her stance was ginger, but Sialuk was happy to see her making good progress. She watched with a steady gaze as the two wolves approached, wondering what they might have to say.
As she made her way toward Kukutux's sleeping place, a stranger intercepted her. He resembled the pack's leadership in coloration, though he was built more solidly, with a decidedly masculine ruggedness. Curiously, he wore a dark pelt across his shoulders like a shrug. When he greeted her, he used the same line the Ostrega women usually did and Meerkat wondered if he might actually be related.
"Hello. I am," Meerkat replied. She might've invited him to accompany her on her visit, except she hoped to speak privately to Kukutux and Sialuk. "I have business with her and Sialuk," she told him, though she did not discourage it if he walked alongside her toward the ulaq.
Both mother and daughter were there, which was a relief. Meerkat dipped her snout to them, then glanced at her chaperone of sorts. She could've waited to bring up her departure, though Towhee needed her now. She decided to cut right to the chase.
"My mother recently lost her mate, as well as part of her litter. She asked me to return to the caldera to help support her when she gives birth to the rest. I've spoken with Bronco and we've agreed I should go." There was a lot more Meerkat could say, though she stopped there to let the women get a word in edgewise.
-Adrastus out-
There was something urgent about the way he was greeted by the fawn woman, and in the way she moved toward the
ulaq. In his mind, he had hoped that he might have a word with their leader as well- but he would not want to stand in her way. It would serve him well enough to at least present the pine marten to Kukutux, and then show respect for the council of women by allowing them their time to meet.
"I will not linger, then," He assured her softly. He did not begin conversation with her as they were near enough to the
ulaq anyway, and he felt perhaps it might be best to allow her time and space to mentally prepare herself for whatever business it was she had with the leaders.
He had hoped that he might simply offer the marten and then steal away before the young woman's business began, but she spoke almost immediately after they had arrived. He remained quiet, frozen to the spot a bit uncomfortably- he hadn't intended to be a part of this, and would have liked to give Meerkat the privacy of speaking with the leaders without him being present, but she seemed in a rush to make her announcement. He couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for her; given the situation she described, it sounded like her mother needed her. To lose both her mate and some of her children...It wasn't his place to comment.
Quietly, he side-stepped, allowing the pine marten to slide softly to the ground.
"I bring this, for you," He said softly.
"...And I will let you talk." He said, his expression clearly indicating that he felt most comfortable allowing those necessary to be present, while he offered each in turn a polite bob of his head, before he departed.
a flurry of words from meerkat and adrastus' departure left kukutux with a slow and mild blinking. she accepted the marten, but he was already turning away. her mind sorted through what the girl had said, and she was glad for sialuk, that the raindrop was near to her.
sialuk would not leave the duck. the bond between a mother and a daughter was very strong, and would be from the first moment to the last.
"of course you should go to your anaa," kukutux said softly. "you have helped sialuk and i to build a village that is tightly woven. you will always have a welcome here, and a place if you one day have the desire to return." she did not like to lose the girl, but she would not be the one to keep meerkat from her mother, who from the sound of it had suffered much. "here," and she turned away, only to return a moment later with a rabbit skin from the ulaq. the moon sought to reach now, to lay the skin upon the yearling's shoulder if she was allowed. "it is soft. it will make a good offering for the sisters and brothers that you will have."
The two approached, a handsome pair, but soon Adrastus departed. She did not question it, especially when Towhee brought the reason she had come to seek their audience. Her own anaa's mate and some of the children had been lost, the glen sister informed them, and Sialuk thought of taataa and brataa. In the Redhawk's place, she had done just the same: seek her mother for the comfort of them both.
Would Meerkat sing the death songs for her mother's children and her own father? The raindrop lacked knowledge of Meerkat's family dynamic, and she had misread entirely the meaning of "lost" when it came to her mother's mate, but family was family.
You have my thanks, too,
Sialuk replied. I am sorry for what has come to pass with your family. I send you well wishes so your spirit may heal, as may your mother's.
The raindrop made a mental note to send a scout their way in a few weeks' time. If their packs were to be sisters, they would need to stay in touch.
She needn't have worried they would be upset with her for leaving. In turn, mother and daughter not only accepted her notice but offered their condolences and gratitude. Kukutux's open invitation and proffered gift were met with a humble dip of Meerkat's head. It reminded her a little of their first meeting upon Moonspear, when Kukutux had been clearing out her den and permitted a much younger Meerkat to take her discarded skins.
This one was in perfect condition, lustrous and soft. "Thank you," she said as she accepted it. This time, she didn't hesitate to close the gap, touching her nose to Kukutux's lower jaw. She then turned and pressed it to Sialuk's cheek. "I'll definitely be visiting," especially with Bronco et al lingering here. Her chest pinched. "And you're welcome to do the same, when you can."
She hadn't even realized her escort had slipped away until she looked around to see him only to find him gone. Meerkat blinked, then returned her gaze to her—former, now—leadership. "Take care. We'll see one another soon." But, for now, it was time to point her toes toward Towhee.
kukutux took meerkat's kiss gently. "may your travels be safe." a blessing for the trader who went through many rains and beneath the sun; she would watch the sandpiper girl depart moonglow until the small sleek body was gone from view.
"it is good to have so much family, even when they are away," she told her raindrop softly, a genuine smile crossing her features. "i look forward to joining you on a hunt to bring meat for our village."
she would miss the vibrant presence of the girl about moonglow, but would welcome her return when things had become more settled within the caldera.
Meerkat took the gift and took her leave. Sialuk felt sadness at watching the glen sister go, but she knew also the importance of family. As her mother spoke, the raindrop was surprised to find a smile there. Perhaps the first she had seen since the strange storm had upended their lives.
You will be able?
Sialuk asked. It was true that many days had come and gone since anaa had been injured, but Sialuk had not expected her back to hunting so soon. It would be a most welcome change of pace.
a little sigh broke from the moonfeather. "not yet. many weeks. but i still will hunt beneath the sun," she declared, meaning it for a joke and yet experiencing the zeal of determination firing her. "when that time comes, i wish to travel to the glacier of songs sung by the moon," she told her raindrop.
"it is a holy place. the bones of your father's brother lie there. his spirit was not ready to leave this earth. it is time to return and say the prayers again, so that he will be at peace if he has never found his way to the dancing lights." not a vigil, only an offering, a dance, a string of sacred words that would make the glacier unpalatable to those who were dead.
Many weeks. A frown pulled at Sia's lips. She knew it would be long, but it felt longer now that they were speaking of anaa's healing. She wished for her mother to be what she once was, and the raindrop knew she would be with time. Patience was a learned trait, and Sialuk had not yet mastered its ways.
Kukutux spoke of a glacier then, of where taataa's brother's body rested. Sialuk tried to think of this man, this brother, but she could not remember hearing of him in days past. What happened that he was taken away too soon?
she asked, a furrow covering her brow.
it hurt to speak of this. but the stories of old ways and those who had come before were not always happy things. and so she settled toward sialuk, pulled the girl's gaze into her own. "the brother of your taataa was a trader. he came and went. he fought with his brothers. he was too wild to live peacefully in moonspear."
she could not help but think of his face.
"when he left the mountain he went to fight and to fight. he could not help the need of his heart. and his wounds were too great when i found him. i sat a vigil of nine days upon the glacier. when someone dies in this way, their spirit will be confused. then it will grow angry, for it will not remember its death. sometimes it is this anger that holds a spirit back from the dancing lights, and that is why it is good to wait so long, and to sing."
Sialuk listened, learning of her uncle’s life and eventual fate. Why would he fight and fight? Sialuk did not understand such a thing, but she thought perhaps she was too young to know. How old would she need to be before she was as wise as anaa? She held the title of second, but in her heart Sialuk knew she was still new to this world.
She absorbed the information, sure to turn it over and over in her mind in the coming days. She wished to ask his name, more about him, but she knew his name was now taboo—not to be spoken so that he could rest peacefully among the dancing lights with taataa and brataa.
fade here? <3
she had spoken much. sialuk was quiet in her way, and the duck knew that her raindrop was considering what she had said. she smiled at the lovely pensive face, and then sighed. "let us go to the lake."
a glance and she had begun to shift her lopsided gait in that direction, hoping that sialuk would join her for a cleansing in the frigid water. meerkat would find the end of her journey, she knew; the woman could only hope it was with moonglow.