The vultures had found her pretty quickly after the wolf had left.
The sight of her silver body tainted with the red of blood and the black of chilled mud hadn't masked her at all, and so when Kanuk woke the abrupt movement of her body startled a carrion bird. The thing hopped back, wings open, and then craned its neck over her seeping neck where a swatch of fur had been ripped clean off; its beak clattering like a castanet.
Kanuk sucked a breath, flailed a limb, and found herself half-submerged in mud with an ache to her temple - likely resulting from the stone that served as her pillow.
augur was used to ice eyes staying within range of tall man.
so when she left he waited some time and then followed.
his long legs carried him into unfamiliar terrain. he looked up to watch the birds wheeling and felt his belly cramp with hunger. instinct drew him closer in search of an unexpected meal.
what he found was ice eyes, mauled and hardly breathing.
augur whined uncertainly. he looked around for any other wolves before pressing close to her, licking along face and mouth to rose the woman.
There was someone here. Kanuk had known that before; she had sensed the large boy when he'd come upon her initially, and now the same feeling flooded her with panic. It was not the same wolf but in that moment she could not tell them apart.
Heavy steps, quickening. A body pressed close. A tongue - was it black? The boy's had been so dark - saliva stinging at her wounds. Kanuk tensed and gave a low warning sound which was, truthfully, more pitiful than anything.
augur paused but did not stop his lapping.
he rumbled his name to her, two deep tones meant to imitate the voice of blood eyes.
they were too far from the rise for him to drag her like a carcass. augur circled around ice eyes and pressed along her spine, trying to warm her.
as he lay there he called for
@Tulimaq, knowing that tall man would want to know first. augur hoped his voice would carry so far.
Warmth came in the form of Augur's attention: constant licks to those bloodied wounds, a determined warmth shared by his larger body.
He called for help; whether sivullik heard the howl or not, Kanuk struggled. Augur did his best to help the mangled warrior stave off the worst of the cold.
It was too late for that. There was too little left of Kanuk. The mud was maroon from all the blood. Her skin was cold beneath the matted fur.
She would not drown — but too much time had passed. In her next breath she slipped away.
under his tongue she stilled. her breath no longer came.
ice eyes was gone.
augur sat back on his haunches. he lifted his head to look around in trepidation. she had not been part of the rise for long. but she mattered to tall man.
he sang a long dirge into the air and then circled her rapidly cooling body.
he chose to grab her nape next. she slid with a wet sucking sound from the blood and the mud. the boy would keep on until he had taken her out of the marsh and into the plains.