Wolf RPG

she had arrived, finally. the scent of sivullik was thick in the air. it mingled with the traces of one familiar scent. the rest unknown, not of savaktuk. she wondered that this meant for them all.

then decided it did not matter, she had been sent here to follow. follow she would.

she stood close to their claim, tilted her narrow head back and let out a soft melodic howl. intending to summon sivullik but also any who might own here. did he own here?

she wondered what the others would make of it.

One of them had fallen, yet in her wake came another.
Tulimaq was called north to the edge of the rise and there he spied the girl; this was one of his, of the savaktuk. Like Kanuk - whose name fills his mind and makes his gums ache. Her body remained where Augur had left it.
He came striding over the hill and then struck out at a run, slowing only when he could ascertain the scent upon her. Yes, he knew this one. She was an Anneriwok by the look of her; not yet old enough to contend with Kanuk's memory let alone be of use to Tulimaq.
What was her name? Mauruk. The others - are they far behind?

They shouldn't be. Suluk and I found a herd. I split off when I thought I caught wind of you and Kanuk again. Suluk hopes to stay and see if the herds have any ready to be picked. A windy explanation but Mauruk had never been very good at getting right to the heart of things. Too eager to overcomplicate things in hopes of having a painted picture.

What are we doing here?

We because Tulimaq was her sivullik and she part of his savaktuk. She figured that bond extended even when he decided to be part of...whatever this was.

the call had been for her Ulfhedinn, but it was she who commanded him. she comes down the slopes, following the meandering path of the stream and the voice that came in the distance. the events of a day before still haunt her, and it is with wary gaze and posture that she arrives at the scene—

to find them in conversation. an easy one, not that of interrogation.

Avicus strides up to stand alongside Tulimaq, glancing first at him, then to the unfamiliar face. a young woman, a bit older than herself. of good size, and trim; a build that suggests worth.

you are? she asks coolly, but there's an undeniable edge to her voice;

she finds it hard to trust after smelling the spilled blood of her own huntress.

Hearing the anneriwok speaking candidly, but with certainty, did not ease the feeling of rage within Tulimaq that had flared to life following the loss of Kanuk. Hearing their young voice speak that name made him bristle all the more.

What are we doing here? She had gone on to ask. Tulimaq wanted to dismiss her back to the north. Knowing now that the savaktuk was splintered without him there was frustrating in its own right - but he did not feel guilty for the state of the hunting party.

There were others present among them who could manage things. One less, now. Tulimaq could not help reminding himself, and grit his teeth.

You are? Commands the sharp voice of Avicus, as she appears. Rust-red draws Tulimaq's eye and he shakes his own coat out to release the tension of his emotions. As his coat settles in to haphazard peaks after-the-fact, he answers:

This is Mauruk. She is Anneriwok, one who is yet to prove herself among my people. Kanuk was one of her teachers. His own voice is heavy as he speaks her name, rumbling softly like metal against stone.

She hunts with my savaktuk - and she will hunt for us, now, here. Tulimaq turns his eye to Mauruk as he says this, as she is beholden to obey.

Another one arrived. This one cloaked in colors warm enough to heat the heart of Mauruk. Close with Tulimaq, she thinks, if only for their seemingly shared stances.

Although she will not answer for herself.

The elder man is quick to answer and make it clear that now her job is to be done here. Despite inward reluctance and the desire to go scoop up the others (specially Tallimat) she knows she is in no position to decline. To do such would be blatant disrespect in the eyes of everyone.

So she nods softly, assurance to his words more than anything else.

I will be happy to offer myself here as hunter, A soft smile brief on her feature for the other woman before her gaze turned to Tulimaq once more.

He had mentioned Kanuk in a heavy way, and she cannot help but wonder — but she knows not what became the better hunter. So she only assumes that he is tired, weary and worked here. A promising sign, she assumes. At least it means boredom will be harder to find.

Tulimaq allays her wariness nearly immediately. one that hunts with Tulimaq, she trusts, at least in some measure. at the woman's words, she turns and gives Mauruk a brief, curt nod, though her face is not unfriendly.

come, she says to both of them, indigo gaze shifting between the two. 'hhow you aroundh. 

it is easy enough. she is not an unknown entity, having to prove herself through a spar or blood. she is once more—a thousand times over, always—grateful for Tulimaq, for the Ulfhedinn's pull of wolves to the Rise.

grateful enough that she begins to trot toward the heart of the territory, but keeping herself at her huntmaster's side, giving him a jocular nudge of her shoulder against his before breaking into a lope.

one glance over her shoulder, to see if Mauruk follows, and then they are off.

It was, perhaps, his place to show the girl around the rise so that Avicus could handle the more important tasks. Yet when the red girl pulled away from them and urged Mauruk to follow, Tulimaq was slow to acquiesce alongside.
He was still thinking of Kanuk. He was full of rage when he pictured the last sight of her broken body, empty of all the life and the experience that made her so valuable once before. He took a moment to stow away the bulk of the strong sentiments that came to him, and then followed after the two women -- keeping to the rear.
He would guard them for some of the distance but be ever watchful of the surroundings, eager to return to his patrols or his hunts, anything to focus on that might lead them to Kanuk's killer.

She was to be shown around by the fellow woman it seemed. Her tail swayed softly as she followed, meek but appreciative of the tour.

It is a lovely home, She offered with a timid smile to the woman. Eyes focused on every detail she would be shown, key to remember the place like a map in her mind.