anaana.
his voice is nothing but a whisper, carried off by frigid winds. perhaps it would reach
@Kukutux’s ears, wherever she may be. A part of him hopes not. A part of him wishes to continue to dip and weave around this conversation weeks overdue.
lómion swallowed.
he could not avoid this forever.
his whisper.
kukutux blinked. "igniga." moonwoman's eyes were warm upon the growing boy.
his voice was soft.
her brow creased with concern as she sat before him.
the children kicked within her.
she came to him with concern. and for a moment — one of many moments — he wonders if he should hold his tongue about all of this. but she was here now, and he just had to know.
there was a —
a man in the glen. lómion stopped himself before he could finish. this wasn’t about that, not entirely.
are there more gods? like sedna?
"yes."
"there is toteega. there is akna." she set her gaze gently on the almost-hunter. "amaguq is wolf of the stars. anguta is hunter of the sky."
the duck studied her son. "lómion, why do you ask this thing?" her voice was soft.
names were listed. he repeated each of them with a gentle whisper within his mind. toteega, akna, amaguq, anguta. he awaited a fifth with held breath. god. his name is not spoken.
lómion blinked, then shook his head. i met a man in the glen,
he blurted. he said to me —
they weren’t real. all of them were false gods. he said it so confidently. but lómion could not.
— he told me of another god. a different one.
kukutux nodded. "there are many gods in the world. some of them do not even have names."
a man, in the glen. it had always been a place of somberness to her. "what title did this man give to this god?" she was curious now, moreso now that she saw the expression upon the face of her son.
many gods. and so many questions came to mind, most to be thought upon on his own time.
god,
he replied simply.
perhaps kukutux hadn’t meant to hide this knowledge away then. perhaps the man had spoken of one of these many, nameless gods. there was, however, one problem with that.
he’s the only true god.
lómion spoke softly and stared off at nothing for a long while. then he looked up to his mother, his eyes coming back to life.
that’s — that’s what the man told me.
the following question was forced from his mouth as though it was merely duty. but he’s wrong isn’t he?
kukutux shook her head. "there is not only one god. how can that be when we do not even know the names of all who exist?" her voice was gently challenging but not hard; she reached to touch his shoulder. how tall he was becoming.
"he is wrong," the duck affirmed. her smile was gentle. "i think it is time that you became a man, lómion. once you have started the path of your ceremony, the spirits who are only for men to see will show themselves to you."
then would her son understand.
his mother denied the existence of this one god just as confidently as the man had denied theirs. lómion sat in the midst of it all, unsure what to believe now.
but despite the reality of his conflicting thoughts, he’d take the side of kukutux in that moment. he nodded to her, smiled weakly, and cast his doubts aside for now. perhaps in time he would not have to feign certainty. he could hope at least.
it’d be an honor to see them,
he spoke softly. what will they look like?
"do you see that mountain?"
kukutux pointed with her muzzle toward the place that had once held the name of moonspear.
"that is a place where spirits walk. it was once my home. a star fell from the sky and struck the earth."
the ground hummed with voices that perhaps only sialuk could hear.
"these spirits take many forms. some you will know. some you will not."
she looked seriously at him.
"when you are ready, this is how you must do it: do not eat for three days and then go there. i will give you a special plant you must swallow when you reach the mountain. make a sacrifice, aaglunukat. and then you will be given a vision. it may take more days. it may take only a short time. but they will come."
his eyes are guided towards a mountain. it was so faraway, silver against the sky, vailed by a curtain of clouds.
it was kukutux’s home at a time. struck by a star. now it is where the spirits she spoke of roam.
he is to visit them one day when he is ready. her instruction was stored in his mind. he’d go over it for weeks to come surely. up until the day he’d decide to take the journey.
well, i— i can’t wait to see them.
he turned to kukutux. should i tell everyone when i’m ready to go?
moonwoman did not think that was the end of her son's thoughts. but now he guarded them away from her. his were words that must be spoken aloud to sacred ears.
she nodded. "use your voice. you only need to call. do not let your sisters keep you here."
he must learn to walk alone on this questing. she smiled gently at him, wondering if there were more questions to come.