April 14, 2022, 09:59 PM
Siku wandered from his parents' angiggak -- without looking back or scoping over his ink-splotched shoulder for the first time. The thought didn't even cross his mind. Neither was the boy hunched in trepidation, instead it was with great excitement that he left a tired Imaq and @Rye after sharing a desire to go observe the stars in the stillness of the night -- promising he would be back in time and brushing his muzzle against both parents own.
This was not to say that the scars of what had happened, both before and after becoming lost in the wilderness with his mother, had completely faded. Perhaps they would always leave a mark on his young soul.
It just meant that it had somehow gotten easier to shoulder. Day after day the blue merle rose, setting about the tasks of learning the inua from his shaman mother, tracking wild game, and learning medicine at his father's side, and with time it wasn't the first thing he thought of. It wasn't the last thing on his mind before Sikuliak drifted into slumber -- which was becoming less fitful. The trauma was not gone, neither was the pain. But it was becoming easier to carry.
Sikuliak ventured into the dark, alone. And when he found a good place to watch the night sky, he settled in peacefully with a smile.
This was not to say that the scars of what had happened, both before and after becoming lost in the wilderness with his mother, had completely faded. Perhaps they would always leave a mark on his young soul.
It just meant that it had somehow gotten easier to shoulder. Day after day the blue merle rose, setting about the tasks of learning the inua from his shaman mother, tracking wild game, and learning medicine at his father's side, and with time it wasn't the first thing he thought of. It wasn't the last thing on his mind before Sikuliak drifted into slumber -- which was becoming less fitful. The trauma was not gone, neither was the pain. But it was becoming easier to carry.
Sikuliak ventured into the dark, alone. And when he found a good place to watch the night sky, he settled in peacefully with a smile.