he had woken to find the fox-wolf gone.
he had come home to moonglow with the body of tulukiri.
he did not want to remember her dead and torn body.
hunger and hunting drove him out, and back to the mountain. chakliux paced restlessly in the land just over the border, starting to dig a small-cache along the lee of a stone where he might put the duck he had killed by chance.
She squinted at the figure of a wolf digging a hole not far from the borderline. From where she stood, she could only see the slope of his back as he clawed at the earth, displacing snow and soil. Had that peculiar stranger returned? Or was this another newcomer Meerkat just hadn’t yet met?
Hello there!
she said loudly, approaching with a cautious step. You must be new to Moonspear?
a woman called to him. chakliux turned and with growing interest regarded the fawn pelt and pretty eyes. she carried children as well, the fertile curve of her hip magnifying her appeal.
"i am not of village moonspear. moonglow is where i hunt. the moonwoman said that i should look for the cat. so i have done that today. and i have brought meat for our kin here."
his eyes were bold and direct. "i am called chakliux."
His words gave her pause. Surely Sialuk wouldn’t mind a visitor from Moonglow, though Meerkat couldn’t be entirely certain. He mentioned a cat, kin and Kukutux in particular, before offering his introduction. His gaze pierced her, making Meerkat a little uneasy.
Thank you for the meat, Chakliux. Should I call for Sialuk?
"if you like," chakliux grunted, backing some from the borderline. his eyes were a study in curiosity. "you do not speak in our words. did you come far?"
she seemed nervous. did she fear for her unborn? did she fear him? he did not like the feeling, and turned his eyes away from her pretty face to look over the mountain itself with reverence.
He moved back from the borderline, as if sensing her uneasiness. Meerkat appreciated this small gesture and hesitated to call on Sialuk if this man did not seek an audience. She knew the new Alpha kept busy.
I was born not far from here, just on the other side of the Barrier Mountains,
Meerkat said, gesturing at the far side of Moonspear’s peak. In that sense, she hadn’t come far at all, though his question begged another: Are you from the north, Chakliux?
barrier mountains. he did not know what the first word meant. chakliux noticed also that the woman had not said her name.
both of these things were not questioned.
his teeth were a bright smile. "i am. the people of sialuk and kukutux, ah, they are — sunshine island tribe. i am from the seal hunters. we are kin of blood and marriage to the sunshine ones."
chakliux might have shared his lineage, had he thought the moonspear woman would have understood the names.
She wondered if he might have any connection to Issorartuyok, though she banished the thought shortly thereafter. Meerkat was done reflecting on past hurts, specifically those who’d claimed to care for her only to turn their backs on her. Instead, she pictured this sunshine island tribe, an image which certainly evoked peace and warmth.
But rather than ask him more about that, she suddenly realized she’d failed to ask about the cat. (She’d also neglected to introduce herself, though Meerkat didn’t catch that faux pas yet.) She felt as though she’d heard whispers about such a thing, though details evaded her.
I don’t mean to change the subject but you mentioned a cat,
Meerkat said, the homonym finally hitting her upside the head. And I’m sorry—blame pregnancy brain, I guess!—I’m Meerkat.
pregnancy brain. meerkat. a cat.
"it is good to know you, meerkat," chakliux sorted. did she mean that carrying children made her foolish? he did not understand that and so he did not mention it a second time, refusing to lose face with his ignorance.
"a cat took one of moonglow's hunters. we have tracked it between our villages. i keep a constant journey between there and moonspear, as moonwoman has asked."
She felt the blood drain from her face when Chakliux filled her in about the cat. It had killed someone from Moonglow and was on the prowl somewhere in between the villages. Meerkat suddenly wanted to frantically locate Njord and Stingray to make sure they were safe from the latest apex predator at large.
Thank you for telling me… and for your vigilance,
Meerkat said a little faintly. I’m sure Sialuk is already aware, though I’ll make sure she and everyone else in Moonspear knows about the threat.
She wished she could gather all of them in her ulaq and huddle there until the danger passed. But that wasn’t practical. Meerkat wasn’t sure what could be done. Her eyes suddenly fixed shrewdly on the visitor’s scarred face.
What’s Kukutux’s plan?
she asked.
chakliux shook his head. "she does not tell me her plan. it is firsthunter who makes the plan. and he has put us all to tracking. in every hour of the day i do this."
he threw out his scarred shoulders. "the woman who was caught was alone, away from the village. a cat does not come to a place of many teeth."
The “moon woman” hadn’t shared her plan with Chakliux. He reported the facts as he knew them. Meerkat chose to receive the last few words in the spirit he surely intended them, reassuring herself that if they only stayed near the village, they should be safe. Perhaps they wouldn’t go so far as to huddle in her ulaq, though she would still pass along this information.
Thank you for telling me about this, Chakliux. I think I’d like to go tell my mate and son, make sure to spread the word through the village so everyone is aware. And if there is a plan and Moonspear can help, don’t hesitate to call on us,
she said, sure that Sialuk would feel much the same way.
chakliux wondered at the meaning of this woman's name. she spoke of her family. already a wife and soon to bring life again. chakliux was not immune to looking at married wives, though for the sake of this good meeting and the reputation of his village, he pulled his eyes from her.
"if moonspear needs another warrior, i will be here." with that the scarred hunter turned, heading back down the frostlicked slopes toward moonglow.