Comfortably settled back in Moonspear after her voyage to Moonglow, Elentari found it easy to slip back into her usual routine. Hunting. Perfecting the art of curing skins and furs. Gathering herbs. Basic patrolling and cache filling.

And of course, frequent visits to Sialuk's ulaq. There was no need now, to hide how she felt. She wasn't shy about it, either. She and the silver dappled woman had come to admit their feelings even before their visit at Mooglow was over. There was no second guessing. Each knew what the other wanted. And it was the same.

Early that day, she woke to the urgent calls of the star woman. She smiled, glad for her. As she went to lay her head back down to get a few more hours sleep, something stopped her. A tickle in her stomach. A radiant warmth just beneath her skin. A sense of fidgetiness that she just couldn't shake. A coy laugh resonated in her throat.

How ironic it should be that her time had come, just as Sialuk's had. Was it a sign? Proof that their friendship was meant to be more than what it had been, so far

Shaking out her midnight, star dappled coat, Elentari rose and stepped out into the open. Boldly, she called out. But not for a man. Her voice was for Sialuk, sweet and urgent. Today, she would test what they had discussed so many times before. If their words were just words, or if their spirits were truly linked.

She awoke from her slumber with @Chakliux at her side, and she kissed him softly as he slept. Elentari called, but not for a man. Sialuk grinned, bid her lover farewell, and sauntered to the dark woman’s chambers.

The ancestors play clever tricks, she said when she arrived, playfully nipping her lover upon her shoulder. But you call not for a man to give you children? she asked, curious. Sialuk could provide pleasure, but not the children Elentari had spoken of. Only a man could do such a thing. Perhaps she had decided against it, as Keen had. Sialuk thought of the absent woman now, and of the sweet Bridget who had captured Keen’s attention for a time.

Elentari's ulaq was sparsely decorated, in comparison to the starwoman's. She had of course, the black fox pelt. The set of tusks from the wild pig she and Chakliux had taken down together. And most recently, two discarded talons of a golden eagle. 

Sialuk came, placing a nip on her shoulder. Her skin buzzed. She rushed forward, to press in close to the woman she loved. "That, or they truly do mean for this union." She replied in turn, not holding back the grin on her lips. She said nothing else for the time being, content to simply bask in Sialuk's presence. Her tail waving slowly behind her, further spreading the scent of temptation.

"I call for you, first." She pulled back enough to peer into golden eyes. Holding her gaze fast. She needn't remind her of their conversation on the way to Moonglow. "Now that our time has come, I wanted to re-affirm our feelings. You know I want a family, Sialuk. I want one with you and Argent. But not if jealousy comes between the three of us." She had gotten to him first as her lover. And Argent had chosen her. It was entirely possible that he would spurn the Archer's advances. That his feelings did not align with her own.

"I just want to be sure." She clarified. Today, if jealously reared it's head in this truest of tests, Elentari would be the one to yield.

I am sure, she assured Elentari, placing a kiss on her cheek. Sialuk had felt a twinge of the ugly feeling with Chakliux, but more-so because he was wed to Nasamik. He would not stay, Sialuk did not think. His first wife and first son would need him in Moontide, and she would not take this away from him. He had paid his debt, and Sialuk would release him now that he had done so.

Will it be a surprise to Argent, that you want this? the starwoman asked. Since her trip, Sialuk had largely kept to herself, resting and recovering from the long journey with long nights and days of sleep. Sialuk had spoken of marriage and children with Argent, though it appeared the latter would come before the former.

The Raindrop's clarity assured her. She relaxed noticeably against her, breathing a slight sigh of relief. Archers were not known to second guess themselves. But maybe because this was her first serious affair (hopefully to turn commitment) was why she tread lightly. "Then, as am I." She leaned her cheek in to press affectionately against Sialuk's own.

She bit her lip slightly, contemplating. "Possibly. We both know we have a connection." But how strong? The next moments would set the path for where things went next. If faced with rejection, Elentari would put plans of her own biological children on hold, until she found the right man. But keep Sialuk close, as she did now. "Let's find out, shall we?" She grinned. Tossing her head back, her melodic voice was for @Argent alone. A gentle nudge for Sialuk, encouraging her to join in song. A duet of unity between women.

Undone. 

It was the only way in which to describe his current state, and so the silver man doted upon the borders, mistrusting himself to not get in the way of Sialuk and the lovers she wished to bed during this time… as much as it pierced at him. 

When the crooning dulcet tones of Elentari beckoned him though, he began to weave his way to her summons… Surprised when her scent shifted—and to the ulaq of his raindrop. 

He bowed his head to peer within—icestorm gaze falling upon the stark ebony of Elentari’s pelt as it merged to the pale flank of his lover—a question in his eyes and a rumble in his chest though he dare not speak in that moment.

She kissed her lover gently on her head, listening to the question with a flutter in her chest. The raindrop had sensed darkness in Argent's spirit when he had come to see her, but she pressed that aside. This moment was for Elentari, and Sialuk let her own voice call out alongside the Archer's. As they waited, she embraced the woman, showering her with a series of loving kisses and mumbling sweet nothings into her ear, interspersed with joyous giggling. My mitilluk, she murmured, preening the fur on the nape of her neck.

When she heard footsteps outside, she quieted, blinking into the darkness of night to find the shape of Argent. This was Elentari's moment, and Sialuk released her embrace, taking a step back so the two might do... whatever they decided to do. Involved directly or not, Sialuk certainly planned to stick around as long as she was invited to do so.

She murmured something sweetly into her ear. Mitilluk. A term whose meaning she did not understand, in this language. Yet she knew it to be meaningful. Endearing. Held comfortably in the warmth of her embrace, Elentari appreciated Sialuk's simple presence.

Then Argent. Coming to her call, poking his head in with a questioning sound. She pulled herself from Sialuk, her own scent still thick on her dark fur. "We are together, in this time. As before." She stepped outside, into the calm air. Winding her onyx form around him. "I desire a family. With her...with us, all equal." Sialuk's simple presence here should be plenty proof enough of her willingness.

But before she could proceed further, she had to know if Argent's desires aligned with their own.

His summoning—he had not fully known what to make of it, not after having been caught off guard by Sialuk’s desire to bed multiple men in her quest for family. Still, he was soothed by the way the women wound about one another—affection laced not only in their embrace toward each other but within their soft spoken words and the gentle laughter within the Ulaq just before his presence tempered them.

An icy gaze assumed by many to mean coldness—Argent looked to them both with softened affection, if not a hint of hesitance. Elentari pulled herself from Sialuk’s warmth and came to him, her scent surrounding him—coaxing him and drawing his muzzle closer to her. The hint of a cheek graze—enraptured by her.

And then she spoke—choosing him a father. Him. The title he hadn’t known he had wanted until he had come to this very mountain, and he ushered out a breath. “I am honored, Elentari…”


And then a tentative gaze to Sialuk—never to be forgotten in his mind or heart. "If you are both certain."

"We have never been more certain." She affirmed softy, pressing her cheek affectionately against his. "The bond and connection I share with Sialuk...I feel it with you, too. This way, it may only grow deeper." She wanted him involved with her and Sialuk, in this way. A tight knit, close family unit where all were one. Equal in each others eyes. And that extended to their children.

Crooning sweetly to Sialuk as she moved past, she led Argent into the ulaq. There, inside they would begin to write the next chapter of Moonspear.

Fade