gone for weeks upon his hunt, then concerned with the injuries of heph and matteo and raiyuk, then welcomed by
both his waiting wives —! chakliux had been quite busy.
today he broke reluctantly from marina's kisses and tullik's waiting arms; he washed himself in seawater and carried a kelp leaf heavy with edible lichen and mollusks to the shelter of
@Towhee.
chakliux announced himself as a friend and guest, curious to know how she was.
She’d only just returned from the copse and settled down in her tepee when she saw a shadow fall across the entrance. Towhee peeked her head outside and found Chakliux standing there, holding a leaf. She stared at him for a few seconds before emerging fully.
-“Did you ever catch that guy?”- she said by way of greeting.
chakliux grunted; he set down his gift and pulled the dangling strip of flesh from where it now hung often around his withers, no longer reeking and smoothed into leather studded with black fur.
"we were close enough for me to take this from his hide. and we have told the people of the rising sun valley his name and his face. dutch of moonsong offered a bounty. he will have no rest."
She was both impressed and revolted by the piece of wolf jerky Chakliux whipped off his back. Towhee stared at it for a beat, though she quickly cut her eyes back to the Gamma’s face lest she miss his answer.
-“They’re hard to catch, even harder to kill. When you do catch him, make sure you kill him twice. And then rip off his head,”- was her sage advice on the matter. -“Shitstains like that have extra lives and an uncanny habit of coming back from the dead, in my experience.”-
She glanced at the other item he’d brought with him, though she made no assumptions about it. Towhee’s eyes hung on the piece of hide again. That was some trophy.
-“You gonna eat that?”- she couldn’t help but wonder.
the seal hunter nodded in sharp agreement, his own murderous thoughts encouraged by towhee. "he will be killed and flayed for more than this; then i will cut every joint of his body so that his spirit will never find peace."
to her inquiry chakliux grinned; "it is for marina. i want her to see this and know that i have hunted the monster, and will take his head one day."
She smiled thinly at Chakliux’s threats, a rumble of camaraderie in her throat. She hoped he would get to exact proper revenge on the man who’d hurt his wife, though Towhee knew creeps like that were slipperier than eels.
-“What brings you to my humble abode today? I mean, other than tales of vengeance,”- she asked.
"i wanted to see you, to bring this meat from the sea. i have only just been back. i did not know that you came to live among us."
apology, mending. "my sons and the children to come will need guidance from hunters. i would like you to help teach them, when they are ready."
She couldn’t imagine why Chakliux wanted to see her in particular, though Towhee didn’t question it. It was nice to be sought out; it kind of made her warm and fuzzy. She followed his lips with her eyes, something he said immediately deadening that sentiment.
Towhee said nothing of the way Raiyuk had made her feel unwanted, instead saying, -“I’m not a hunter, though. I’m a mercenary. I’d be happy to teach anyone who wants to learn from me. That includes Ptero too. Using signs can give a tactical advantage in both combat and hunts,”- she acknowledged.
he considered this; his expression became admiring. "you are warrior, towhee?" but even as he asked, he saw the power of her body, unchanged by age. "this — ptero — they are — ah, signs of paw?" he asked, remembering her exchange with phox.
"i agree. this would make more silence on a hunt." the seal hunter sat before her lodge, beginning to lay out the chitons. "what do you want in trade for your skill and teaching?"
The shift in his expression should’ve flattered her. Instead, she felt a little dismayed, even defensive. Wasn’t it obvious she was a skilled mercenary—indeed, a master of her craft? Towhee knew she was getting older but she was still strong! She was still useful! She had so much to offer!
Chill, she chided her inner voice, saying aloud, -“Yes, it involves signing, facial expressions and body language.”-
Her orange eyes followed Chakliux as he settled in front of her tepee and began sorting through the bits of meat he’d brought along. She eyed them with interest, sniffing at the faint odor of brine.
-“What’s with everyone treating everything like a transaction around here?”- she blurted at his question. -“I teach because it’s my pleasure to share what I know. It gives my life meaning and purpose. My students’ interest in what I have to show them is all the payment I need or want.”-
calmly he cracked the shells open with his back teeth and laid them out in a row on the kelp leaf. in her words he heard the anger of an old woman who has not accepted she is an old woman. but this was only his man spirit speaking; no one questioned the strength of an older man. towhee was not so old as to yet be an elder, and seal hunter women of her years had even brought forth more children. 'old,' then, was not a reason to be thrown away but a time to rest and reap the honor built over life.
"you have many years and much wisdom," chakliux finally said, choosing his words with care. "if your teaching helps a younger hunter bring down the man he has been following or leads him to defending his village, why should that young man not give you meat and fat for your lodge? why should he not sing your praises and bring others to listen to your teaching?" his voice was soft.
"you gathered your skills through trial and blood. you are repaid in what you need to be comfortable, to not hunt so much unless you want. to be tended and heard and respected. that is why i offer a trade for your knowledge, though there is nothing i could give that would be worth so much."
He explained. Towhee listened, wondering if he intentionally stroked her ego. Either way, it worked. She wasn’t so much angry as baffled—and, admittedly, a little irritated—by these customs, though Chakliux’s words placated her.
-“For the record, I’m not opposed to any of that and I won’t reject it if someone ‘repays’ me. I’m grateful if they want to offer that. I just don’t expect it, much less require it, you know? I don’t want anyone thinking I do. I teach for the honor and privilege of it.”-
She glanced at the small morsels laid out on the kelp leaf again, once more sniffing the air and cataloging the scents. But Towhee’s eyes quickly raised back to Chakliux’s face.
-“I don’t have that many years,”- she insisted.
"i understand. this is your right, towhee. but it is also your right to ask for trades. among my people, this is a time of fun. joking. we enjoy traders visiting us and visiting the villages. they bring things we have not seen and those we have. they bring stories. they leave goods behind and pretty things, and sometimes babies."
she insisted upon her years and chakliux grinned. "enough years to question what is around you." he meant it in admiration, then went on; "what is age but how you feel? you are warrior and guardian. it is in your bones and blood, no matter your years."
His answer sounded like a riddle. Towhee snorted, flattered despite herself. Yet she had not forgotten his expression earlier, nor would she likely ever forget the way Raiyuk had made her feel that day.
-“Why did you seem surprised, when I first mentioned I was a warrior?”-
"ah," chakliux answered, understanding now how she had given offense. "when a man comes into a lodge and he says i am a warrior, i am a hunter, we laugh at him. we pretend we cannot see his strength. it is a joke." but one between men.
"i see that you are strong, towhee. i see that your eye is fierce. i know you cannot hear, but what is hearing when you have seeing? and what is seeing if you have hearing? i knew a man once who had no eyes. after a time, he knew each member of the village by step. that is a shaman's magick, to change the body so it is stronger in new ways."
He hadn’t meant to insult her, just like Raiyuk surely hadn’t. Towhee supposed she should feel better, knowing Chakliux treated her no differently than a peer, a fellow man. She nodded her understanding.
-“I have a blind daughter. She’s definitely magical,”- she shared with a wry laugh. -“Anyway, what do we have here? Exactly?”- she said in the next breath, gesturing at his wares.
a blind daughter! he wondered at this, even as he spoke. "these are chitons. bite them with back teeth, like so." chakliux demonstrated twice, using his molars to open the small shells. "you need many to fill a belly. they are better as snacks," he admitted, smile open and inviting.
"and this," white lichen, "it spices the tongue. salty flavor. good with fish."
If her mood had been better, Towhee might’ve laughed at Chakliux’s demonstration. For all its silliness, it was effective. She sampled everything he offered, though she didn’t think she would find much use for the lichen. It made her tongue tingle in a way she didn’t enjoy.
After he took his leave a short time later, Towhee snacked on a few more chitons. They were kind of addictive, at least until she thought she cracked a molar. Then Towhee blinked, spat out the contents of her mouth—grateful they didn’t include a broken shard of tooth—shoved the rest into the back of her tepee and flopped beside them with a sigh.
I saw a note in Discord about wrapping older threads, so I thought I’d fade for us; hope that’s cool! :)