That evening, she slipped away from the circle of healers and their prying eyes, needing time to process all that had been said. Moonsong, no -
Morningsong - was led by Dutch now. Whatever circumstances had amounted to his rise to leadership would become clearer on her return, she assured herself. Though the whole thing had left her mind reeling. And Ariadne-
Was this all a sick prank? She thought of the white raven and its grating laughter.
Sedna must surely be laughing at her now.
Snapping frustrated at an offending stick as she entered the pine forest, Ulloriaq found herself wandering aimlessly. For someone so good at directions, it was uncharacteristic of her to get lost - though in that moment she found she did not care much for where she was going. Alone with the trees again; it comforted her in a way nothing else could.
@Esma
Esma would have never strayed this far from the hollow, were it not for the need to find a particular herb that had been going low in Ash Paw's stock. While she was not good with remembering their names, her memory of scents and ability to track and map them was excellent. She had found a small dried up and fairly dead patch of that plant along the way to the Witch's marsh. Then another, until she had come to this place. The half-melted-frozen blanket of snow made it difficult to track, but she was determined.
When she had collected a small pile of the particular herb in decent condition (for the wintertime), she caught sight of, what first had appeared to be a snow-pile and now turned out to be a grown-up wolf with a cream-coloured coat. The first thing that came to her mind was one of the two bears - supposed to be the white one, representing light, opposing the pitch black one. She wondered, if Atka and Sos could take also wolf forms and if it could be that this person was an impersonation of a god. Not a regular wolf.
While she pondered, she forgot to hide or make her presence known by greeting the other wolf.
While she walked, a shape up ahead that definitely wasn't a tree drew her curiosity. It was a girl - a pitiful brown and grey thing - easily overlooked had it not been for the bundle of herbs clutched in her jaws.
"Little one," she chuffed a greeting, not wanting to startle her as she appeared deep in thought. "Are you on your way to Kukutux's healing circle?" For what other explanation was there except that she was a wanderer of sorts.
From this distance, she could not detect a familiar scent, and instead took to gazing at her curiously.
Esma had also forgotten that there were still some herbs in her jaws, therefore, when she jumped in surprise and attempted to say something at the same time, she got a mouthful of dried grass poking at her palates and throat. A coughing fit followed and ended with Esma looking down sadly at the saliva and dirt covered mess that Ash Paw would not longer be able to put to good use.
"Is Kukutux your god?" Esma was the first question out of her, when she finally looked up at the stranger. Such an odd sounding name.
While she had truly not meant to startle her, a pang of guilt had her surging forward to comfort the girl through the coughing fit with gentle strokes of her tail should she allow it. "Ay, do not speak. Just rest." The herbs were no less recognisable to the northern woman now than they had been fresh and green. Still, she could sympathise with seeing your own hard work go to waste.
Only when she had recovered did Ulloriaq finally step back, lips quirking at the question. "Kukutux - moonwoman - she is well respected among her people. Her mind is a wealth of knowledge and her words speak true, always." While it was said that those among the living could ascend to godhood, Kukutux was just a woman to her. A powerful one, but a woman nonetheless.
Still, she couldn't help but be curious where the girl's train of thought had come from. "Does that make someone a god?"
Esma had to think about this question. If Atka and Sos were gods, which did not interfere with your life much and you could have quite transactional relationship with them, then John's god had been made of a different cloth. And something about his god always being right and this moonwoman always speaking the truth felt similar. Yet the kind man's god was not visible, the man did not know its form or shape, but he firmly believed it. The person that was discussed here sounded like being quite real.
"I do not know for sure," Esma finally said. "I think... if you believe she is... then she is a god. To you. To her people," she concluded. It dawned upon her that, when it came to gods it was a matter of believing them. Atka and Sos were very real to Ash Paw, but she would pay no mind to John's god. Vice versa - John's god implied that he was the only one there was. To John the bear gods were just a fancy story.
"Do you believe in her?" Esma finished her musings with a question.