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+--- Thread: Ghost Lion Crag tunilaaga ♢ (/showthread.php?tid=42515)
tunilaaga ♢ - Kukutux - July 12, 2020
whenever u have time <3
"adgayum tutuunungis lakuq," kukutux chuffed to @Jarilo, reaching to brush his dark cheek. jadestone eyes rested lingeringly upon him as she pulled away, gaze casting then to her son and daughter. "i will return in some hours."
shifting her narrow shoulders into a strip of soft beige doeskin, the healer paced into the trees of moonspear and departed, padding down the slopes until they narrowed into stone shelves. moss flanked her, still glistening with dew even beneath the afternoon skies. here the shade was rich and fragrant with the shyer kinds of wildflower.
they would be along the river, but kukutux, opting not to mention her first destination, loped until the soft grasses began to give way to shale. the scent that had come to the mountain hung here again, and this time the duck knew it to be cat. muzzle wrinkled in disgust, but kukutux put her attentions toward finding steadier steps this time, trailing up to a wide stone shelf before she tipped back her muzzle and sent up a low call for @Arcturus.
shifting her narrow shoulders into a strip of soft beige doeskin, the healer paced into the trees of moonspear and departed, padding down the slopes until they narrowed into stone shelves. moss flanked her, still glistening with dew even beneath the afternoon skies. here the shade was rich and fragrant with the shyer kinds of wildflower.
they would be along the river, but kukutux, opting not to mention her first destination, loped until the soft grasses began to give way to shale. the scent that had come to the mountain hung here again, and this time the duck knew it to be cat. muzzle wrinkled in disgust, but kukutux put her attentions toward finding steadier steps this time, trailing up to a wide stone shelf before she tipped back her muzzle and sent up a low call for @Arcturus.
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Arcturus - July 13, 2020
it was cat that had arcturus on edge, though the howl that tumbled down from the gilded mountain did little to assay his nerves.
kukutux.
arcturus' gut clenched as he pressed on. he had thought of her -- and moonspear -- often; in a way, moonspear's shadow had never left him.
she was just as he remembered her; slimmer, perhaps -- no doubt from the toils of nursing. she held a peculiar bundle of skin and fur, as was customary for her. of all the wolves arcturus had met, he had never met a wolf quite like kukutux.
"kukutux," the mountaineer breathed into the wild, skin prickling and his heart slowly gaining speed.
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Kukutux - July 16, 2020
"arcturus."
she drew in the sum of him. tall as he had always been, with that same intensity to his sungold eyes. older, perhaps. was he less sad? she could not tell, and quietly directed her jadestone eyes toward the earth. "it is good to see you, brother." a bit breathless in sudden consternation, but kukutux sought to cut that strip of leather, and let free the thought.
"i have brought you something," and here the duck, thankful for something else to do beneath his gaze, nosed open the soft folds of tooth-worked hide. slim muzzle dipped, and then she removed a stick of cured trout taken from the streams that crossed moonspear. bitten into ragged parts, dried in the sun until it curled upon itself.
"this too, for you," she added, gesturing toward the skin. shy, encouraging look lifting her muzzle toward the man once more. she looked into the stone darkness of his guarded veneer. a dull thud sounded along the hall of her chest. would he accept these things? or would arcturus find annoyance in her ways? "gifts to honour you as akkaq."
she drew in the sum of him. tall as he had always been, with that same intensity to his sungold eyes. older, perhaps. was he less sad? she could not tell, and quietly directed her jadestone eyes toward the earth. "it is good to see you, brother." a bit breathless in sudden consternation, but kukutux sought to cut that strip of leather, and let free the thought.
"i have brought you something," and here the duck, thankful for something else to do beneath his gaze, nosed open the soft folds of tooth-worked hide. slim muzzle dipped, and then she removed a stick of cured trout taken from the streams that crossed moonspear. bitten into ragged parts, dried in the sun until it curled upon itself.
"this too, for you," she added, gesturing toward the skin. shy, encouraging look lifting her muzzle toward the man once more. she looked into the stone darkness of his guarded veneer. a dull thud sounded along the hall of her chest. would he accept these things? or would arcturus find annoyance in her ways? "gifts to honour you as akkaq."
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Arcturus - July 19, 2020
was he less sad? arcturus didn't know, truthfully. life had a strange way of turning him in a tailspin. he was miles away from everything he had known -- and thousands of lives away from what he wanted. "it is good to see you too." his words were stilted, but seeing kukutux in this moment was like beholding a divine vision.
did he deserve this gift? his throat constricted as the duck bent to the hide, unfurling artefacts within it. his nose told him it was trout, carefully prepared -- painstakingly prepared. when she looked upon him, it was not the earnest of her gaze he felt, but the twist of a thousand knives: betrayer.
he silently placed a paw over the hide and the cured meat, pulling it towards him and wishing instead he was pulling her (wrong, wrong, wrong!). her svelte form, her soft but stricken gaze -- could have been his in another world, had he not been so ... arcturusly.
"i do not deserve these gifts." arcturus announced, though he was loathe to give them back to the duck. "how are your children? what are their names?"
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Kukutux - July 23, 2020
kukutux shook her head. it was customary for the clan to recognize the contributions other family members could make to the young. he no longer resided at moonspear — her heart sighed a silent breath — but she could honor him all the same.
"there are two. a girl, sialuk. she is named for drops of rain. and saviguk, a boy. he is like a crystal of ice. she wears my robes, but he is dark, like —"
his father.
you.
hydra.
" — like many on the mountain," the snowbird finished softly, choosing a more vague allusion. perhaps she should not have gone out of her way. arcturus would know why. ears twitched, but she refused to quail. not now. "they grow and grow. no longer do they take milk. it was very fast," here a light laugh, the lift of her jadestone eyes toward the sable man, now a hunter in th tuktu.
"there are two. a girl, sialuk. she is named for drops of rain. and saviguk, a boy. he is like a crystal of ice. she wears my robes, but he is dark, like —"
his father.
you.
hydra.
" — like many on the mountain," the snowbird finished softly, choosing a more vague allusion. perhaps she should not have gone out of her way. arcturus would know why. ears twitched, but she refused to quail. not now. "they grow and grow. no longer do they take milk. it was very fast," here a light laugh, the lift of her jadestone eyes toward the sable man, now a hunter in th tuktu.
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Arcturus - July 25, 2020
sialuk and saviguk.
these were not the names that fit in the naming convention of the spear, but arcturus thought them savagely beautiful.
regret passed through him swift and as keen as an arrow, and then, it was gone -- for he had made his choices and she hers, and there was no use ever looking back.
"powerful names." arcturus commented, wishing he knew but a single word in kukutux's bizarre and incredible world. "will you teach me other words and names? i would like to know, so if i ever meet them." his tone was tinged with bitterness, for it was unlikely even now, he could know the faces of his nieces and nephews.
catching drift of her very last words, arcturus stood straight. "would you like to hunt, then?"
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Kukutux - July 28, 2020
"yes." to both, and she turned her face to hide a smile as she moved to position herself alongside the firebird. "what can be caught in these stones?" kukutux wondered aloud, glancing to arcturus. she was happy to follow him as lead, for he would know this terrain more aptly than herself.
and it was a curious place, with the hinterlands lurking beyond. this was as far from moonspear as kukutux might venture, at least for the present. she was quiet now, springmint eyes darting along each shadow and layered place that could house prey. a long scent of her nostrils; she leaned into the wind, and now the reek of the beast came to her again. "kuusxix," she said of the stench, lips tight for a moment around her careful teeth.
and it was a curious place, with the hinterlands lurking beyond. this was as far from moonspear as kukutux might venture, at least for the present. she was quiet now, springmint eyes darting along each shadow and layered place that could house prey. a long scent of her nostrils; she leaned into the wind, and now the reek of the beast came to her again. "kuusxix," she said of the stench, lips tight for a moment around her careful teeth.
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Arcturus - July 28, 2020
kukutux turned her sylph-like face away, and arcturus missed the soft smile that graced her features like rosy morning. his own gaze was on the stones. there was small game to be had here, but he did not wish to simply catch kukutux a rabbit.
somehow.. he felt he needed to provide her with something more. something better than mealy hare.
he moved off, their pace in unison. he paused as the duck sampled the air, his brow furrowed until at last the scent hit him too. "kuusix." he repeated, fumbling inexpertly over the word. "kuusxix." this time a little better.
the scent was feline in origin, but arcturus needed confirmation. "cat?"
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Kukutux - July 28, 2020
"yes," kukutux murmured. "after my children came, a cat invaded moonspear. i learned the word then." on the open ice was no place for the reticent, sure-footed beasts. the tundra itself held no shelter for them, only those who learned to be visible for many lengths away. such a world had all but confined itself to memory these days, for the teekon was so vastly different a place from where she had been born.
"oh! i did not show you my hunting mark, arcturus," and here the snowbird paused, half-turning with a lifted paw to show the healed scar high upon her right shoulder, the shape of a jagged, fel-formed cross. "bo-ar," the duck revealed, the word slow and careful. "now i am like a man." her small teeth glowed with another smile; kukutux had not realized how good it was to be away, how she had worried about the storm-shadow who had once lived upon moonspear.
"oh! i did not show you my hunting mark, arcturus," and here the snowbird paused, half-turning with a lifted paw to show the healed scar high upon her right shoulder, the shape of a jagged, fel-formed cross. "bo-ar," the duck revealed, the word slow and careful. "now i am like a man." her small teeth glowed with another smile; kukutux had not realized how good it was to be away, how she had worried about the storm-shadow who had once lived upon moonspear.
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Arcturus - August 04, 2020
there came a pang in arcturus' heart to learn cat had invaded moonspear so soon after his departure. he surveyed the duck carefully, eyes rimmed by concern -- she did not articulate any grave losses, and so he was left to assume they had driven the beast back.
pausing as he sensed kukutux's gait slow, arcturus' gaze traveled to the dark criss-cross mark that sullied her slim leg. boar. fearsome as cougars could be, arcturus would prefer cat to pig -- for boar were feckless creatures, driven by deep hate and rage. "you are like no man i have known." arcturus marveled, thinking it sad she would compare herself to what he viewed as the lesser gender.
"a warrior's heart in you, then." arcturus remarked gently, continuing their climb. "what is next for kill-scars -- bear?"
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Kukutux - August 05, 2020
what did he mean by this? kukutux fell into one of her thoughtful silences, glancing at him in the practiced way of her clan: sideways with a submissive dip of her muzzle. perhaps he meant to chide her, though that thought was dismissed. he had seemed ... admiring? of her? but he was hunter. he had been born hunter.
aatalinugiksuk, the inner spirit remarked cheekily, and kukutux flushed to the sensitive inner ear. piluktuk! she thought immediately after, frightened that she had broken some taboo of marriage yet not known to her. "women do not hunt like men. therefore, i must be unlike a man, or unlike a woman."
the duck softened her features to show she was only teasing, and then looked ahead of them at a tree hanging over an incline. but this time she did not speak, wondering as always if she had said too much. however, determined not to allow the silence too large a swell, she took a breath. "do you want to know the name i gave to you in my head the night i was traded to moonspear?"
aatalinugiksuk, the inner spirit remarked cheekily, and kukutux flushed to the sensitive inner ear. piluktuk! she thought immediately after, frightened that she had broken some taboo of marriage yet not known to her. "women do not hunt like men. therefore, i must be unlike a man, or unlike a woman."
the duck softened her features to show she was only teasing, and then looked ahead of them at a tree hanging over an incline. but this time she did not speak, wondering as always if she had said too much. however, determined not to allow the silence too large a swell, she took a breath. "do you want to know the name i gave to you in my head the night i was traded to moonspear?"
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Arcturus - August 11, 2020
together they traveled in thoughtful silence. arcturus worried briefly he might have offended the dove; damn his cumbersome tongue. out of the corner of his eyes he saw kukutux glance slyly his way, the cant of her delicate muzzle shielding any emotion that stirred in her gaze. he continued, swearing to remain silent lest his foolish tongue wag its way into deeper insults.
women do not hunt like men. arcturus believed differently, but he reminded himself they were both born of distinctively different clades. they may share blood by marriage, but they shared zero heritage -- his culture was every bit as strange to her as hers was to him.
they neared a tree which hung morosely over a rocky slope. arcturus followed kukutux's gaze to its warped features, realizing he had been prompted to speak. so much for sworn silence. "what?" he asked, his tone curious -- it had been some time sine he had thought of that night, but the more he thought of it, the more he resented his home for treating kukutux like she was chattel to be traded and bartered. would hydra have ever done that to one of her own daughters?
to him?
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Kukutux - August 11, 2020
"kisuk." the verdancy of her gaze finally rested with an open nature upon arcturus. "dark cloud over open water." he had been forbidding that night, guarded; he had not taken her as wife, and at that kukutux might always wonder. happy as jarilo made her, relieved as she was to give a son and a daughter into the clan of moonspear, there remained the silent question of why.
she would not ask it now.
"but i find that i am wrong," the duck went on, drawing closer to the twisted trunk and scenting its surface lightly. "you are tinaurak. black moss that is silent until lit by fire." like revui. like hydra. "i hope you do not find insult in these names, arcturus," she added, drawing her eyes back to his visage. "i speak the words to keep my language alive."
she would not ask it now.
"but i find that i am wrong," the duck went on, drawing closer to the twisted trunk and scenting its surface lightly. "you are tinaurak. black moss that is silent until lit by fire." like revui. like hydra. "i hope you do not find insult in these names, arcturus," she added, drawing her eyes back to his visage. "i speak the words to keep my language alive."
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Arcturus - August 17, 2020
kisuk.
arcturus was no poet, but the word rolled smooth with a sharp edge off of his tongue.
it was certainly easier to say than arcturus, which was cumbersome and sometimes, not as beautiful as other languages in the wild.
but not kisuk -- something else. tinaurak. another word with an open beginning and hard close: if there was anything arcturus liked about kukutux's language, it was that so many words in her natal tongue had that little glint, that hard edge -- he felt it as a fang pressed against his throat.
"i like the first better." arcturus speculated, feeling bashful that he might have occupied kukutux's thoughts. "neither offend me." he was quick to add, for he found himself sorry he did not have as equally a captivating response for the duck. "it is important you keep your roots alive, kukutux." arcturus' tone was soft, but solemn -- much like many of her words, he started carefully and finished with a hard bite: "do not let the mountain crush it out of you."
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Kukutux - August 20, 2020
a featherlight touch of something unknowable behind her breastbone as he said her name, and then the dandelion-fluff of it, chased away by his warning toward moonspear. did such bitterness still exist in him? kukutux blinked, and then nodded, feeling compelled by the sudden firmness in his quiet yellow stare. "i will remain who i am, brother," she affirmed with a solemn blink of her verdant eyes, wondering swiftly how she might urge the splinter from his heart.
kukutux wished to beg him back, but kept her slim jaw silent upon that point. he would not return, and further talk of the place where he had once been chieftain would only harm him. and yet there was a stubborn part of the duck, perhaps the one exposed theatday she had hunted boar with astaroth. "but you must do the same."
kukutux wished to beg him back, but kept her slim jaw silent upon that point. he would not return, and further talk of the place where he had once been chieftain would only harm him. and yet there was a stubborn part of the duck, perhaps the one exposed theatday she had hunted boar with astaroth. "but you must do the same."
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Arcturus - August 28, 2020
such bitterness still existed in the ostrega, who kept the low-burning fires of his anger alive any time his thoughts revisited what had transpired on the spear. he was momentarily shamed by how harsh his words had come across, but he saw in kukutux possible understanding. either that, or arcturus was simply looking for things that were not there to justify his emotions.
he almost let a bitter laugh escape him as he heard kukutux; she was right, but was he not here because he refused to let the mountain roll over him? he had not seen eye to eye, and here he was -- self-outcasted and self-exiled while moonspear's high ridges sat smugly in the distance. watching him always.
"i will, sister." arcturus murmured, feeling a different kind of kinship spark between him and kukutux. just for moment, that enormous gulf between them seemed passable -- but then arcturus lost it. "the mountain breeds hardness, i can say that much. you and i may be too stubborn yet to let go of the things we see as important."
it was just too bad that arcturus' important sat miles away from his birthplace in the name of a she-wolf named wraen.
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Kukutux - August 29, 2020
something else, playing upon the round red ends of her soul-string when he called her sister. kukutux refused to give it a name, willing it to fade into some unknowable mist and never again make itself known. ivoried ears held his words and she gave a slow blink in the affirmative.
stubborn. it was how one must be if they were not to fall behind the lash of the hunter's spear-halt. for a dizzying, awful moment, kukutux thought wildly to ask after charon and amekaze, assure arcturus that they watched the mountain and saw all. but there was not room for ancestors in this place. the duck set back the incredulous idea, heart thrumming.
"may we always stand upon firm soles," the snowbird blessed, moving on with another small smile. "in two moons, i think that sialuk and saviguk will be old enough to come down. would you like to meet them then?" she asked softly, voice tinged in apology should the hunter feel overwhelmed by the prospect.
stubborn. it was how one must be if they were not to fall behind the lash of the hunter's spear-halt. for a dizzying, awful moment, kukutux thought wildly to ask after charon and amekaze, assure arcturus that they watched the mountain and saw all. but there was not room for ancestors in this place. the duck set back the incredulous idea, heart thrumming.
"may we always stand upon firm soles," the snowbird blessed, moving on with another small smile. "in two moons, i think that sialuk and saviguk will be old enough to come down. would you like to meet them then?" she asked softly, voice tinged in apology should the hunter feel overwhelmed by the prospect.
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Arcturus - September 09, 2020
it was good arcturus was given no window to kukutux's thoughts -- he would have quailed at the very mention of amekaze or charon. he had neither the stomach nor the heart to glance into the soulsphere and see his parents -- what would they think of the horrible thing their son had become?
may we always stand on firm soles. arcturus rolled on his paw-pads absently, feeling the bite of the earth between his paw-grooves. "may the mountain always stand." he replied equally distantly, feeling a somberness settle in his bones.
kukutux's invitation drew a flick of his ear as he thought of the logistics. arcturus's response was strangely hushed, as if moonspear would hear. "yes. where?"
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Kukutux - September 09, 2020
kuktutux fell silent as she considered it. here the stone-spirits would be too rough for young paws. the glen with its closeness to moonspear, its wreathing of hydra's scent, would be uncomfortable for arcturus. the nearby valley then, but she considered also its proximity.
a small, shy smile on offer for her silence. "i am thinking of where they might walk," she admitted, for the change in his tone and the unsurety in her heart had placed her into a position she did not understand. and yet her jadestone gaze clambered the planes of his face once more, touching lightly into the hushed yellow of the eyes standing out against his ostrega-dark fur.
"the flat place that holds shadows," the duck murmured at last. nocturne was the name of it, though she did not know this. "i will bring them and call for you." arcturus had never failed their meetings; she would honor him, for he was part of her family even if he no longer belonged to that claim.
a small, shy smile on offer for her silence. "i am thinking of where they might walk," she admitted, for the change in his tone and the unsurety in her heart had placed her into a position she did not understand. and yet her jadestone gaze clambered the planes of his face once more, touching lightly into the hushed yellow of the eyes standing out against his ostrega-dark fur.
"the flat place that holds shadows," the duck murmured at last. nocturne was the name of it, though she did not know this. "i will bring them and call for you." arcturus had never failed their meetings; she would honor him, for he was part of her family even if he no longer belonged to that claim.
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Arcturus - September 16, 2020
another span of silence between them. this time kukutux broached it with a small smile, one that put the mountaineer's bounding thoughts at ease.
she was thinking of the little ones, then -- it made sense. arcturus lacked that parental foresight, and simply nodded.
while he did not know the name of nocturne summit either, he recognized her description of it immediately. a good spot - easy for the pups to traverse, and not so close that those on the mountain might see him. he dipped his head in acknowledgement, feeling sorry then that their meet may soon come to a close.
he only hoped then, that as her call filled the air, he might hear it.
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Kukutux - September 19, 2020
she did not wish to leave. kukutux had come here to hunt with arcturus, but as always, their words had come between their intentions. and now like cobwebbing her tongue lay snared and silent. she knew her departure need not be announced. he had grown quiet and aloof in the way of himself, how he had always been, how she had known him.
a swallow bobbed the pillar of her swan's throat; kukutux blinked toward the ground and then pale ears cupped back against her skull. pawsteps paused, the snowduck darted her crown beneath his chin, hovering sparrowlike against the edge of his heartbeat before drawing aside. no words, and none she could dare form.
a swallow bobbed the pillar of her swan's throat; kukutux blinked toward the ground and then pale ears cupped back against her skull. pawsteps paused, the snowduck darted her crown beneath his chin, hovering sparrowlike against the edge of his heartbeat before drawing aside. no words, and none she could dare form.
RE: tunilaaga ♢ - Arcturus - October 23, 2020
soon (often too soon) their time came to a close. arcturus always dreaded this part; the lull in conversation, the sorrowed silence -- shuffling, looking away, thinking of things on the horizon:
and always, them -- back to that first day, back to when he had hurt her grievously and had been too self-involved to know.
his heart fell under hammer-fire as she moved close; something akin to want stirred deep in his breast, but he denied it. she was his brother's and he hers' -- it went against the very grain of arcturus' self-believed values to even think -- no, do not --
his throat was dry as kukutux pulled away. a solemnity between them that only she inspired.
he gave her one long, pausing look -- hoping earnestly he would see her again -- before his legs tore him away and he was running, running away from a grave and terrible thought.