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.

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. 

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.