for a moment, moonmother willed ciri to take hold of this rank. but the second did not come. "peregrine is kingullimik." there was a place for thirdhunter, but it was often reserved for children, apprentices eager to hunt with skilled men and women.

"sivullik, call upon your secondhunter. he is there for you to direct and to trust when you cannot be away from the village."

"kingullimik, you are not alone in your duties. you have galana, ciri, and kyrell to give teeth to your hunts." a pause. "to you both: there are also the hunters of moonspear, moontide, and morningsong to gather as more strength when a large beast must be taken, or when an enemy must be defeated." she grinned, watching those gathered; "i will hunt also with you, and sun man too."

kukutux went on with her instruction: sivullik accompanied leaders upon journeys of diplomacy and acted as war chief in times of conflict. the duck paused to wryly point out that no one had yet ever been foolish enough to challenge the coalition of moonpacks. it was firsthunter who chose the larger hunts and longer hunting-walks, for example deciding that a pair of hunters might follow a herd for more than a day. or choosing the place for an elk hunt, and calling others down from their related villages if he found it necessary. the post required travel when her granddaughters were older, for with travel and familiarity grew trust. his foremost duty was moonglow, however, and he could expect to be added to their councils in future times. when it was time, sivullik decided which children were old enough to join the hunts and when. 


kingullimik's role was to step forward when sivullik could not. should valiant fall sick or become injured, it would be peregrine who took up firsthunter's tasks for a time. to be either required trust between both. outside of this, secondhunter kept watch over the closest forests, keeping his hunts close to the villages. often he was paired with another if not firsthunter; the power of fangs was in their cohesion. often, moving so closely and so often through the land familiarized a hunting wolf with the movements of resident herds and their health, something that could be used when planning a kill.

every wolf in moonglow could be called up as a fighter. every hunter in the village then would become a warrior. it was important that any pieces of information, any threat, or any sign of encroaching packs discovered by ranging hunters be brought to attention at once. while in the brush beyond moonglow, they represented the village as protectors, guardians of not only their home but the moon territories as well.

now, what was needed; "we have many choices already for hunting. the land is rich. i tell you what i have seen with my eyes while i traveled. the caribou have gathered near moontide. the elk dance in the glen. i have seen deer in the moonstone place. across the plains, far from us, i have seen the great bison moving again."

as she spoke these potential things aloud, her eyes were filled with interest and pride, for the woman wondered to see how these formal changes might influence the face of her village.