+- Wolf RPG (https://wolf-rpg.com)
+-- Forum: In Character: Roleplaying (https://wolf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=5)
+--- Forum: Sequoia Coast (https://wolf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=37)
+--- Thread: Ocean's Breath Plateau qigḷukpagniq — lament (/showthread.php?tid=64164)
qigḷukpagniq — lament - Raiyuk - December 26, 2024
The rain fell in thin needles, a steady rhythm against the gray-green tide. Raiyuk stood ankle-deep in the cold water, breakfast forgotten behind him. He didn’t feel the cold anymore, didn’t feel much at all. The ocean’s pulse mirrored something deep inside him—slow, relentless, pulling at him. Gulls shrieked overhead, their cries cutting through the rain, but he was numb to the world beyond the water.
The thought of stepping further into the sea didn’t frighten him. It didn’t feel like anything at all.
His father’s face surfaced in his mind—Chakliux, strong and proud on this very shore years ago. That boy, full of promise, had died long ago, leaving only this hollow shell behind. He thought of his siblings—safe in the lodge, needing him less now that they had Rodyn. What did he have left?
The question lingered, pulling at him, but the rain thickened, and the ocean’s crash was louder than his thoughts. The weight of responsibility, the grief, the endless work, all felt too heavy now. His reflection in the water was a face he barely recognized, gaunt and tired, shattered by the rain.
For the first time in days, no tears came. He had fed the sea with them enough. He ached in a way that felt profoundly empty, a hollow space where grief once sat. The ocean continued its rhythm, indifferent to his sorrow.
And yet, in that moment, Raiyuk understood something of his father’s fate. How easy it would be to follow. To let the ocean swallow him, too.