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+---- Thread: Ouroboros Spine There lies the heart of sunrise (/showthread.php?tid=65427)
There lies the heart of sunrise - Ajei - March 31, 2025
Ajei pulled the furs of her mother from the den. Her mother's scent had long left them and it was a different type of grief that had taken hold of Ajei when she found out. Perhaps it was as she thought of her own family that her and Arrluk may have. I tmade her wonder and worry and miss. She pulled them towards the river. And gently began the cleansing process. And at the center was the prize she had won for Arrluk. She would work at it with teeth and claws, Softening and soothing. Making it well for him. She had a brace of fish drying and salting for him as well.
She hoped he would return home soon. He would be here again for she longed for him. The hours were long and the days quieter than even she liked.
RE: There lies the heart of sunrise - Mojag - March 31, 2025
Mojag visited the village again, and this time tread the paths with care and confidence, hiking to where he might find a familiar face among the sleeping places. He arrived to the area quietly, and carried with him a fresh bouquet of springtime flowers: small daffodils, wild tulips, and cluster of clarkia amoena among the wildflowers of forest make.
As his paws inevitably brought him homeward, to the den he had once shared with their parents before the birth of his sister, he heard motion and saw Ajei there, working at a pelt. A mix of emotions sprang to life within him in that moment.
Smiling around the flowers in his grasp, Mojag came nearer and placed them down where they would be seen, but did not go to interrupt what she was working on. He was struck by just how much Ajei reminded him of their mother with that focused look upon her face - and he quietly watched over her.
RE: There lies the heart of sunrise - Ajei - March 31, 2025
Ajei was pleased that Mojag made home nearby. She wished him in the pack lands, but she understand he had a wanderer's heart like thier father and their mother before. That he still had a little more wild oats to sow. And that simply made his visits all the more sweeter.
Ajei worked quietly. She was sometimes prone to singing some of the working songs, but none sprang to mind at the moment. Simple mindless work. And grief. It came in waves and she wanted to live in it for a time. After all grief was not a bad thing, it was merely the love left over that you couildn't give to that person.
A smile when she realized Mojag was there and she shifted so he could see the pelts beneath her paws. Some she knew some she didn't. They were their mother's treasures.
They have lost her smell. So i decided it was time to clean them, but also. I thought perhaps you would want some for wheverer you settle to have something of mama's and home.
RE: There lies the heart of sunrise - Mojag - March 31, 2025
The smile he wore as he saw her working was a softer one than the kind he donned for his work. There was warmth there, and grief of his own, all laid out upon a backbone of familial pride; then, she noticed him and as Ajei looked up to regard him, Mojag's expression became briefly guarded, as he swallowed his heavier feelings.
From the bouquet he had laid down, he plucked one of the wildflowers and brought it to her working area. Some of the more finished pelts were laid out too, and he placed it there with them.
That is kind of you, thank you,he answered to her comments - not knowing if he would ever settle down anywhere, in truth. It seemed that she would be the one to find and expand upon their family first. It was not something he felt badly about, even as the first son.
Turning his attention to the family den, Mojag steps to the threshold. He is too large to fit inside now; it looks to him as if the world has shrunk, and as familiar as this was to his eye, there was a sense that something had changed and could not be changed back.
I think about her a lot. Mother. I hope that... Wherever her spirit has gone, she is still watching. That she is happy.To talk about her tasted bittersweet, but it was a good hurt.
RE: There lies the heart of sunrise - Ajei - March 31, 2025
Ajei's brother was a different sort than she. And there was nothing wrong with this. She wore her heart openly. HE did not. Much like their mother was his greater nature. But she knew he cared about her and he would talk someday or he wouldn't. And that was okay. They had blood and they had memories and they had mother.
She rubbed a paw across the soft face of the flower. Eyes lighting up at it's sight. Some of the first wildflowers of spring. How lovely. She bent to see if it had gathered a smell. And then settled back to look up at him again.
He moved about their former home. She planned to expand it a little. Though she wasn't sure exactly what was the entire plan. Perhaps her and Arrluk would find their own after all.
Ajei nodded her head.
I do as well and it sneaks up on me in the most strangest of times. The other day I was trailing a rabbit. And i noticed a spot of sun that hit the dirt. And for a moment it was the color of pieces of her pelt and I was struck quietly by how much i missed her. I like to think she is. And I imagine she is always there watching us as quietly and as kindly as she can. Wishing us all the best.
RE: There lies the heart of sunrise - Mojag - March 31, 2025
He reclines to his haunches, angled in a way that allowed sheepish glances inside of the spacious den, and allowed also for his attention to shift with Ajei's movements, and attentive to her.
I see her in you, sister.His smile is there again, but tighter, as if his tongue has more it wants to speak aloud but he will not let himself.
You are loyal to the village, and I know she would be glad for your devotion. I do wonder sometimes if she would be happy with me, too...as a trader, with no wife and no home to be loyal to; an empty hearth, when he should have a wife by now and perhaps even children to carry on Shikoba's ways—their family's ways.
I once wished to be Star Hunter, like her. When I was very small, and I did not know much about the world. And now I have been many places and met many people—I know so much more now, and yet... I wish I knew more about her, and about our people most of all.
How much had Ajei learned? No doubt more than he, as there were things Shikoba could only teach a daughter. For a moment Mojag is quiet and wondering about what he had missed out on while on the road; and he beheld his baby sister who had grown in to an adult in her own right, over all that time he wasn't in the village.
RE: There lies the heart of sunrise - Ajei - March 31, 2025
Ajei continued her work. Though she moved a slight way so she could still look upon her brother. He seemed to be wanting to travel down memory lane and she would not take that from him. Especially not right now. When he wanted to share more than he had before.
I see her in you too. It makes my heart happy.
She listened without comment at first. Took a moment to digest his words. She had no doubt their mother was proud of him. No doubt at all.
I think, no I Know she would be. Our mother firmly believed that we should be true to ourselves. And you are true to yourself. Family. Home that can come in time. You are trader. Hunter! Brave! Our mother traveled didn't she? Hunted for a time before settling?
Ajei frowned.
I wish I had asked her more myself. As it was though I Did not. The only part of her history I have was the Kinaalda taht I ran. But she did not describe it to me, but rather Kukutux. I hunted and ran for three days. I Fed the village on the fourth day. This would call forth me into womanhood.
RE: There lies the heart of sunrise - Mojag - March 31, 2025
He thought of all the ways Shikoba had influenced him as he grew. The ways her lessons played out for him even now, and for Ajei. How much was Shikoba and how much was Inutsuk? For a long time Mojag had thought himself wholly her's; but he could not see his reflection without also seeing the growing similarities between father and son. Perhaps that was why he focused so strongly upon any connection he held to their mother instead. Who was Inutsuk to him? Nobody, and nothing. Shikoba had become everything.
Ajei spoke of her experiences. Her kinaalda was something Mojag had not witnessed, if it even was something to be watched. He did not know the word, and felt a pang of regret for his absence from the life of his sister. But, he was home now—at least for a little while—and he aimed to make up for that.
I have not yet gone to Kukutux. I have no doubt she is aware of my visits, but... I have been busy, too. Perhaps I could go to her and ask if she holds anything of mother's to share with me.The chances were slim, though. The lessons for a boy came from their father, as the lessons for a girl came from their mother. Shikoba had given him so much in life—and now, long gone, what more could Mojag gain?
He was thinking in a transactional way, again. A bad habit.
Is there anything you might want as a gift—for you, or your man? For when you, ah, marry.The idea sprung to him suddenly and as he asked, and made the idea live through his voice, there was a hitch there. An awkwardness as Mojag swallowed his many thoughts and feelings to focus on Ajei alone.
RE: There lies the heart of sunrise - Ajei - April 01, 2025
Ajei had no memories really of her father. Except a blurry image of him in minds eye. But he had been long gone on his own way from her birth and onward. She had known him to be in the lands. Had spoken to him perhaps once. As far as Ajei was concerned. They had only their mother. Their father had been long gone, but even that had shaped them in ways.
Ajei nodded her head.
She knows more of our mother. Can even tell you things of before we were both born. Perhaps it will be nice to know these things. And when you are ready I would like to hear them from you.She did not know if Mojag would go for that. And she could ask Kukutux herself, but it felt as if this was something he should get and then give. Help him with closure and his own grief perhaps.
Ajei thought quietly. ::Arrluk is getting many things for me. The woman are revered adn given gifts. The men are not. I wish to give him gifts too, because he deserves it just as I do. I would like a pelt for him large enough for him to lay on. Arrluk is much bigger than me.
RE: There lies the heart of sunrise - Mojag - April 01, 2025
He wanted to provide. That was what it came down to, what he did not realize about himself despite how obvious it appeared to others: the life of a trader was, in this blatant way, the life of someone willing to give. A wanderer and oftentimes a lonely one at that, but always willing to work and to provide.
I am glad he is so capable,he remarks about this man he has not met. No doubt as the son of the moon woman and sun man, this was a strong and capable person who could, and would, support his sister.
As a boy Mojag had wanted to impress their mother, and then he wanted to be the man of the family because they lacked one. The role of a man, as Mojag learned, was to provide and to protect. Ajei was well protected in the village - and by her own admission, her chosen man was a good provider. The moon woman had likely set a bride price in her way, and this would further cement Arrluk as the right match.
Mojag thought of how much he had missed, again. How much he tried to be a good man, a good replacement for what he grew up lacking, and saw he could not be this figure for Ajei. She had chosen a man, and he was a good man. There was a small measure of defeat that pierced Mojag's spirit, realizing this.
It was good. It was a match he could approve of, even. Ajei would not be alone.
The sun had shifted by now, indicating that they had been talking a long time, and Mojag saw how Ajei worked the furs.
I will leave you to your work? There are deals I have made, and places I must go myself.
He did not immediately go, though.
It was good to see you, and this place, again.
RE: There lies the heart of sunrise - Ajei - April 04, 2025
Her brother had been wounded by their father. She had too. But he had known him a little longer, a little better and thus it hurt him worse. And she wished she could take that away for him. But despite it all. Mojag had proven time and time again, despite their beginnings. Mojag was their mother's son and he was a brother to be proud of.
Ajei smiled sweetly.
He is, and I am glad for it. But mother has taught me to provide for myself if I must and of course I have a big brother who would help me.She smiled at him again.
She nodded her head.
It was very good to see you and please don't be a stranger. If there should be children to be at this hearth again. I want them to know their uncle and know him well.
She would not accept his leaving all the time. He would return to be there for her children. This was a task she would ask of him if she must. But she hoped her gentle request was enough.