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+--- Thread: Bitterroot Valley ✢ And his eyes all over me (/showthread.php?tid=66484)
✢ And his eyes all over me - Sega - October 31, 2025
AW but maybe @Angel Oak ?
the valley was quiet but for the whisper of wind and the wet sound of teeth against hide. sega crouched beside the fallen caribou, steam still curling from its open ribs, the scent of iron and frost thick in the air.his claws worked with practiced care, cutting along the grain of muscle, peeling the hide from flesh in slow, deliberate strokes. the pelt would dry well in this weather—cold enough to keep, but not yet frozen stiff.
golden eyes lifted briefly toward the horizon, where the light was thinning between the peaks. soon, the scavengers would come. crows first, then foxes, maybe even wolves who did not know this place belonged to him.
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Angel Oak - October 31, 2025
She was still regaining her strength, but Angel was at least up and about now. Weeks of being ravaged by fever had left her feeling confused and terribly guilty for all the time and resources she must have taken. She sought out Sega now, and was disappointed to find the hunt already complete.
She stopped nearby, watching his careful teeth at work.
"You should let me," she told him, slowly and clearly enunciating. She ought to try learning his language, but she was only just feeling enough clarity to try. "All I've done is lie around and mutter in my sleep, so far."
She was embarrassed. She wanted to redeem herself.
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Sega - October 31, 2025
sega lifted his head at her voice, muzzle dark with the scent of blood and meat. the gold of his eyes softened when they found her—thin still, but standing, and that was enough.
you walk,he said, rough but warm, tail giving a slow sway.
good. fever leave you now?
he stepped closer, close enough to catch her scent—earth and clean air instead of sickness. his brow furrowed, not unkindly.
you rest more,he rumbled, the words clipped but gentle.
hunt wait. meat not run.
a beat passed. the corner of his mouth curved, a hint of a smile beneath the scars.
but… if angel wish, she help cut. small work. good for heart, not break little body.
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Angel Oak - October 31, 2025
Angel dipped her chin in answer, her tail whisking wearily against her heels. "I think I'm on the mend," she replied, for all the joy the land of the living now brought her. Truthfully, she was enjoying her new lease on life very much — but she could do without the aches and chills.
She stepped closer when he seemed to invite it, eyes glinting in a gimlet stare.
"My body is perfectly proportionate," she informed him, her voice prim despite the amusement in her eyes. "It is only that you are very large."
Angel chose a corner of the pelt to begin working on, snipping neatly away with her sharp teeth. Though she was not little, she was still quite young, and her teeth were still puppy-sharp and strong.
"What language do you speak?" she asked him. "You should teach some of it to me."
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Sega - October 31, 2025
perfect, hm?he echoed, voice roughened by accent.
you think i not know?the faintest grin pulled at his scarred muzzle, golden eyes glinting like sunlight through smoke.
he worked beside her, his teeth and strength where her precision lacked, the rhythm between them unspoken. when she asked, he paused, gaze turning toward the mountains beyond the valley.
ute,he said at last.
tongue of my people. from big sky, far northwest.his voice softened around the name, reverent.
old words.
he looked back at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling.
you learn?he asked, then spoke low, slow, so she could catch each syllable.
tʉvʉʉ pagʉtsi.
his head dipped slightly.
mean… good heart. or…his eyes held hers, warm as firelight.
…strong spirit.
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Angel Oak - October 31, 2025
Angel's face heated beneath her fur, but bravely, she gave a little nod and insisted, "Perfect."
She hardly felt perfect, but she knew she wasn't small. She'd lost hope that she might still grow a bit more, but her current size was nothing to sneeze at. She was strong — usually — and quick and clever. And she didn't want to be seen as little by the quiet, enigmatic man.
The steady pace of their work was not broken by the conversation. Angel Oak carried on while he spoke, lifting her head only when he'd finished speaking his piece. She tried to repeat what he'd just said. It took several tries, but eventually she got close:
"Tʉvʉʉ pagʉtsi."
Strong heart. Angel's thumped in her chest. She didn't feel strong.
"How do you say, I've missed you," she asked him.
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Sega - October 31, 2025
big eyes
sega’s breath left him in a soft sound—half laugh, half sigh—as she asked. he lifted his head, the gold in his eyes flickering with something she couldn’t quite name.you say…he began, his voice low and rough with that familiar cadence,
ma’ava ni.each word drawn slow so she could catch it. he repeated it once more, the rumble of his chest carrying the meaning gently toward her.
that mean… i missed you.
his gaze lingered a little too long, and then his mouth curved—just a touch. something almost playful, almost testing.
he leaned a fraction closer, voice dipping to a murmur, quiet as breath over frost.
ma’ tsáava ni?
the question hummed in the air between them, a spark wrapped in snow. and though he said nothing of what it meant, the glint in his golden eyes told her enough to wonder.
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Angel Oak - November 01, 2025
He laughed at her, but Angel only waited, and the knowledge was soon dispensed. She practiced these words under her breath as well, and they came easier to her, her mouth shaping them less clumsily each time. She flashed a warm smile up at the man's face, and then faltered as he moved closer.
She'd not learned to fear men, strangers or not. And Sega had cared for her while she was ill, completely at his mercy; there was no part of her that registered any sort of danger. But she felt uneasy all the same, her heart fluttering in her chest. She thought, perhaps, that she liked the feeling. Even if it made her breath catch in her throat.
"So I can tell my mother," she told him, misinterpreting his questioning tone. She felt caught in his gaze, and she was not sure she didn't resent it. She tried to resent it, at least, and found herself feeling quite at his mercy again instead. "She'll want to know all that I've seen and done, and everything I've learned."
Work remained unfinished below her. She'd forgotten what she'd come to him for, and the task that he'd set for her.
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Sega - November 03, 2025
her words tangled like river reeds, soft and warm and full of places he did not know. mother. she spoke of mother.
his head tilted, golden eyes steady on her face.
your… mom?he asked, the word in his tongue slipping out rough and strange.
tʉba.he said it again, slower, the sound like gravel under water.
in ute, we say tʉba. mean… mother.
he shifted closer, the light catching in the scars along his shoulder.
ten,he murmured, voice breaking through the weight of his accent,
where is your tʉba now? she wait for you?
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Angel Oak - November 06, 2025
Angel laughed. "Mom" sounded funny to her as well, when applied to Raindrop. "Mama," she corrected. "That's what we call her." But she dutifully pronounced, "Tʉba," as well, this time getting it on the first try. She did not think she'd be using it on her mother, but it was still good to learn new languages. She knew many Sunshine words, after all, and was near fluent with seal hunter words — it did not serve her much these days, but she hoped she'd one day have to use the language again.
"She's back at home, yes," she told the older male. "She's going to have my little siblings, soon."
Angel remembered her work, then, and looked down at the pelt.
"I'll have to go back and visit her," she said to Sega, uncertain as to whether or not she truly meant this to just be a 'visit'. Certainly, when she stood in Sega's presence, she felt sure that she would soon make her way back. "As soon as I'm strong enough to travel. She'll be so worried. I'm late."
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Sega - November 06, 2025
mama,he repeated, softer, tasting the word as she had. his chest felt tight, as if the cold had crept inside him, though the evening was warm. it was a strange ache—old, familiar. the kind that came when something was meant to leave.
he shifted, golden eyes finding her again, voice low and thick with his accent.
she wait for you,he said.
that good.a pause, heavy, quiet.
we are people of walk. always wind at back. always moving.
his gaze dropped to the pelt, then back to her face.
when strong,he murmured,
you go. you see tʉba again.
a breath caught in his chest before he added, almost under his breath,
but maybe… you come back.
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Angel Oak - November 06, 2025
Angel laughed, a bright and rich but quiet sound. Not so different from her singing, though Sega would not yet have cause to know.
"I do a lot of walking," she explained to him, smiling wrly. "Always have. Probably always will."
She had to hide her smile with a dip of her head when he bade her to return. She didn't want him to see the thread of anxiety there, nor the flush of pleasure.
"I'll come back," she replied, leaving it at that. She dipped her head to start scissoring the flesh from the hide once more, working until the nerves no longer showed on her face.
"I like it here," she said at last, when she felt able to speak again at all. "But it needs more women. Don't you think?"
She thought of Ponderosa, but she didn't think her sister would be keen to leave their mother's side.
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Sega - November 06, 2025
she was brighter now, her eyes alive again. good, he thought. the land had not taken her.
he listened while she spoke, his claws dragging careful lines through the caribou hide, scraping sinew clean.
walk much,he said with a low hum, gold eyes glancing toward her.
you have spirit. wind-footed.
when she promised to come back, his gaze lingered longer than it should have. his jaw worked once, slow, before he nodded.
you come back,he echoed, the words quieter.
great sky wait.
her last words drew a faint smile, small but there.
women strong,he murmured.
they make place warm. alive.he looked toward the horizon, where the valley breathed beneath the morning light.
maybe wind bring more.
and then, after a heartbeat, his eyes returned to her, glinting with quiet warmth.
maybe you bring.
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Angel Oak - November 06, 2025
Wind-footed. She liked that. "They call it itchy paws, where my grandmother is from," she told the man, watching to see if he would be amused by this. What sort of things made him laugh? Was he a man given much to laughter at all?
She was curious about him. Had always been, but it was becoming more and more apparent as she regained her energy and cleared her mind. He occupied it often.
"I'll certainly try," she promised him, another laugh punctuating the words. "Though you've kept me plenty warm."
She was young enough that any innuendo in the words was lost on her. And, in truth, was was surprised at herself by how quickly she'd become accustomed to the cold.
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Sega - November 07, 2025
it was strange, how quickly her voice had become part of the valley’s rhythm—something he noticed when it wasn’t there.
itchy paws,he repeated, the corner of his mouth pulling in something near amusement.
yes. you have that.his tail gave a small sway behind him, a motion rare and quiet.
he looked out toward the river, where the mist still curled low and silver.
when you go,he said after a moment, voice rough and low,
you find me first.his gaze found hers again, steady.
you take gift. meat, pelt… whatever you want. for your tʉba.
the word came soft, pliant in the way of his people.
she know you safe. you strong.
he bent his head back to the hide they had been working, teeth catching the edge of flesh.
and when you come back,he added, almost under his breath,
you tell me if she like it.
RE: ✢ And his eyes all over me - Angel Oak - November 07, 2025
The offer — the order — made her breath catch in her throat. She remember a song, then, sung by the women of her village:
aya, aya aya!
the handsome boy there, he is staring at your face!
do not look, do not look
i will say the words loud so he will hear them:
'"what did your father ask in trade?'"
aya, aya, aya!
now he believes you will be married!
see how he runs to find his own furs!
he will bring them to your father,
he will run to ask you first
Visions of Ajei and Arrluk's wedding danced disconcertingly in her mind. Sega couldn't be asking what she thought. But the gesture, in her eyes, was terribly intimate. The overture made her stomach lurch like an animal in it own right.
She would have to think carefully about what she would ask of the man. What she thought she was worth.
What she thought she could carry.
"I'll have to think about what she'd like best," she replied, demurring despite the rabbiting of her heart.
Angel bent her head and got back to work.
Fade here?