Firefly Glen naviagaa ∈

while tensions burned, kukutux sought the seal hunter, meeting with him not far from moontide camp. he received her with his usual quiet regard.

chakliux was cautious. moonmother knew this to be one of the few apt things he nurtured.

when their greetings had been made, kukutux found his eyes. "i have come to speak of the future. it is said you have three sons. is this true?"

why she wanted him, he could not say. chakliux had been butchering his portion of boar-meat outside the temporary lodge. built swiftly, it could not boast their home-making comfort, but was warm with sturdy walls.
he invited her within, noting that the others had gone out. chakliux offered the grandmother respectful gifts of food and they shared a small chant before she spoke.
he blinked, not understanding. "yes." and then, as comprehension came, "are now the seal hunters good enough for you, snow goose woman?"
he was not forceful; he spoke with the same respect and gentle tone. but kukutux would understand much in what he had said.

she did not like that, but only lifted her chin to say it.

"nasamik returned. she was not within her thoughts," moonmother at last said, waiting for that new dawn on the seal hunter's face. "but it is here she came. and raiyuk; i gave healing to him after the bison hunt. sunshine and seal, we are bonded."

she waited for this to set upon his face.

"it is time we had peace. true peace. you see the caribou are rising. how many sunshine? how many seal? bah. hear me, hunter."

he heard her; he thought of marina and tullik; he thought of how his boys were still only this, only boys. "our ways are not your own. my sons have not yet earned their scars. how can i speak for their future?"
he shifted. kukutux even with all her influence could not force him to do what she wished. he let himself think of the days to come. marina remained sickly, tullik high-hunting on the cliffs. suppose there were no more children among the lodges of the seal hunters in the spring that followed?
a dire pronouncement. "chagak, sirmiq, and sea hunter were born to us." he paused. "you do not mean to insist upon this, elder?" she was atsak, but even an ambitious woman with her years understood what it meant to apply force.

tags for ref/joining but no pressure! <3

"no. not insist." but with her daughter sick, two fallen, and a host of grandchildren who needed their own ways directed, kukutux saw no other path to make than those which kept her in control of all things.

"i have the want for @Nantahala and @Sirmiq to have a meeting. there is no need to share these words with them now. let them know the faces of one another. that is all."

she stood. "in spring, we will speak once more." she was determined; she had given this seal hunter much, much. for her he would do this.

Nantahala had drawn the wolverine’s fur over her shoulders, and began to seek out Kukutux. While she hadn’t had any luck in finding a match for Ipiktok, there were words she wished the share with her grandmother regarding the situation, and she wanted to get some guidance, too.

She came across Kukutux and Chakliux near the Moontide camp, and she didn’t stop her approach until she overheard the last of their exchange—

—I have the want for Nantahala and Sirmiq to have a meeting. There is no need to share these words with them now. Let them know the faces of one another. That is all.

Her eyes grew wide, her heart fluttered, and her stomach twisted in knots as curiosity ran rampant in her mind. While she knew this wasn’t her place to speak, she resisted to urge to ask the various questions that bombarded her; she was uncharacteristically silent as she looked to the two adults.

sirmiq had not felt any desire stir within him to branch off and socialize like the other children his age might have. he remained often times at the moontide camp, content to work the furs and dry the meats delivered there.

today the camp was still, the others off busying themselves with work or pleasure. the boy sought off for a task of his own, seeking his father for a hunting partner. but when he arrived it was not just chakliux he found.

he gave a low chuff to those gathered, silently situating himself alongside his father as his eyes darted between the two sunshine wolves.

sedna sent young wolves! though kukutux did not address them at first, and was not sure this newcomer was the one mentioned, she situated herself beside nantahala and smiled at both the seal boy and her sunshine granddaughter, motioning the second closer to she and the sea-wolves.

"this is first warrior of moontide. he has the name of chakliux. this one, his son, has the name of sirmiq," but here she looked to his father and to the seal youth to confirm this.

"nantahala.  daughter of sivullik, bonded to moonsong. daughter of moondoe, who will follow me as moonwoman." heir, inheritor of many lineages, many lands, many secrets.

it was odd, how quickly she heard her mother's voice come from her own mouth; assured, laying the way for a path she did not have to worry over in the future. 

her eyes were warm. she turned them to chakliux.

he did not know these ways. he did not know these words. a golden girl swathed in fine fur appeared then, and sirmiq! 
uneasy, knowing he could make no such choices without the permission of his wives, their agreement to such a thing, chakliux nevertheless responded to the deep power of the elder-woman.
she had given teachings to tullik and marina, for their daughters. she had put raiyuk's scars upon him and mended the young trader again. 
"sirmiq is of the seal hunters. our first home is the cold sea ice." he studied his son. "soon he will be ready to take his first seal and to earn his scars." it was a weak pronouncement beside the elegant words of kukutux.
falling silent, he waited to see if the young ones would speak, wondering how exactly the moon woman meant to explain this.

Nantahala was quiet as the introductions began, and she watched Chakliux and Sirmiq with interest. Outwardly, they were different than the Sunshine people—adorned in scars and scrapes that marked them as warriors and hunters—but she did not dwell on this for long. Instead, she looked to the seal hunter’s son, and lingered there a beat too long; he was cute.

It is nice to see your faces, she said to the men as she dipped her head in greeting. And to hear that you are earning your scars—that’s cool! she said, looking to the younger wolf now. Honestly? Earning his scars sounded badass to her.

SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT ON THIS!!

introductions and titles were given, to each sirmiq looked toward. nantahala — she was among the first of his own age that he'd met outside of mootide. not a sister, not a cousin, not a playmate; she was different. she was pretty! 

father mentioned the time of seal hunting and of scars, and the boy's chest swelled with pride. that day would mark more than just the bridge of his nose, for he would become a man! but then nantahala spoke, and all the surge of pride rushed from his chest to burn hot beneath his cheeks. sirmiq was a boy now wide-eyed and flustered, for he'd never been regarded as cool before, especially not by a girl. 

he dipped his face toward the floor as if to hide the sudden blush that had overtaken him. nervous and shy but wanting to make a good impression, sirmiq perked up just enough to offer a silent but shy; "thank you!" with his eyes.

totally good! this is a busy time of year <3

the young ones greeted each other, and kukutux glanced with warmth toward chakliux once more, who remained quiet.

"among the sunshine people, it is custom for our daughters to seek an ugi from the clans outside those of the moon. it is not a promise that is settled. it means that you agree to understand one another in the next seasons. if two enjoy the company of one another, then we will walk our first steps when the sun has returned."

moonwoman continued, explaining the practice of a girl going to live six moons beneath the roof of her ugi's father, and then the boy arriving to do the same among the ulax of her family. such things took another year, during which agreement or disagreement might be made.

she was quiet then, wondering if chakliux would now speak. these were not his ways and she was not his leader.

yet this way was best for nantahala and might ensure sirmiq did not find himself restless with no planning of a future. kukutux held many traditions, and such was this: that the elders, the fathers, and the mothers of moonwolf youth must have a say in the times to come.

sirmiq seemed rather charmed by the granddaughter of moon woman, which chakliux suspected was her aim. he began to feel an increasing sense of pressure as the explanations in the kind voice went on, felt kukutux guiding a future he could not even yet see.
"sirmiq is young. he is not yet a man," came voice, gruff with reined control over his annoyance. he owed moon woman a great deal. but he did not owe her so many decisions.
still — he saw how sirmiq warmed and felt as though he had lost something here. a small thing, yet large enough to affect what came after.
"he will take his first seal. we will ask you both to the scarification. then we will speak."
chakliux did not know when girls became women among the sunshine people. he knew only he would not rush to marry off his own daughters, or even have a hand in such. it was not his choice to make. first they would be militsik. what came beyond that was only for seal hunter women.
he was uncomfortable to even take part in speaking of nantahala's path. it was not his place. 
now his scarred muzzle dipped to the sunshine wolves in respect. he would hear them speak. he would hear his son speak. and then they would go. upon return to moontide he meant to tell @Marina and @Tullik of moon woman's intention.

YOU’RE GOOD! <3

There was tension between the adults that went above Nantahala’s head, as she was far too interested in the boy in front of her. She studied him—endeared by his actions!—and smiled to reassure him that all was well.

While the adults spoke, Nantahala tuned in, listened to their words, and now understood the meaning of this meeting. This was a matter of her future—of their future if they decided to take that path together—and something that was to be taken very seriously. While her girlish feelings remained, she’d sobered some, knowing that she had to be on her best behavior.

I like to hunt, too—I wish to be first hunter when I am older, she said to Sirmiq, hoping this would entice him to speak. Maybe we can hunt sometime. Her expression was eager.

sirmiq was smitten, if only until the sharp words of his father reminded him of what he yet was. not a man, still just a boy. his ears swiveled back some, the warmth that had lingered on his face was now struck with a cool touch. 

still, his heart pattered. 

he knew some of the weight these words held that were exchanged between the adults, but the full intention of them was not yet understood. indeed, still just a boy. 

the girl stirred some feelings in his chest, but to speak was not one of them. he moved as his father did, offering a dip of his snout to each of the sunshine wolves, his head lowered a little further for nantahala. to her ambitions he offered an encouraging beam of support through his eyes and smile before he gave a final silent farewell to follow after chakliux.