Moonspear nuyuiksuk ⚬

set for the evening of the 29th

exhaustion was beginning to befall kuktutux. she dragged her furs idly through the drifts, in the vague direction this indicated @Jarilo might be. 

hydra had brought her here, but as she stood in the glow of moon glinting against snow, the duck's eyes filled with tired, frightened tears.

a quiet moment then, spent as the winterfall began again, spiraling in large flakes that fell to earth; kukutux sniffled, gathering her pelts around her and nestling pathetically against the base of a tree.

The night deepened, spanning well into its chilliest hours and perhaps because of this, not very long ago, he found himself alone again after the pups began to turn in. Earlier patrols and hunts with the juveniles branched him off away from the usual stretches anyway, and as he concluded duty enough for the evening, inevitably he returned for one of the wooded copse he preferred to haunt; his step was light, his head carried low, but ears tipped tall still.

With the snowfall starting to pick up, he considered briefly turning in entirely, but a peculiar scent he could not place drew him forward--deeper into the trees, he skimmed along until he had something to zero in on. Ahead, at the base of one tree.. so he went closer, nose first (scenting Hydra's influence then, too), at least until he could be near enough to say to her: Hey, the dark Ostrega offered against the quiet, pairing with one more step. Only barely could he keep the question off his greeting, but he was sure to cant his head with everything he kept unsaid for now.

the little waterfowl had just drifted into a fitful sleep when a low voice floated out of the snowy darkness.

she started, gasped, ears cupping back against delicate skull. a man, young, with verdant eyes that glowed curiously at her.

tongue momentarily stilled with the initial fright, kukutux struggled up into a position of deference, noting how thickly the scent of moonspear was tangled into his withers. "this woman greets you," the girl mumbled, though the tiredness had crept into her voice and there was nothing to do for it.

He felt his ears shift outwards towards a wary splay the more he took in, but questions hardened at his brow. Ah. Hi. You're new, yeah? Obviously, and he registered the tired on her words maybe a beat too slow. Sorry.. I mean, I don't mean to interrupt but, I don't think the snow's going to let up until after morning, he explained with a tiny glance up because despite the trees, still cloudy and still snowing. From a higher vantage the dark Ostrega was freshly returned from, he had seen no end to these conditions and there was little wind to suggest it was going anywhere anytime soon--at least to his best guess, which was only right sometimes, but he liked to try anyway. And a little further up there's a few small caves, he added to help circle it back to relevance, and why he thought to disturb her with it at all.

Maybe it was the newness, all in the fact that she didn't look like she belonged any yet, but he couldn't help but wonder how she had come to here of all times. He only supposed she didn't intend to get snowed in anywhere, and of course knew better than to trust snow how generous the snow accumulations could get recently.

the man was kind, and kukutux felt that he resembled hydra. perhaps this was jarilo, or another fierce mountain sibling.

the weight of his eyes was damning; her face burned with shame. she understood snow, but that was not readily apparent with how she had been prepared to freeze beneath the newfallen drifts of it.

wearily kukutux collected herself to her paws, tugging out the furs from beneath the snow. she was too tired to carry them all, the duck realized, and it was the final harsh shove into tears that kukutux had not wanted.

jadeglow eyes welled; chin trembled. she did not wish to be led to another empty cave, cold, devoid of any warmth, where she might shiver and cry herself into a poor slumber. "i do not want to be alone, please," the little duck whispered, paws already chilled by her poor idea.

He didn't know what he was getting into. Not well enough, probably not for his own good--but it kept him earnest, if nothing else. At the surface, he toed the unfamiliar, maybe, and even past that.. he felt only that looming unknown that concerned him when it came to his mountain, and the groves he liked to occupy no less, right into his business.

Soon after he realized exactly what he was seeing as she worked to move the hides, he had to step in closer, maybe intending to interrupt the efforts--frowning at the snow already gathering. I can help? he said, half offer, he thought, through all the confusion of what exactly this was about. He hoped they were not too delicate.. or this situation was more difficult.

As for leaving her alone.. he had to get quiet then, unsure of her, which made him unsure of himself. What had happened to her? What was next to come..?

Biting the hesitation back, and swallowing it whole, he exhaled, and forced the motion to return to the rest of him. Alright. Well.. they're not much, but they're more cover than just a tree.. he explained, though she had not asked. As for what she did imply, if he caught right. I can stay, he eventually said, then watched her carefully as he did.. before he moved to see where he best could grab the furs that seemed to accompany her, assuming his offer to help wasn't going to insult.

he seemed to tense, pondering the situation with a careful air that was more suited to a much older wolf. kukutux found this fascinating despite herself, and nodded at his second mention of the caves. 

when the dark man stepped forward to gather the last of her pelts, the duck flushed beneath the short pale fur of her cheeks, grateful for the cover of winter-dark. it was women's work; it was something she should have been doing.

but she was tired. "thank you," the girl whispered, her mind beginning to dawn with the realization of what she had asked. unseemly, the spirit tutted. not now, kukutux snapped back.

she readied herself to follow where he would lead, glancing up at the forbidding stone walls of moonspear. "hydra said she had another brother, jarilo," she ventured furtively, springmint eyes finding his for a tiny moment as her heart thudded dully in her ears. 

if this was he, kukutux would try to relax. if not — she had already been traded, bartered, questioned, and left to find her way. being incorrect was the least of these worries.

head bowed against both the snow and in the proper deference to both his rank and his status as male, the duck was silent. 

His sister's words hung heavy in his conscious even while the pale stranger gave him her thanks. From the ones set heavily in decree before the pack, back towards the ones shaped in praise of his carefulness--essentially, he wasn't able to forget and as simple as it seemed, they had helped him keep to a path of no consequence. Even in such recent weeks as these, ones tense thanks to a mountain bustling more than usual, always busy, somehow. He had to keep what she said near to him when doubts had not healed after what last year had taken, and what he knew it all could do.

He tried not to think too deeply, though an absence like that did not come so easily to him when he knew he must steel himself majorly. That would be me, he replied, chancing a hint of a smirk to help him refuse to wonder why his sister's brothers came up at all. You must have met Arcturus already then, he said, as Hydra was a given and their mother had been careful with the sons, even fewer who persisted here; who knew where Revui went, but it was hardly relevant now. He didn't want to loom over her, or stare lengthily. Long day? he asked, eyeing the work again instead.

The dark Ostrega shook the gathering snowfall off his coat before he found a way to heft the skins, and tried to shoulder them somewhat for what he wanted to make into a very quick trip. Until he could test their distribution, he tried to hold them for the first few steps. He hoped this was fine. This had to be fine, and he glanced over to her with a soft chuff before leading the way--slow at first, but eventually testing into a bit more as he moved them through the woodlot, towards a rise of rock where small caves tucked neatly in-between--all sheltered here in the woods, relatively enough for the Spear.

relieved; she let out a breath. he was who she had thought, had hoped for, and some measure of bareboned comfort attended the duck.

it was all right, the way jarilo had chosen to assist her. kuktutux' dismay was for her own weakness. onward he moved through the snow, cutting a swathe so the little she-wolf could follow after him.

his gait was rangy, and somehow despite all that had gone on, kukutux welcomed the change in how swiftly she could now see the impressive territory owned by hydra.  

and arcturus, she reminded herself, which brought to recollection the fact that she had not yet answered jarilo. "i did meet him. he was upon the borders when i arrived." her words were chosen with care; kukutux tried to mask the clinging seaborne accent that clipped her syllables no matter her greatest efforts.

no word to his remark, but it had been a long day indeed, too long. kukutux blinked through the snow, eyes falling with a wan curiosity upon the man. the resemblance of their lineage was quite strong, though she sensed a distance in jarilo that she had not seen in affable hydra or careful arcturus.

flakes whorled again; she lowered her face, narrowing eyes against the cold onslaught. girlish now a moment; somber the next. her inquisitive nature was asserting itself, but propriety kept her mouth silent.

He sought an even pace, not too quickly but enough to keep this moving; he focused carefully on what he wanted to be the right avenues as he glanced behind him for the visual confirmation to match the sound of following. To have her already know Arcturus came to no surprise to the older brother, however. 

In fact, of course he had been at the borderlands. Since Jarilo had kept most of the youths busy for much of the day, that would have surely been his dutiful sibling's next course of action to be within the range of Hydra or Dirge's business if he had been on the mountain. Lately, he knew he could be somewhat distanced, but that he understood to a degree from his point of view--as male, one young, just made a man, facing his first true season among them all. Now was not really his best time to consider what Arcturus was getting himself into lately though, not when the present had descended quickly upon him tonight. 

Jarilo rounded them around a slight turn and hiked up a bit as he went intently for the simplest task at hand first and foremost: better shelter. Easy, and tangible. Some of that associated tension knotted in his throat finally let go when through the falling snow he could see what he wanted--a deeper dark signifying the entrance, slotted in at the base of the rockface. He flagged his tail a notch, looking back again with a wave, and then dashed the last bit of distance to the stone.

Far from an expansive space, the taller entrance (by small cave standards) kept the ceilings high in the front, and beyond that further in, the cave narrowed out some but did not reach deep--a couple meters, maybe--it would certainly suffice for now on short notice and already, it kept some of the wind from biting. It was enough and more relief came once he didn't smell anything else around so far. He set down the hide, shook his fur again, and then he could start to properly unpack this. The skins were only the start. It's not perfect, but bit better, right? At least before it picks up any.. he panted, stepping deeper into the depth to check for any traces of company. Pivoting back when it passed, he moved slowly back towards her to see that she had made it; he was positive enough accumulating snow would've made for a miserable evening for her out with the trees, and probably not among the best first nights on the Spear. Since my siblings already gave you my name.. what's yours? he asked. Her introduction, this woman, didn't give him enough to satisfy. And you brought those with you? Where did you come from before here..? he gestured towards the hide, a lot to question one after the next, but he had been biting his tongue. He still felt like he was and he had no idea.

it would do, she supposed. jadeglow eyes displaying gratitude even when her mouth could not. jarilo had found a fine shelter for her, though the duck attempted not to think upon the shadows of grief that lurked, ready to devour her once he departed.

a shiver then; the girl busied herself shaking snow from each pelt in turn and layering the furs in the corner, noting that though the guard hairs of the various creatures glistened with melting flakes, they were not altogether soaked.

assured they would dry swiftly, kukutux crouched to bear the weight of jarilo's questioning. feeling it was more than a typical interrogation, the duck plucked words to fit within sentences using utmost care.

"i am kukutux," was her first rejoinder, and she was swept with relief to finally have spoken her name aloud. wary lashes brushed her pale cheekbones: she glanced up through them to gauge jarilo before pressing onward.

in the soft glow of starlight that flowed across snows to cavemouth, his sable features were illuminated with a fall of eldritch gilding. face half-shaded, his gaze was whole, turned toward the girl with an intrigue reflected in his questions.

"i am from courtfall. i was brought here to find a uviq— husband." how had she stumbled upon a word said so often? kukutux bit the inside of her cheek, ashamed.

"i was traded to hydra and to moonspear for my skills. the return was that a husband would be found for me."

pause again, glancing shyly into jarilo's handsome jet features, hoping he would not meet the arrangement with the same disgust arcturus had for it. he had not wanted her, after all, and it was this final thought upon all that had occurred which brought a visible glint of new tears in her tired green eyes.

Quiet between, and after his questioning, he observed carefully, coolly and tried to stay relaxed. In part, he had to remind himself of his own business, too. She said she didn't want to be alone, words to anchor him by for now.. so best he unwind some, given the opportunity, and lack of a better alternative. While he intended to function firstly as a guard.. he knew this well within the territory, there was not a need for any excess. He rested here often, prowled around in passing undisturbed even more than that.

Nevertheless--Kukutux was easy enough to remember, and with a curious cadence like that, he matched it to her with a small nod. Courtfall, he was vaguely enough aware of to keep going with another well-matching nod. Courtfall from the other mountain range, beneath the Sunspire, where Dragomir and Isilmë's lightning-struck mother had gone off to make her claim. Usually these were relatively inconsequential facts to him, who prioritized home first, the rest later on until he felt like reaching for them. The next piece--pieces, rather--brought it confusingly to here, and the last nod was smaller, and his ears tilted back, a blink, almost a squint.  Uviq--husband? Traded?

Understanding didn't dawn completely, but it eased its way in surely. His knee-jerk thought was to need Hydra's advice on this immediately before he could be drowned out by so much of what Charon had told him. Since Moonspear was not frequently a place of husbands, this had him (bachelor uncle at best) a pinch off guard, but he slackened off his furrow as soon as he realized it coming. Hydra and Alya weren't sharing their husbands as far as he knew, he and Arcturus were the rest of the family that was here. Revui, gone. Dragomir and Hydra's brood too young still. Beyond that.. mostly unrelated and unproven to his glance. He remembered to pick up his ears and now knowing this, looked back on his moments ago with such inner turmoil that he had to move on, distraction-hungry, it went towards her.

I see.. he exhaled slowly, showing no opposition and a careful curiosity, like he didn't know how to respond, or what to ask. What else? He would find out as notably, traded for her skills struck him, and was a easier start point to him than.. a husband to her wife. So what are your skills? Do you know.. why here? he edged in while he stepped over to a spot in front of her to ease for a sit; he tucked his tail close, peeking around them once, before returning to her. As he was getting it, she had come for a bond taken seriously, and not a title to carry lightly. Not on the Spear as he knew it in his lifetime. His mother, Hydra. Alya, too. Sorry, you've probably had to answer for a lot lately, he sighed, trying to sympathize as he softly shook his head. This is new to Moonspear, and me, as well as I know it, he said. I want to understand something in him also needed to convey as mildly as he could put it; she seemed tired, and maybe deserving of peace, instead of his inquiries.

jarilo did not understand. kukutux saw that plainly writ upon his dark features. but like others before, he sought to comprehend. this alone kept her from seeking slumber: the novelty of having an individual press answers she had not spoken in many cyclings of the moon.

he drew closer, partially obscured the star-gleaming with his body. half-eclipsed by his shadow, kukutux relaxed, sinking down upon the pile of furs. the pelts seemed softer than they had before; they rose up around her flanks and belly, provoking a small sense of safety.

crossing her forelegs over one another, the duck kept herself deferential but tangibly less tense. he had dispelled it with his inquiring tone, his figure. 

in truth, kukutux did not know how to explain herself to jarilo. the spring-jade glow of his eyes brought words leaping to her tongue, though the little duck had no way of knowing she would be heard properly.

but here he was, trying; here he was, a strange man who had taken pity upon a lonely woman and found her shelter.

pensive, apprehension wilted the girl's ears against her delicate skull. many moon-turnings since a man had occupied her sinigivik. kukutux colored, dipped her muzzle lower.

but jarilo was watching her, jaws parting to ask after the abilities she had borne here. kukutux paused, then passed a small paw over the edge of the hareskin beneath her.

"i know how to dry skins, so they will be easier to keep. i know plants. i have helped to bring cubs into the world." she spoke earnestly, directly; he was a man, and she would be respectful, but jarilo had silently awarded kukutux a forum in which she might be free.

"i can preserve meat, and catch birds, and hunt the seals in the tagiuk," the failed bride finished in a voice that  had descended to a whisper. she had not meant to speak so much.

ears lifted; she glanced into jarilo's face once more, steadying herself against the logical scrutiny of his gaze. "i know why i am here. i am a ... a ... woman whose husband has died. uilgagnaak," she mumbled in misery, to have slipped from the common speech so many times during this conversation.

"yes. i am tired," kukutux admitted wanly after the space of several moments. "i think that your sister wanted to honor me by accepting my ... custom. but she was clear this was not a firm arrangement, whatever happened." to have her future still uncertain; a sigh and the snowbloom was silent, embittered, embattled.

These unknowns, and the understanding they were to need, kept him on his toes--despite his constant reminders to relax and to keep it casual--not pressurized in any way despite the gravity he felt looming somewhere in this. He was a work in progress thanks to a busy head, and could at least appreciate the relative stillness beyond him, pointedly ignoring the snowfall outside mostly to his back. His attention was hers as she seemed to settle, and went on to answer him in a detail he was very thankful for then.

Such skills were unexpected enough. He appreciated that curiosity there, able to swiftly see maybe why Hydra may want such introduced to the mountain where there were few others of such teachings. If she could spin it in Moonspear's benefit, he believed she would. He personally liked that she knew plants, of course, and most likely, one of his sisters would whelp again this coming spring, so there tied in that piece. Hunting seals made him think of his father and the Bay of his birth, naturally. That, and he had to ponder the unfamiliar tongue that sprinkled in now and again, what its bits may mean based on context. 

Picking up on her ache for her lost husband, his ears tucked back. To this point, tension had begun to melt from his shoulders--feeling better subdued the more he could know her, though that facet gave it more depth to navigate. But, he didn't feel like he should rush more, and not get greedy. I see.. I think, he replied softly, chancing half a chuff of a laugh--wherever to go next? Did he simply ask more, and let pour forth all he really wanted to get to? That sounds like Hydra, really. She would probably see you settle in some before anything was set in absolute stone, Jarilo exhaled, sinking his own sit down to lay curled into himself. And I would want the same, though I'm still understanding.. he added, quieter, for he intended to follow his sister's lead, with or without the whole picture, until he could stand on his own with it.

As he traced a lingering look over her and the skins, she appeared more comfortable than before at such a glance, and he was trying not to feel like he was being intrusive or making this any sort of interrogation. He licked at the backs of his teeth, expression thoughtful to match. Well, I hope you can rest.. and whatever else you need for now. I'll stay--until I have to go back to patrol, and if you want to know more.. about us, the mountain--any of it. I've always lived here. It just takes.. time, for her to integrate among them and for the Spear to adjust, perhaps most of all; he sensed this might be the case where it came to honoring her customs; he had to get to the bottom of what all Hydra had exchanged precisely, and how Arcturus had taken this information. Looking for an easy route to follow up his suggestion, he went on: Have you seen much else around the territory yet? If not..later, I can show you the grove north of here, and if weather is good enough, we can hunt, he suggested. Sadly, they couldn't make it seals--not here.

jarilo went on, kindly, but kukutux had wilted somewhat in a fit of despair. like arcturus, he had made ni mention of interest in the arrangement. in a more logical moment, the duck would have recognized his reluctance as the logical choice. he knew nothing of her; she was a perfect stranger upon which jarilo had taken pity. as he would for any member of moonspear, she suspected.

but in this moment, the little waterfowl did not understand, and took the absence of any offer in jarilo's words as yet another slight to her delicate heart. why had andraste brought her here? why would hydra accept her when she was unwanted? pale ears swept backward, though kukutux was determined not to let it show upon her face more than the simple gesture.

"thank you," the girl whispered, genuine in her gratitude. "i have only seen the borders and the rend ... the renday ..." shame! burning her! "— arcturus took me there to wait for hydra. she had left us after i agreed to live in moonspear." it had all happened so fast that the details were still garbled.

so jarilo would stay, but awake. he must patrol, naipiktuk, she understood. it was the way of her people also. one familiar thing. "i am sure that i will have questions," the duck murmured in answer. what will happen to me? came the whisper of her heart, and she paused a moment to consider it.

she could not leave again. she did not wish to find another home, to start over. moonspear was the last for her, and she would be a wolf worthy of its cliffs one day, kukutux hoped. bearing strong young for hydra would be the first way to prove this, and beneath the edict of the dark queen, the girl knew she would come to fulfill it. she must, she must — her mother's words must be passed down. she must not forget the face of her fathers. she must keep them alive through her children. 

fatigue was beginning to steal into every fiber of kukutux' being. her very soul was tired, it felt, and she could hide it no longer. slim jaws parted in a yawn; she flushed and shifted upon the furs. "if ... you may ... i do not mind if you want to lie down," she peeped timidly, unsure if jarilo was tired or not but wishing to extend the hospitality all the same.

He had been raised upon on a fine line, and this was not the first time he felt keenly aware of both sides. His duty, and within it the reservation he upheld with, had been taught to him to serve the family and the structure around him that they had built best. He was not cut necessarily as an alpha-type, though still had been kept aware of his worth should he ever want to be, something instilled to some degree in perhaps all of his full-blooded, blue-blood (so said their mother at least) siblings. Charon had seemed to encourage it of him, and since then, distantly, he always kept it somewhere.. but even with the fond company of Clover, a friend he had come to see more than just a few times, he was not yet even bold in such maneuvers. He kept to a careful standard and took a long time to truly ease off past a mischievous smirk and curious words enough to smooth over it.

Nevertheless, it seemed as if she was very new here then. Arcturus came up again, but had evidently left her side to land her to where Jarilo found her--perhaps even more uncertain that he was, given his younger brother's whole year less.. and his beta ranking, beneath only Dirge where these were matters this Ostrega was used to not considering. Until now, everyone else below but him and Nikai had been too young.

There was time, though, for her to see more and for him to steady his bearings. I'm sure, I may have mine, too. Jarilo spoke quietly. There was much else to learn and understand.. he could try to wait, if now was not quite the time. It didn't feel right, he hesitated, not that he was an experienced judge of what truly was. Nevertheless, his ears perked up at her yawn, and he decided to take her offer with a beat of consideration, though only said so with a nod before he rose to step closer, to the edge of the skins beside her--close. She couldn't be worse company than lounging with the growing juveniles sprawled about (even if they were good warmth), and there was nothing better waiting for him elsewhere.

He took a spot and curled up on it, next to her, just enough on some hide to partake but at his core, he was feeling a creeping shyness about it all suddenly thanks to thinking too much. The moment gave him a chance to glance outward--still snowing, unsurprisingly, and he gave a small sigh to help settle in--then hopefully relax.

she could not help the comparison made within her mind to the first time the hunter of seals had come to her sleeping place. it was their custom that the bride should wait inside the ulaq he had dug, spirited there by her mother and aunts and sisters, to await her groom.

the duck had been wife at an age where the women of this land were still considered girls, unmarriageable children. kukutux had therefore began to sense a sort of wrongness about how the wolves of the isle had lived, but fought it defiantly.

the snowbloom did not look up as the dark male shifted his tall body in the cave to settle alongside her. she felt the warmth of jarilo fill the small space between their bodies, and relief at the familiar, yearned-for touch of her own kind washed through her slight figure.

upon its heels chased the sensation of moral aversion. it was not proper, not correct. there were many ways a woman might fulfill a role for a man, but this situation did not bear the nature of any.

and so kukutux was tense for a time as she adjusted to jarilo beside her, to the gentle sound of his breathing and the tone of his sigh.

perhaps he did not want to be here. she wondered if he had a mate who would wait and watch the blowing snow, wondering why her husband had not come home that night. maybe that was why he had not commented upon her status.

presently, kukutux let out her breath in a small exhale of her own, curling pale plume tightly around her flank. this was merely the way of their kith; this was comfort and tradition older than her own.

the thought reassured the little duck; soon a langour stole through to smooth the lines of her body, arrange her into soft curves that vibrated now with a deeper yawn.

she lay her chin upon her foreleg. such a strange day it had been, one of much chaos and shock and in the end, disappointment. but kukutux appreciated the care that jarilo had shown to her, the kindness with which he had listened.

so sharp a gratitude arose in her breast it was as if a knife had bit briefly into her spirit. she could not help the shuddering breath that choked audibly in her throat, nor the sudden, violent welling of tears that overflowed her springmint eyes and flecked her cheeks.

she was so tired; kukutux turned her face away and swallowed forcibly the sobs so that they would not shake her body. refusal, now, to allow even the careful, observant brother of the moonspear clan to see her grief.

kukutux begged the unseen spirits in a silent praying arrow that she might soon sleep, drown her sorrow and shame for a time in the silken darkness afforded by her bone-deep fatigue.

the cave was warmer now; slumber tugged at the girl from all sides and she began to drift, comforted despite herself by the closeness of jarilo, his scent, the vague pressure of he next to her.

Beyond all of the everything he could and should ask here and right now, he could not articulate why he felt torn, even slogging through a touch-starved stubborn shyness. Why, now, as warmth started to build between them.. doubt had to remind him and he wondered what he was going to do after this--how this could even play out of for the mountain if she found her promised husband among them at all--if the sisters of his would allow it. That was why he knew the involvement of the other half would be painfully important as well.. her only way to a valid chance on these peaks. Why he worried when he knew.

Still, he didn't want her to feel badly.. he couldn't perceive the depths of her agonizing when he could not know what it was the role he was meant to fulfill. He was raised as such, stern.. careful, though he deep down knew to prioritize his own comfort, if he could help it--if he couldn't admit it now, tense, feeling sprung upon by something so massive.. and yet just looking at her (as he felt drawn to do, part by every motion), a little green-eyed moondrop in Moonspear's grove.

Trying to be quiet and let her set the pace considering the tired he sensed, he still.. didn't know as the strange, unfamiliar silence settled in between the two. Rest, he hoped, could come.. since he was not here to make a running start of anything so very, painfully soon among his sorts. After a heavy wait, unsure, he managed to edge himself closer slightly when he gathered a bolt of courage though soon after, he set his paws to his forelimbs to try to doze a bit if his whirring head might permit. He was on watch until then, for later recollection, unless or until Kukutux said so.

uiga, auktuk, came the girl's last thoughts, slipping slowly through a tiredness that had not quite overtaken her yet. she had been taught not to say the names of the dead, for it might summon them from their rest among the dancing lights. and so kukutux held what her husband had been called close to her breast, remembering it over and over and over. she would not forget, even if she could not speak it.

kikuyaliksuk, she continued inside her head, framing the thought carefully so that it might perhaps reach her husband. you did not speak directly to spirits, but of them, about them, and perhaps they would hear. pigaatin kuviasuktuk. kapinaisagan tutkiksuk.

then her mind was at last silent, prayer carried by the night-spirits to the dancing lights with the ache of her heart within its words. kukutux slept then, falling beneath the soft blackness with a small sigh.