Ouroboros Spine Won't be trouble in the world no more

Aaka was changing. Aapa was changing. They traversed different paths with different tones and different decisions each day. One day, they were at the cedar ulaq, and the next they saw strange faces they'd never see again. Again, they saw new faces, but Aapa wanted her near. Aapa stayed closed, always, until today.

At the edge of the ulaq, mocha-tipped ears appeared. Soon, vibrant forest eyes, and she looked into the beyond. Curious as ever, after her first exploration of the three sisters. There was an anticipation in how she started so intently ahead, and the discipline of staying in the ulaq tried to challenge her.

He became used to the presence of Aapa, and when he vanished one morning it was a great surprise. The boy kept his ears trained upon the wind in case it had more secret words to share - but he did not hear anything except the rustle of the branches in the forest. When Sisamat went to peer outside, he found a sister already there.

Ma'goo. He hummed her name, a greeting. Settling beside her with his own watchful gaze, Sisamat warred with the same mixture of feelings: curiosity, discipline, awareness, adventure.

Their father wasn't here; maybe he meant for them to seek him out. We go? the boy stage-whispered, eyes bright.

Maybe it was the gasp of Malguk that had given it away, but the approach and quiet voice of her aniqan surprised her. Fear, but in a way that wasn't scary, and a way that made her feel weird and bubbly inside. Different from the bubbles Ma'goo felt when she looked to the beyond.

A wriggle of her tail, and her eyes quickly looked jittery behind them and her breath quickened. Yes! Yes! He had good ideas! "Yah! Yah!" she whispered. "Le'gooo." Crawling, Ma'goo decided she was a ninja. They had to be very quiet. These great feelings overwhelmed her then, and she didn't know what to do with them except hold back the smile tugging at her mouth. Fun! Fun! Sibama had best ideas ever!

He was certain now that Aapa waited for them! They could wait for Atausiq, but when Malguk showed her enthusiasm and began to amble towards freedom, their sister was forgotten. Sisamat would keep watch the way Aapa did; they would be safe as they explored.

They didn't go too far at first, with their legs so short and everything so giant around them. A few times he looked over his shoulder to see if Aaka noticed. Malguk was quick! Sisamat could not look around for long, he had to try and keep up with his sister.

We a-hunnin! A few times Aapa had brought them things to pluck at, play with, or eat. Sisamat was determined to hunt for something to bring back too!

The world was big and new and beautiful. There were new feelings on her paws, and many new smells. Many new ways that trees could bend and grass could blow. 

There was Sisamat, the Big Great around them, and Malguk found herself often slowing to hide carefully at the side of him. He was more familiar than these new things. An uumigiri would shriek to see them side by side.

"Foo for Aaba!" They had a mission! They'd catch something just as good as Aapa could. They were just as big and strong as Aapa and Aaka! If the two of them were stacked together, her and Sisamat, they'd be a bajillion times their height! Or less. That was pretty big.

A giggly whisper, her eyes were everywhere, and the guilt of being naughty was being beat back. "Where-goo? Siba? Sniffs hunnin' foo(d)?"

He caught a glimpse of a man moving with certainty among the ulax and the wind whispered, this way, boy. Sisamat thought he knew the voice - that he had heard it in a dream maybe. Because of this he was unafraid.

Disway, he told Malguk. He hurried along, pausing to look around or sniff, or wait for his sister. Their jailbreak appeared to have gone unnoticed and Sisamat was confident they could do this thing.

Their path went up up up, until he felt his little ears pop, and the only ulaq was the one full of healing ointments and herbs; he could smell them even now.

Almost, little brother. Came the voice.

I no' liddle! He answered the wind, thinking it was his sister who spoke.

The quick sounds of her breathing, as if she had ran faster than any wolf had ever dared, was coupled with her confidence. "Kay." He would never be wrong. If Malguk followed him blindly, he would still lead her to wherever they'd ever need to be. There was no question, no hesitation, and she put her feet into the path he led them!

Her brother suddenly spat fire from his mouth and she wondered then who he spoke to. Aapa wasn't near. Aaka was bye-bye because they had gone bye-bye themselves. Atausiq was not following, and brother swam with the Sea People.

"Siba? Liddle?" They'd find these mean people! They'd take them out by themselves! Wolves huntin' wolves! "Who talk to? Siba no liddle!" She demanded, stomping her feet big and strong, a fearful gasp of wondering who could say such rude words!

She would have a talking to them on how to have good manners! 

Sisamat frowned and stopped, looking at Malguk pointedly.

Hear-goo. His tail lashed once, then lay still while the end gave a tiny lift from time to time, a sign of deep thinking from Sisamat; he thought he heard something else on the wind from another direction, then.

Turning sharply, he did what came naturally—yipping and baring his teeth to scare away the percieved threat!

Alas, it really was only the wind that time.

"Nuh-uh!" Stupid Siba.

They were stopped, at least for a moment. Malguk found herself looking even harder for the cause of their dilemma. Well, she had certainly not said anything, and so Sisamat could only be hearing things. Maybe he was hearing the adults in the distance, or the rabbits thumping around.

His teeth snapped, and she followed with a bite of her own at the wind! "Le'keep hunnin'! Find big food for aaba. 'N taste de blood of our enemenies!" That thought made her all sorts of giggly.

Bih foo! Sisamat repeated, grinning as Malguk laughed. He looked very much like his father in that moment, back when the man was boisterous and enigmatic, but Sisamat did not know.

The two children snapped at the wind and then began running along the path together, reaching with too-long legs and too-big feet, until their hunt became a race and their laughter was all the conversation had devolved to.

It was a good day—and would make a good memory.