Porcupine Ridge mica orb

no posting order! <3

when muskrat unslung the unconscious boy from her shoulders evening shadows had spread over the shadow-world in a pleasant miasma.

in time she would ask for her eagle; in this moment she stood over the unknown @Sparrow and crooned into the silken gradient of falling night for @Nutuyikruk.

the girl's presence might do well to soothe the boy. bring food, she added of their little knife.

:o

The mountains were rejuvenating. The warmth was great and the colds were even greater. You were prey here, and yet the very same predator that clasped its teeth around you. Failure was great, and the successes were so intense it bribed Nutuyikruk into trying things again; though, only under supervision.

She learned the ridge was the only place that safety harbored.

Peeping around a corner of brush, the lynx gasped with a soft breath and gingerly dropped hare meat. Stalking only a little closer, before retreating behind the flimsy cover of brush. She looked to Muskrat, the crisp evening air elevating her whisper: "A boy?"

in the cradle of darkness, sparrow dreamt. memories swirled in his mind and seeped to that of his dream. flashes of the time he'd knock his tooth loose beamed before him, running, breathless, falling — he sprung awake with a gasp, tongue swirling to where the missing tooth he'd once lost had long been regrown. he was not home, and this was no longer a dream. 

a few rapid blinks brought him back to the moment and brought his focus to the panther. a rumble stirred within his chest at the sight of her. he attempted to stand only to have the pain in his forepaw remind him of his tumble. she'd not killed him, and he did not know why. 

"what ya want?" he questioned through grit teeth, venom laced with every word.

"a boy," muskrat answered lynx girl, grinning a bit at the ferocity of the newest captive. he was hurt, though she did not think it could be so bad; they must examine him soon.

but muskrat did not want another struggle. her sunflower eyes snared the young wolf. "want name," she finally ordered. "this nutu yikruk. lynx girl. bring food for you," muskrat murmured fondly of the first child, her smile a genuine bow.

gesturing now, indicating that nutuyikruk approach first and show how no injury had come to her in the taking.

sparrow though thickheaded, was not entirely a fool. he understood himself incapable of fleeing this place with an injured ankle. he would not run, not yet. "sparrow," he answered to the woman's demand.

there was the introduction of another, a girl. was she stolen away, same as him? he left little thought on it when the matter of food was brought to the conversation. he'd been without a proper meal for a long enough time that the promise of food alone was enough to temporarily ward off his distaste for the panther.

the cold rust of his gaze swept to where the girl hid and where the hare lay, his attention drifting between the two anxiously.

The boy spoke, and the girl cowered deeper into the depths of the brush. Watching carefully each movement of the boys eyes, and expamining the warm grays of fur. Silence expanded out before those soft jaws wrapped around the hare.

Approaching quietly and stopping short of Sparrow's downed figure, her left ear came to a slow roll when they came eye to eye. The rabbit was dropped by his mouth. ".. Hi. I'm Nutu." Even though Sparrow had learned that much now. The boy looked at the hare so hungrily, and it was not but a second before she took slow steps back to offer space once more. "Would you like more to eat?"

sparrow. pichiwsa. 

lynx. sparrow. eagle. muskrat. shadow.

her lips wore a thin veneer of satisfaction at how nutu yikruk moved, how confidently she offered the kill and then space for the boy.

"i muskrat. this shadow ridge. leader is hex." her eyes shone. "eat."

more might be discussed with full bellies and less want to escape. the warrior glanced at his leg but said no more, half-turning to watch the land as sentry.

the girl emerged from the shrubbery of her hiding place and sparrow studied her with judging eyes. the deposit of the hare was snatched up hastily between his jaws and quickly devoured.

the panther spoke, and sparrow listened as he gnawed on a piece of fat between his molars. shadow ridge, he did not know this name. he did not know this place.

he looked to the girl then, another offer of food made. "ella también te robó?" he tested, though quickly tacked on "more," as a command. should neither understand him, his question would be no more than mutters to himself.

There was surprise from how quickly the meat was swallowed. The boy didn't seem very friendly either, or maybe just resided in a more foul mood. Maybe the goddess had striked Sparrow too. There was no gentleness to be found below the mountains.

He spoke strange words and the girl didn't understand. "I'm sorry. I don't think I understand you very well," she shook her head and formed a frown.

Nutu knew what more meant, though. Inside-voiced: "Okay. I'll be just a moment." Kneading the dirt with her toes, she turned to Muskrat, nose twitching and awkwardly swaying a shoulder. "Should I clean a bedspace?"

"not know, nutu." muskrat crept closer, thrusting her muzzle close to their newest taken. she had not missed the demand; she did not like its sound nor the sullenness of the boy.

of course she had taken him. who else had been there?

"pichiswa. sparrow-boy." her eyes beheld him so close, taking in each flutter of her captive's expression. "what you say? eat and stay? or run and die? sharp teeth in vale below. wild cats in stone places." she shrugged; she could tie sparrow, beat him, but it was energy wasted if he would only try to flee in escalation. better to blacken his consciousness and leave him elsewhere if he acted so.

the sudden invasion of muskrat before him surged sparrow to turn away and avoid eye contact up until she addressed him directly. eat and stay? run and die? "do i gots a choice?" he pressed, brow raising to read his captor as much as she read him. "ya ain't give me the choice before..." she had attacked him, harmed him, stolen him away to this place!

he turned to glance at the nutu girl as he adjusted his injured paw. the panther was not wrong in her words, if he left now he would likely perish alone and hungry. he did not wish to stay here, he had his mama to find, his family to go back to! and yet, "i eat, i stay," he begrudgingly decided, spinning away so as to avoid the gleam of satisfaction that would surely shine through in the woman's eyes.

Nodding, listening. It was then that the girls head saw the lame foot. Oh no. Oh, dear. Oh, Sparrow was hurt. They would need to help him. Had it been Muskrat who saved him, or Muskrat who had caused the injury? Why was wrong with it? Staring down at his paw, Nutuyikruk sat for a moment, but was unsure why. Still needing to leave, to bring more dinner for their guest, and now knowing a bed would need prepared. But Nutu watched, and did not dare ask.

She would not question Muskrat once.

He would eat. 
He would stay.

"Okay," whispered Lynx. "I'll bring you more to eat and make a place comfortable for you to sleep at night, Sparrow." She promised. Something soft for his poor foot. Only then did she stand and leave, and would return some time later with more meats.

"always have choice," muskrat muttered, citrus eyes aflash.

when nutu spoke again, they softened; she was pleased to see how swiftly the girl had taken to the ridge. bird-boy would do well to hearken, to do the same. autumn mornings came with the snarl of winter hanging in the cold air; soon the frosts and then the snow.

"follow her," she instructed of sparrow. "rest leg."

she turned then, her figure lapped eagerly into the darkness as she went to tell both @Hex and @Makono of the newest among them.