December 10, 2024, 01:30 PM
(This post was last modified: December 21, 2024, 04:05 PM by Raiyuk.)
His father's section of the lodge remained untouched. Raiyuk could not step foot inside of it without feeling eviscerated by his own emotions, and to mitigate that he held himself back. Everything was as Chakliux left it: furs piled however they had fallen that day, or been tidied by Marina before the pair had gone. A meal might have been taken too, but Raiyuk had neither seen nor smelled anything of significance. It was perfect the way it was.
By now Raiyuk had convinced himself that his father had not gone in to the sea. It was not something he spoke about near his remaining brothers but a conspiracy of one—that Chakliux had taken Marina, and they had fled together. Despite the single track of marks in the sand which he had seen.
It didn't matter. The truth that Raiyuk chose to accept was that his father lived, but lived elsewhere.
The lodge became less and less woman-kept as the days ticked by. The space that was once shared between himself and @Taggak became a shared space between the three of them. @Chagak and @Sea Hunter together with @Puffin most days. Raiyuk busy with upholding the duties he had pledged himself to, or sleeping in a pile with them. Often he would keep himself aligned in a way that the lodge mouth could be watched; and he would watch it for hours as the boys slept, at first willing something to change and for his father's face to appear.
As dawn crept upon the village one more time, Raiyuk carefully removed himself from the pile of bodies and went to begin his patrols. He stepped out of the lodge and saw the world clouded, the sky deeply overcast, and a fog clinging to the trees that made the world look as if erased.
By now Raiyuk had convinced himself that his father had not gone in to the sea. It was not something he spoke about near his remaining brothers but a conspiracy of one—that Chakliux had taken Marina, and they had fled together. Despite the single track of marks in the sand which he had seen.
It didn't matter. The truth that Raiyuk chose to accept was that his father lived, but lived elsewhere.
The lodge became less and less woman-kept as the days ticked by. The space that was once shared between himself and @Taggak became a shared space between the three of them. @Chagak and @Sea Hunter together with @Puffin most days. Raiyuk busy with upholding the duties he had pledged himself to, or sleeping in a pile with them. Often he would keep himself aligned in a way that the lodge mouth could be watched; and he would watch it for hours as the boys slept, at first willing something to change and for his father's face to appear.
As dawn crept upon the village one more time, Raiyuk carefully removed himself from the pile of bodies and went to begin his patrols. He stepped out of the lodge and saw the world clouded, the sky deeply overcast, and a fog clinging to the trees that made the world look as if erased.
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »