Blackfoot Forest We are made of all those who have built and broken us.

@Siarut

She liked this place not. 

Even in the earliest hours of the mornings as the sun rose - blood red as it peeked at the tapeesa between the tangled silhouettes of the tree branches, the forest projected a dark and ominous aura onto the empath that had her head whipping to the side at the slightest rustle. She had not slept well, for how could she in such foreign lands with such eerie cries in the night? As morning set on, the first rays found the spearwife's ivory coat - lighting it afire even as the sky ahead burned vivid orange far to the east. She got to her feet, light-headed with the fatigue of a restless night. The tundrian shook it off with a literal shake of her thick mane, not unlike a bird ruffling its feathers, before continuing on.

Silent steps found her ghostly form stalking through the foggy gloom of the tangled tree limbs, her paws brushing the dew-dampened undergrowth as she glided. She moved as if she wished not to be seen, her head bowed and her shoulders hunched as if to be as small as possible. Pale, almost colorless, silver eyes flickered about the forest and the slightest noise was likely to startle her out of her skin. 

An ethereal being, the northern crept into the light on small, hesitant steps as she reached the stream. A flash of pink tongue was seen between her long, saber-like fangs as she approached the bank cautiously. Mud oozed between her paws, so dark it was nearly black, as she leaned over the water and drank deeply. She straightened, water dripping from her snout, looking further down the stream as if wondering where it led as her toes kneaded the mud in absent thought. 

tags for visibility

They had been travelling ruthlessly since leaving the Hollow, he knew the pups were growing tired, and everyone was having trouble sleeping during the heat of the day. It was not the easiest journey, the ragged edges of teh moutains was not the safest play area. They were almost ready to stop, and he often shared a look with @Takiyok to know when they could stop. They needed a break, and at Tak's indication they took a break. Setting the pup that had taken up residence in his maw down on the ground, Sia decided to do a quick patrol before they headed out again. With the dangerous surrounding he decided to go alone. Approaching Tak he nosed her gently before informing her that he would be back soon.

After leaving his family under the protection of Tak and Tomkin, Sia made his way into the trees at a speedy trot. Olive eyes scanning the surroundings that his family would soon have to travel through. He could hear the trickle of water nearby and headed toward the sound, there hadn't been much water in the mountains and this would be a good place for everyone to recuperate before the continued onward. As he got closer the scent of another put him on alert. He was still fairly close to the pups and it made him nervous when strangers were about.

Slowing his pace, he approached with caution. Finally the woman came into view, as she hovered over the slow moving water. He imagined the water to be cold, coming from snow in higher altitudes. He raised his head and his tail, not wanting to underestimate her, he sent a chuff in her direction. Sia waited for the woman to acknowledge his presence.

edit: forward dated for tomorrow, July 12

He finds her. A nanuk of fierce proportion, his broad build and thick limbs are reminiscent of the seal's dread. He pierced her with eyes like sea-glass, the color of which she'd seen only in the lights that danced with the stars. He is handsome, an artistic part of her observes but this is neither here nor there. The fe flattens ragged ears in recognition of his brawn, hunching again as if to stop him taking notice of her. Trembling legs find her moving from the slick mud, to the side so as to keep him in front of her, a weary sort of acceptance etched into the fine features of her face.

The tundrian acknowledges his presence, though she keeps her  glassy eyes off him after her initial glance. Her legs crouch, low but parallel to the ground so that she remains below the bear. There's a taut tension of her muscles, as if expecting a blow. Even so, the sensitive and scarred folds of her upper lip twitch with the restrained urge to further reveal her incisors. She seems to be caught, anxiously so, between Don't come any closer! and Please, don't hurt me!

There's a panicked gleam to her icy eyes, though they can't be seen, that speaks of the berserker beneath. One wrong step and she's just as likely to attack as she is to flee.

Her immediate submission, and subsequent deference spoke volumes of her past. Although the scars that peppered her coat were loud enough, and a pit fell in his stomach. Images of the woman from the Woods who had been brutalized without mercy, flashed in his memory. Siarut was caught in her silvery gaze for only a moment before she shifted sight. Although her stance didn't show it, he could see the grace of her feminine poise, and her fur was the palest of white that he had only seen on members of his family. Her beauty wasn't lost on the brute. She was definietly of northern decent, however in the Wilds Sia couldn't assume any connection to the arctic north aside from ancestry. 

He could see the slight tremble of her lip, and wondered what beast might linger beneath the fearful mask on the surface. It made him weary, but was intrigued as well. He could only imagine the horrors this woman had seen, her past more tragic than his own. "I do not attack without reason." Sia offered the woman peace if she would accept it, speaking in his native tongue, his prefered language. She looked northern, so he would treat her as such.

His lips part and the tapeesa stifles a flinch, for she can remember the harsh words of a duo that spoke a tongue that was not her own - demanding and intelligible but one word had stuck out. "English! English!" She can hear the jeering shouts in her head, even now, as taqqiq's daughter had crumpled, unable to comply. She expects the words to be of this language, one she has come to detest, and there's a crease between her eyes that speaks of stubbornness for she has no desire to learn the tongue. 

She blinks owlish eyes, stunned, when his words fall like snow, soft on her perked ears. It's caught her attention and she can't help but peer at him discreetly - as if trying to puzzle out his intentions. 

She's frozen, as if in time, her ear gives a small twitch as if to listen that the path at her back is clear should it be needed. A cautious stillness has taken up her willow frame - as if she's decided to stay but could still take flight at any second. 

"Uki," the tundrian whispers, the words but a soft rasp in the only language she's known.   He's not asked but she offers him this, her name which she usually guards fiercely, for it's the only thing she has to give.

He was glad that his words seemed to have some sort of comfort on the woman, even as she looks over her shoulder to check her exit strategy. Sia tries to catch her eye as she looks at him curiously, offering kinder eyes than had originally been given. 

When she offer's her name, the ice bear feels as if he has been given a gift that he should not squandered. The softness of her voice, forced him to further let down his guard and his lips were tugged upward every so slightly. "Siarut." He replied in a soft tone to mimick her own. "Pleasure to meet you." The accent the flared on her own name, spoke to her knowledge of the northern tongue. He didn't want to push her with nosey questions, instead he relaxed his stance, loweing his banner slightly. Wondering if she had questions for him, before he asked his own.

Even as the tension melts from her thin frame, not unlike the meltwater seen in spring time that had swelled the banks of her forest's stream, some of the intensity has fled the nanuk's massive form. The angakkuq seems to perk curiously under his olive eyes, watching with intrigue as his defenses fall. It's been some time since the wild girl was approached with kindness and from behind her mask she seems perplexed. 

"Sia'," she repeats, her control of language lacking from the isolation she's taken up since leaving the north. Not only is her syntax underdeveloped but so too are her manners, for the spearwife doesn't take notice if he dislikes the nickname. With the bear's relaxation has come her own, she finds her feet though her head seems unable to fully raise nor do her eyes steadily find Siarut. 

Tupilaq makes no move to approach, at least beyond turning in the kind male's direction, for the thought of doing so causes her heart to flutter like a frightened bird within its cage. She senses a lowering of walls and tries with care to piece together her thoughts. "Where are you going?" 

The tundrian doesn't bother asking where he's from, that is clear to her. Indeed, there's nowhere in the past for her to speak of. Only what's ahead is important now.

He didn't mind the shortening of his name, even though it was only his family were the the only ones to call him by that nickname. This woman was so timid, he couldn't begrud her lack of manners. In fact the opposite was true, it endeared her to him that she would call him such. Siarut simply nodded as she tested his name on her tongue. 

Where was he going.... he had to think of the proper response, still to protective to reveal the true pupose of his travel quite yet, Siarut went with the easiest answer. "Home." He thought the word fitting for what he hoped to find at the end of the journey. "And you? Where are you headed?" The bear thought a question for a question seemed fair.

The empath can sense something withheld, something left out. It's not her place to pry, nor is she likely to. Indeed, she simply nods with acceptance as the words come. The scent on the nanuk's coat speaks vaguely of a held territory, of a pack, a scent which the girl usually shys from. There's confusion hidden within the silver of her eyes, for the smell is faint.

"Nowhere," there's a familiarity to the curl of her tongue, to the movement of her lips. As if she has often silently mouthed the word to herself, it seems her tongue has grown accustomed to the shape of her loneliness. For a long time, nowhere was all she had. 

The waif had had a purpose at one point, shortly after setting out from the tribe. Tapeesa had searched for new lands, green lands said to be filled with prey. She'd wanted a better life and had been willing to seek it, but life here was much the same as it had been. Even now, Uki can feel a simmering frustration at the thought. 

"I was looking for home." It's unclear whether she means now or in the past for they're much the same to her. Regardless, there is an ageless weariness to the words as if she has seen much in her wanderings - more than she wanted. 

There was pity forming in his stomach as the woman spoke. He couldn't understand how such beauty could be brutalized in such a way that her words were filled with sadness and her skin was marred with scars. Siarut didn't know what the pull was, perhaps it was the woman he had met in the Woods, or the fact that his family had issues in the past, but he felt a draw toward the girl. The need to protect her from the harshness of the world, and help her see the happiness that his family gave him everyday. 

"You could join me, if you wish." He wondered if any had given her such a choice. To stay or to go. He offered her a place to be herself, and the protection of his family. Although he wasn't sure she would even understand that. He tried to convey as much sincerity as he could. "Me and my family." He couldn't help but think that Tahani would be drawn to the woman, the healer in his sister made her sensitive to the heartship of others. "I can't promise that you will feel at home with us immediately, but you will be protected. I promise none will hurt you with my protection. And maybe one day, you will find a home with us." He wasn't sure if what to say, or how to convince her to come, but he truely wanted her to. To join him.

The waif shifts on small, nimble paws as if caught between following or remaining behind. Her silver gaze slides to the side, a guarded tint clouding her eyes with lingering suspicions. Regardless, the girl's feet seem to pull her forward towards the nanuk as she neatly fits into his shadow. Tiqaqq's stsa'  appears to be experienced in following, for she's calm as she finds a hesitant place at his side. 

The spearwife is silent at the mention of his family for she's detached herself from having one; the thought of seeing one in action is alien to her. There's an almost pleading quality to his offer, as if deep down the bear wants her to follow of her own accord.  The empath can sense that for some odd reason, Siarut wants her to come with them though she's unsure why. The thought that someone might want her company is queer, even more so than the longing she felt to follow after him.

Tupilaq seems to remember some shred of her decency for she murmurs a quiet ,"Thank you." Her muzzle reaches out, as if to brush against his shoulder with gratitude, but at the last second the spearwife drops it - thinking better of the idea.

She approached him, her nimble paws bringing her form closer. Close enough to touch, although impulse was strong Siarut remained still. Her exterior seemed to delicate enough to break if he placed one paw out of place. She rested in his shadow, her smaller form fitting well alongside his. She was so different from the fiery Ceara, but Sia was drawn to her in much a similar way. By her approach he knew she would follow him back to his family, and it warmed his heart dispite her chill.

"Thanks are not needed." The whisper fell gently from his lips, as she hesitated. "Come. I can't be gone for much longer." He had no desire to share her with anyone, wishing instead to hide her from the world. Alas, his family needed him, and he knew they would accept her with ease. He slowly rose, and walked around her, skimming along her side as close as he dared without touching her.

Tapeesa can feel her breath catch, her face remains still as he circles her but inside the girl is shocked at her own thoughts. There's an electric charge between them, that thin space which she strangely hopes he will cross. The thought is disconcerting yet, the only sign that she's noticed his movement is the twitch of her ears - falling back to catch the sounds of his light steps for the bear moves with impressive stealth despite his bulk.

Her legs feel stiff as she moves to follow after him silently. When she first rose they'd been wobbly as a newborn fawn's, shaken from the intensity of their encounter. As the nanuk leads the way back to his family, she follows at his side with nerves wracking her wiry limbs as she keeps pace.