Alpine Lake i would swim

ooc; open to any, just looking to explore for scout task also... 50th post!

she would breathe the crisp mountain air. her pale gaze briefly closed as a cusp of wind blew through. the hinterlands were suitable for a tundra being like herself. winter was far away and therefore the mountain regions were always a blessing from the heat. spring did not bring much of it, though she assumed the summer would be dreadfully unbearable. Heloise still did not know how long she would rest here. it had been quite a few days since her travels brought her to the Teekons. she had met some others that either lived here or were foreigners like herself. all of them had their own story to tell.

what was her own? well, she was still writing it to be truthful. she did not hang up a proverbial quill and ink to free herself that easily. life always brought fruits. some bitter, some sweet. it was just how you pluck it from the vine or branch. she did not contemplate for long, however. opening her pale gaze, she would walk the length of the lake. or attempt to. you never did know who you met and what they would want. another could easily approach her, stopping her for a chat. or she could do that with them. who knew? life was... full of little surprises. as it was, this day was a cloudy one. darkening the earth below it despite the sun hiding behind the clouds. 

but still, she would step. having a purpose in some small semblance of a way. even if she had no goal in mind.

a dream as she walked, of the first time she had been alone with her husband. both of them had been very young, or perhaps kukutux only felt older now. she had gone to him with bowed head as befit a wife, but he had uttered her name and lifted her chin. then, the one who hunted seals upon the ice, the duck had known he would treat her differently from other women.

a smile tugged at the girl's lips as she traveled across the terrain, the keep at her back, the rabbit fur draped as usual over her shoulders. it was becoming tattered, however, rot clinging at its edges, and kukutux knew she would need to make a hunt for a new one. presently, however, she was simply glad to be out of the dark recesses of the golden forest, away from cry's heavy gaze and the women who would be new mothers.

kukutux paused; she would have approached the glittering invitation of the lake had it not been for a delicate creature of ivory and scars roaming its edges, ethereal and almost ghostlike to the superstitious ugigiqadanax.

ooc; thanks for coming in!

time and time again, Heloise would attempt to push away the thoughts of the past. she was here now, and she would focus on here. else she would be utterly lost to what had ailed and hunted her. she made no room to wallow in the past. it was not becoming of her. she could not change anything that had happened - and she refused to speak much on the matter. therein; her past was a mystery. it would stay a mystery. even to herself.

footfalls would make her look up, rejecting even further her own thoughts of another life. she would leave her mind to focus on the woman standing a bit aways. the stranger seemed a bit... well, she did not want to assume. only that there were a wariness and hesitation. Heloise could not know deeper. "hail" she broke the silence though, assuming the other did not approach out of an open invitation. and though she did not approach the woman, her eyes were trained on her form.

of course!

the woman's eyes, even at this distance, reminded her of cry's own gaze: unyielding chips of sunlit ice. would she not be free of him, even here? it was the ghostly demeanour that held her aside, however, but when the figure called to her, kukutux relaxed somewhat. this was no spirit, just a wolf of pale hues.

and so she drew closer, assuming the called word to be one of invitation. "this woman greets you," the duck murmured, ducking her head for a moment. however, as the stranger was a woman, kukutux did not feel compelled to grant her usual formal submission. she would, however, wait untl her strange companion spoke again, and until that time, the girl's gaze flickered with curiosity over the other's scars.

"as does this one" Heloise mimicked the other's speech pattern out of respect, bowing her head as the other drew near. t'was not so strange, considering her own formal way of speaking. it was almost refreshing. the woman held the scent of a pack upon her coat, clearer now than where she had been standing previously. as she scanned her face, inquisitiveness open at her scarring, Heloise would smile gently.

she did not care if she stared at her. her scars were merely a reminder of what had been. "all hard-won" she remarked with a slight laugh. "some harder than others" particularly the scar across her snout. it had hurt like a bitch when she earned it. though that thought was not a very pleasant one. she chose to let it go just as quick as it came. Heloise assumed everyone had such pockets of memory they'd choose to forget. her head softly tilted. "do you live around here?"

unbidden, a shy smile crept to kukutux' lips, to be greeted in such a way. the formality of her homeland still weighed heavily upon her actions — it was pleasing to her spirit to have them returned. beneath the cream of her cheeks the girl flushed, embarassed to have her rude persual pointed out. but the pale one did not seem offended, something that set the duck more at ease.

"i am kukutux, from shadewood keep." here she gestured the slim line of her muzzle back the way that she had come, some hours' travel. it was unlikely she would be back before nightfall, and that suited the chiida. she did not want the powerful darkness of cry's presence near her, not now. 

"are you from a close place?" kukutux returned politely, refusing to dwell on the shaman's words which reverberated uncomfortably within her mind.

"Kukutux of Shadewood Keep, a pleasure" a unique name. something not heard of often. perhaps a northern one, perhaps native to another realm. Shadewood Keep had to be the title of the pack. her eyes left the woman's face to follow her glance. that way, yes? the pale woman would return to the other's features. "I am called Heloise cel Mare." she gave a polite nod of her skull. 

though the same skull would slowly shake at the query. "no. I have come from far away" which was about all she was comfortable sharing. the past should remain in the past. she was more a vagabond than anything right now. something she sought to remedy before winter will come. "I am what you call a 'lone wolf'. I have no pack, no allies to speak of with close bonds." she knew sometimes rogues were a bit... well, unwelcomed. it sounded lonely, even though her tone was light and even.

"is Shadewood Keep a good community?" she rather hoped they were treating Kukutux right.

a wanderer with a dazzling name. kukutux listened intently to heloise until a question was put to her again. a blink of springmint eyes, a murmur of "yes. they are all kind," though the duck hoped the fierce woman would not ask her to elaborate on the goings-on within the keep. it was not something kukutux even knew how to discuss. "it is my pleasure."

"in my land, we would have called you tayanax. trader," she translated, grateful that she knew the two words for the sentiment she wished to express. "wanderers who brought back things from other lands, and sometimes stories." here she glanced curiously to heloise, wondering if the other she-wolf had any such.

"good" she would leave it at that. having no pack meant she had a disinterest in meddling into the affairs of others. it was not her place to question or query into the minds of leaders. at least not yet. whoever gained her would also have to gain her loyalty. "tayanax..." she would roll the word off her tongue, her eyes briefly clouding. a swirl of emotion almost knocked her off her feet, though she remained as vigilant as ever. 

her head would slowly shake. she was more of a warrior than anything else. a trader seemed pleasant enough, she supposed, but Heloise took some pride in her training. "I am - I was - trained to do battle" she explained softly, wondering just how much to even explain to Kukutux. she had not done so in years. share any part of herself. "I am afraid your people may have a better word for me." perhaps mercenary was better suited?

touched by the emotion that seemed to sweep the ghost, kukutux thrilled to hear a word of her tongue spoken aloud. thus far, she had been the only one to speak it; the sound was comforting to the girl, warming her further to the mysterious heloise. "alitxux," the duck offered. "one who wars; one who fights."

it would appear, then, that this was how the snowstorm had come by her impressive scarring. aware that they had spoken for some time and she had not shown a hospitality, kukutux pulled the rabbitfur from her shoulders and lowered it to the ground. in its folds were tucked two sticks of dried meat from something cry had called a 'beaver,' its flesh rich with fat. "will you eat with me?" she asked softly, turning her verdant eyes back to heloise.

learning a new language was always entertaining. she found the words Kukutux spoke to be simple enough for her to remember later. "alitxux" though she may not war, she did fight. she smiled more easily. "yes, I suppose that suits me." it had to, for she had nothing else. no companions to speak of, no band to travel with. no pack. no lover. friends were easily gained yet most found themselves put off by her speech. 

the woman would pull the rabbit fur from her back, revealing a cache of sorts. the dried meat looked lovely enough, but even more, was the invitation. breaking bread was always the beginning of new horizons. if Kukutux trusted her enough to eat with her, Heloise was flattered. "I would be honored to" she replied easily, reclining more comfortably on the earth. she bent over to sniff at the dried meat. "what animal is this?"

"i am told it is called 'beaver,'" kukutux answered, taking one piece and settling upon her slender haunches. shyly glancing toward heloise, the duck began to chew small bites from the dried length. allowing herself a momentary pleasure in her ability to master the skills her mother had taught her long ago — was it so long? — kukutux paused to lick savory flakes from her chin.

"my grandfather was also a fighter. it was how he won my grandmother's eye, and the leadership of our home. long before i was born," she added, a smile of true pleasure briefly exposing the white smallness of her teeth. "he had a set of great antlers in his ulax, like ... two huge paws." a moose, but kukutux did not know the common name for the great beast.

beaver. Heloise did not know that word. if she ever did, it was long forgotten about. dipping her head graciously, she'd chew thoughtfully on the dried meat. it wasn't bad. just something she was unaccustomed to. beaver had to be a type of prey here then. she'd listen as Kukutux went about family's customs, a faint glimmer of amusement echoing in her eyes.

"so, he won the woman he wanted and a rank" the pale beast would comment "it is not so different from things here, I think" certainly higher ranked beings in a community were met with many suitors. though she did believe in a concept called love. she would chew further before adding in. "it seems titles are important anywhere."

a smile passed across the girlish features again. "here, however, it is not natural to do as my grandfather did. he won her heart, and his title, but he had to bring a bride-price for her also." the duck chewed thoughtfully, amused at how she had become the storyteller in their little vignette. "six otter pelts, duck feathers, seal fat. it took him several weeks, but when he had brought it all to her father's house, she went with him willingly to his own ulaq and became his wife that night."

it was a specific sort of romance, but one kukutux had never failed in loving. the prospect of that not being her lot once more plagued her dreams, and so she attempted not to think of it, not in such pleasant company.