Moonspear lie to me

Two nights anaa had been home, and on the second night, a dream came to Sialuk. It was the qanglaagix, and it called to her. There was no bone in its mouth this time, nor a piece of meat. In her mother's tongue, it spoke to her.

The bones speak to you. They do not give answers, but they do give hints. You have much to learn. I speak my name: Sixsix.

When she woke in the early light of dawn, it was to the sound of the qanglaagix. No, he had spoken his name to her. Sixsix, she breathed aloud with a faint smile. He had no bone, but she tossed him a chunk of meat anyway. A gift for revealing his name to her. The corvid flew off with the food, disappearing to wherever it went when it wasn't around her.

Sialuk stretched her muscles then, loosening up before she tilted her head back and greeted the day with her voice, loud and long for everybody to hear.

sialuk, singing the sun down to touch the earth.

it was good to be home. kukutux had woken in the night with his name pressing itself against the walls of her spirit; she had rolled to burrow against jarilo, to let the scent of him, the sound of his breathing, drive back the trader that wished to linger near. in the morning the snow-wife washed sleep from her muzzy eyes and began to work over the skins draped upon the pauttuvik.

it had once been a thick pine bough dragged here; she had stripped its needles and now it was a tier of branches upon which she had placed a rabbitfur and a strip of beavertail leather, to dry in whatever sun could still be found. removing the latter from its place, kukutux settled with it between her forepaws, calling to sialuk to attend her and learn a new thing.

Anna's voice called for her, and Sialuk pivoted around to smile at her mother. She appeared to be in better spirits today, and Sialuk was grateful for it. Along with the new day came a new lesson, and so the girl sat across from her mother now, staring down at the tail that once belonged to a beaver. Now, it belonged to them.

The raindrop was curious about what this might be. She had seen beavers, of course, although she had never gotten terribly close to one. She thought she may also take this opportunity to talk to her mother about the bones and ask what word was used for animals of his kind. A friend outside of her own species, and a helpful one at that. The witch had called it a guide, but Sialuk was not certain what word she could use for him from her mother's tongue that would fit.

sialuk came with a promptness that kukutux favored, and her lips curved with a gentle smile. "today i want to teach you a new word. it is called angajuk." not yet explaining, kukutux pushed the dried thing toward her daughter. "today we also make pinnaguaq." 

a different set to her mouth now; she hid it as she lowered her muzzle in instruction. "use all your many teeth to chew and chew. when your jaw begins to ache, you stop. but for now, we make the leather soft, for babies." the duck was quiet then, wondering if sialuk might make a connection herself or would need a more direct approach.

A new word, and they would be making toys. Sialuk had her own toys now, though they were not the same as those she used as an infant. Her brow furrowed, but then her eyes widened at the connection. She knew that she would not have children in the spring (it would not be until the next), but her mother very well might carry more children into the world. Little brothers and sisters to dote upon when the world grew warm again.

For yours when the world is warm again? she asked, just to be sure. The beaver tail was thick, and Sialuk went to work on it, ears pushed forward to hear the answer and what more wisdom her mother might impart on her. If there was one thing Sialuk was never lacking, it was a seemingly endless drip of stories, traditions, and culture from the woman who had brought her to live in Moonspear.

kukutux did not hide her pleasure at the raindrop's quickness. "yes, if we have a blessing from the spirits." and from hydra, the duck noted to herself, but knew that the tight hierarchy of moonspear would not allow for sialuk to be unaware of their place in it.

"and you would be angajuk," she went on, repeating the word a second time. "they are very special to a baby that is new." more eyes to guard against the creeping death-monsters; more teeth to protect moonspear, more teachers when they had been weaned and sent off into the green expanses.

Sialuk smiled, looking forward to the time when her mother would bring new children into the world. What would they be like? Sialuk was eager for their arrival, but she knew that it would be some time before that happened. The world was still cold, and the sun stayed around for less time each day. Her jaw continued to work on the beaver tail, and she repeated the word in her head a few more times. Angajuk. Big sister. That meant that Saviguk would be a big brother, too.

Can you tell me about witches? Sialuk asked, her mind pivoting toward that subject now. And their guides?

kukutux's smile jerked, faltered. witch. her blood ran cold a moment, and she sought for a distraction as she gathered her words. "ilisitsoq is the proper word. sometimes ilitsut are bad. they do ilisineq, to  make tupilait from bones and teeth and rocks, bad spirits that are meant to hurt the living. that is the guide of a witch."

the conversation chilled her, but onward she went. "angakkuq is a better thing. it means you are a maker of medicine for this world and the next. and you can turn away a tupilaq." a little sigh. "it is harder for a woman to become an angakkuq. harder, but it is not impossible."

Ilisitsoq, Sialuk whispered to herself. But as her mother continued to speak, she felt a little bit horrified, especially when anaa mentioned bones. That made her own blood chill, and Sialuk swallowed hard, worried that she had somehow made a mistake in following the Witch of the Glen's advice. But how could she have known?

Kukutux went on to explain another kind of witch, one that was more in line with how Sialuk thought of herself. She wanted to be this angakkuq. A maker of medicine for this world... and the next? Was that what Nikai had spoken of? Ancestors who still lived here and watched over them, like her grandmother and grandfather?

Not only would she be able to create good in the world, but she could also repel those who wanted to do harm. That right there sealed the deal for Sialuk. She now had a word, a more specific word, for what she wanted to achieve.

I want to be angakkuq. This crow, he told me his name was Sixsix, he brings me bones and I—Sialuk flushed a little, wondering if this was a silly thought. Her father hadn't thought so.

I think of a question, and I think the bones can answer them, but I'm not very good at speaking their language. Does that make me the good or the bad witch? Sialuk asked.

She had stopped chewing on the beaver tail, now caught up in the conversation they were having. It lay on her paws, ready to be worked when she wasn't so focused on the topic she had brought up.

kukutux listened carefully. from the sound of it, no bad witching had gotten into the heart of sialuk. instead she spoke of a crow with a name. "this is a good omen," the seawife assured her raindrop. "remember that crow was the first to bring daylight to the people who lived in darkness."

satisfied, relieved, she shook her head. "it makes you on the first path to medicine. not witch. not shaman, yet. you are learning. and i will teach." a purse of her lips, a thoughtful look. "where did you learn the name of witch, sialuk?" and more to ask about these bones, but it did not sound as if the girl had broken any taboos by being chosen for the way of the black feathers.

A good omen, a sigh of relief. Perhaps Sixsix would bright light to the questions she asked. Sialuk went back to working on the beaver tail, her molars working hard on softening the hide. It appeared that she would not be a bad witch so long as she had her guide to light the way. Sixsix seemed to be doing just that, and perhaps the bones would help in some way, too. If her guide was good, then the bones must be good, too.

Anaa asked where she heard of the witch, and Sialuk replied quickly.

The Witch of the Glen, she said. The one with clouds for eyes. The last time Sialuk had seen her, the witch had told her to find her guide's name and report back. At least, that was how Sialuk had understood it. Now that she had Sixsix's name, she would need to do that soon. Perhaps then the witch would reveal her guide, and Sialuk would know whether she was a good or a bad witch. Then again, her mother seemed well-versed in the topic, so maybe she had some insight on whether or not the witch was good or bad.

Isn't she the one training with you? Is she good or bad?

"fennec," kukutux said softly. a witch. and one beneath her tutelage. "she seems good." seemliness was not a confirmation of one's character. what had taken her eyesight, the duck wondered for another time. she had always quietly blamed the woman who had borne the blind healer, but perhaps it was darker than that.

perhaps it had been a simple trade, eyesight for power. the woman's hackles flickered briefly. "she is smart and quick. you are smarter and quicker," kukutux went on, smiling at her raindrop. "if fennec wants to be witch, she will be witch. they take the form of their practice, not their word."

Ping me if any of this intuiting is too far off base! I figure Sialuk is pretty good at reading her mom by now, since they're close. <3

There was a way her mother spoke of Fennec that made Sialuk a little bit on edge about the witch. Something unsaid, something unspoken, something not particularly good. Her words contradicted what Sialuk felt her mother actually meant. As she grew, the raindrop was learning that words and thoughts did not always line up, especially when it came to anaa.

She did, however, take the compliment at face-value, even if Sialuk didn't believe she was smarter and quicker than Fennec (and finally, a name to put to the witch). Even if she was a "bad" witch, Sialuk wondered if there was something to be said for that. Without bad, could there be good?

Sialuk thought of these things as her teeth and jaws worked the beaver tail, softening it slowly and steadily. Her jaw tired, but she was loathe to stop before her mother instructed her to do so.

looks great to me <3

kukutux wondered if she should limit the contact that fennec had directly with sialuk. it was not that she thought the blind healer to be malicious, only that witchery should not touch the life of her raindrop. the girl was daughter of a clan leader. the duck would not allow her to be led astray.

but she kept this to herself, watching sialuk grind at the leather until a cluck of satisfaction rounded her mouth, a signal that her daughter had finished the task. "i will soak this now, and when it dries, it will be easier to work again. one day it will be soft, and you can say 'i am sialuk and i have made this.'"

When Sialuk felt she could no longer work the beaver tail was the moment anaa's sound of approval came, followed by what she would do with it next. It was hard to imagine that the thing would ever be soft, but Sialuk knew that her mother knew what she was doing. There was so much knowledge to be gained from her, and Sialuk always enjoyed these teaching moments. They were exactly the kind of thing she imagined she would need in order to become a good wife for her future ugi. And that thought, of course, led to another.

That boy, Huojin... she trailed off, trying to find the right words for what she meant to ask.

Has taataa met him yet?

Maybe that was the better question anyway. Sialuk inferred that her father would also need to approve of him. Considering anaa had introduced them, it seemed plausible that she approved, but she was only one half of the union that needed to do so. Or perhaps only one third. Sialuk presumed that she would get some say in who she was betrothed to. Thus far, she did not have a strong opinion one way or another about Huojin. They had met only twice, so perhaps more meetings would make that opinion sway one way or another.

kukutux enjoyed how swift sialuk's mind was, finding places for more details. "not yet, i do not think. you may tell taataa about huojin. but he will come to be known at our home, if your father agrees." a little sigh; she turned her muzzle toward her raindrop with a little blink of amusement.

"if huojin becomes your ugi, then in the first warm moon he will come to live in moonspear for a short time. this must have your father's approval, and his father's approval. and aja must agree, and akka must agree." sialuk must be told of the challenge that would come, for things here were more complicated in that way than they had been in her childhood.

"it is a time for taataa to know him well, and help to see that he becomes a hunter. for it is not until after boy is hunter that he can be husband."

Her mother explained in detail what would have to happen before Huojin would come to live with them. There were many approvals he would need, and even then, he would need to become a hunter before he could become a husband. Sialuk pressed her tongue into the top of her mouth as she mulled over these things. Another question lingered on her mind, too. One that she pressed and pulled in her mind until it became clear how to ask it.

Is Huojin the only one? she asked after a long pause.

Perhaps she was being greedy and ungrateful in asking that, but she did want to know. He was the only boy she had met outside of Moonspear, and she wondered if that was by design. Perhaps anaa was pushing their union in particular. And while that would not have been completely disagreeable with Sialuk, she did want to know if that was the case. Did she get a say in her future, or would it all be laid out for her, crafted in quiet conversations between adults?

And did Sialuk even mind the implication of such a thing? Perhaps not, so long as she was made aware of what was going on.

"for now. it is good that you know more than one boy, so that you can choose what you like in one or not in another." they were playmates first, young ones learning to work in units. after that was for the spirits to decide. it was the task of kukutux to bring her raindrop to such a place eventually. 

"moonspear has many boys, but so many of them are cousins." the woman grinned, shifting her position somewhat. "it is better to choose outside your own clan." in her home, such pairings brought new words to the hearth, new ways of preparing the dried meats, new plants to be exchanged and identified. newness was sea-melt and the pink light of dawn. she breathed.

I think we can wrap this one here!

Kukutux explained more, and Sialuk was glad to know that her mother was willing to be so open about these things. She did not like being kept in the dark. So far, it appeared that Huojin was the only one. But that would not always be the case. There would be other boys out there, and Sialuk wondered what they would be like. How would they differ from the island boy? Would she prefer one over the other?

She pondered those thoughts, wondering if there would be a time when more boys would come to Moonspear. Or would Sialuk need to search for suitors? Surely they would know of her, wouldn't they? She was still learning how things worked between packs, and it seemed as though not every pack was the same. Firefly Glen, for example, scarcely felt like a different pack at all, even though they lived in a different place.

She was happy then, to sit in comfortable silence with her favorite teacher.