Ouroboros Spine atikluk ⦚

branched shadows embraced the duck, dappling her fur with the warming whitehawk sun. they returned each year to nest in the cliffsides, and so this time was called kilgit tatkiat. it was the time by which she had meant to find sialuk an ugi.

did such matter now to the girl? all moonglow bore were hunters of marrying-age. no boys not yet hunters among them. but, kukutux considered, sialuk was a woman who hunted fiercely, with a spirit that would not be shattered. perhaps she was too worthy now for a bedraggled boy. her heart ached to think that sialuk would step over this time within her life, but the mother had spoken, and had put them here.

her eyes beheld pine raring proudly on either side of a stream, widening as it approached the lake. here she settled, and after a moment, tilted back her head to call for @Keyni and @Merrit. there was hope in her that they were yet near.

Keyni had in fact, been close when her friend Kukutux called for her. With she and the Glen wolves welcome in Moonglow while Antares and his followers recovered, she made herself useful by keeping busy. She had been in the middle of checking out the newly discovered stream, attempting to search for any signs of beavers or fish that would make a fine addition to the caches. 

She had just caught a glimpse of a ripple in the water, causing her muscles to twitch with anticipation. But Kukutux was summoning her and she was not one to ignore the request of another, be they friend or pack mate. During the time that had passed since their first meeting and what they had discussed, much had transpired. More than enough to keep the tundrian's mind busy most of the time, even well into the late hours of the night. Centered around the recent events of the fall of Moonspear, the shake up to the Fireflies and now their stay here, she was oblivious as to the nature behind the duck's request. She had not forgotten what they had spoke of, but it had been the last thing on her mind.

Approaching along the peaceful edge of the stream, tail waving amicably, Keyni approached her without falter. She smiled, humbly as always, brushing her muzzle under the Alpha's chin in a show of deference. "It is so good to see you. Thank you again, for welcoming us." She pulled back, jade stone eyes drifting to inspect her healing ankle in silent question. "How have you been feeling?" She queried, meeting her gaze.

"oh," kukutux gasped softly as keyni came upon her. the duck had been lost in a day-vision, imagining how the mountain might ring with sound now. it did not suit her to live so far behind the nine days. "healing has come to me." she hoped it was the same for the firefly, and settled close, touched by the concern in the beautiful one's eyes.

"you follow antares," kukutux chuffed to signify her acceptance of the other's chosen leadership. "but moonglow will have its arms open to you, if there is ever a path for you to remain here." not wishing to add pressure; an invitation with no expiration. she let out her breath in a long low sigh, closed her eyes as she faced into the wind fragranced by the tall green trees. 

"this place has done much for us."

You can feel free to PPly him arriving! otherwise I'll have him arrive in the next round <3

She called for him, and Merrit answered. He was not near, but neither was he far off. He and @Kallik had descended to the flatlands after Legion had dismantled, and they had decided to set out on their own. To find something of their own, and to build a people of their own, as their mothers had before them.

Was it a lucky chance that they had chosen to travel so near to Moonspear these past days? He might've once believed his proximity could merely be explained by that, but as the Raven grew older and wiser in the world, he began to wonder if perhaps Clary was right. He had met Kukutux 'by chance' when he had not realized the motherly touch he had needed back then, and here 'by chance' he was near when she summoned him again. It was hard to believe these happenings didn't mean something, that perhaps, there truly was something, or someone, much greater than he directing these little things so many chalked up to luck.

Still, it took time for him to find his way to where she had called for him, and he found himself within a land filled with her scent, but very much not Moonspear. He had intended to visit Hydra in a few days time - but now he worried, for what had drawn Kukutux away from her mountain? For this land smelled of pack - and if not for her direct summons, and his inexplicable trust of her, Merrit would not have stepped past the clearly marked boundary into what seemed her new heartland. He felt odd moving through a land that was not his, but still he clipped his way towards her.

"I am glad your leg is better. Sometimes time is the best remedy." She couldn't imagine what it had been like for her, being pinned down and restrained by such an injury. In her shoes, Keyni would have grown restless. Impatient. Thoughtfully, her eyes darted to the side. The mention of Antares stirred up some uncertainty in her. "His wounds too, need to heal. But it is his emotional ones that I am most worried about. Should he be unable to lead us Fireflies, I will not forget that we will always have a place here." 

Though still feeling very much in limbo, she was doing her best to settle back into life at the fringes of Moonglow. She knew Antares, the last of the Ostrega brothers, needed time. Time that would tell if he was willing to lead again. She would not pressure him, nor any of the others. Just watch, listen and advise if need be. She hoped that he knew he had her support, no matter what. "Yes. It will never compare to Moonspear or the Glen, but in it, thanks to you, the spirit still thrives."

kukutux bowed her head modestly beneath the praise. "moonglow could not live without the glen." gaze tightened to think of all they had suffered, beginning with the death of osiris and ending now with them here, displaced, and with antares sickened. dazed. he suffers from the ice skin, the inner voice whispered. kuatsânattuk.

but she did not need to dwell long upon it; a great grey shadow was swiftly and elegantly approaching the feminine pair. "aya," kukutux chuffed softly, pleased to see the man of battle and of ballads. "i greet you, merrit." jadegleam eyes shifting curiously, mischieviously to keyni, wondering if the other she-wolf would understand the true purpose of this meeting.