Big Salmon Lake aullasik ≎

for @Eldritch! other tags for ref! also liv i know we have one going rn so this can fit anywhere<3

@Nuak had gone, and he had not come back.

kukutux waited, but he did not come back.

so much had gone on, and she had her own tasks as atsak, but that day, the duck slipped a note to @Adrastus that she would be going out upon her worship, and kept pace with her own words. she stopped only at the ulaq to collect a soft shred of doeskin and two dried sticks of venison.

the lake that bordered the glen; here the duck set down her things and lifted voice for the anatkuk.

the inner spirit winced, baring scolding mouth.

you have broken many taboos, daughter. but to seek a woman who calls herself spirit-talker? that is the most insult of all!

he has taken something of mine. if he gives it to the tupilak, it will harm my spirit. she did not want it then. but she has made him a witch.

let lynx will turn her teeth against the evil spirit and her helper.

but if i know he is of my clan, then i too will use this to break him from the curse. i must speak to the spirit of the grey brother. this woman says she knows the words. i will trade for them.

the inner spirit was silent.

kukutux waited.

Oooo! Happy to thread with you once more! Also tags for reference! <3

 


In the moons that followed the crumble of Ivory Rose, Eldritch had mostly stayed close to the Woods with @Aerenys, occasionally extending her wanders to the flatlands beyond, but never further. 

This time was different. This time, Eldritch wandered much further. Miles, and miles more. The travel homeward would certainly be lonely and long. She had left her Moon-of-Night to the Woods, where the Daedra were strongest within the Wilds. In her soul she knew that Aerenys was aware the Seer would return. But for now...

For now, the spirit-woman traveled solo. 

However, El didn't expect to hear a summons for herself this far from Blackfeather Woods. She perked her ears to the sound, and trotted quickly to the source.

Melting out of the shadows around the lake, Eldritch was a mixture of intrigued, confused, and surprised as she stopped soundlessly before the Moonwoman. Tilting her head to one side, El noted internally that her acquaintance seemed to be carrying a heavy weight. 

"You called for me...What troubles you?" El inquired, concern and curiosity swirling in her akin to dancing fish in water.

:D <3

eldritch materialized.

kuktutux, who had made the plan of traveling more swiftly to the last place she had met the woman, was graced with a sense of respect and regard for the shadow. 

"spirit-talker. i come to make first trade with you and with ivory rose." here she nosed the strip of silken, cured leather, and the deer-meat she had dried atop her ulaq. "many moons ago the brother of the man who was my husband died. he was very angry, i think. his blood was upon me before he left this world. before he was no more, he told me he had children, within a valley. he was outcast by our clan. they have not known their people."

"but i see that a boy has come to my village, and has left it. he is large and like stone, as the brother was. yet he has a curse on him, and he follows a tupilak that has taken the color of a fox. he has stolen from me." the words, tumbling.

a breath.

"i want to know if he is of my clan, ostrega. if i tell into your ear the name that the brother had when he lived, do you think that you will have the words to make a path, to find his spirit? and to ask him."

oooohhhh I'm gonna need to get creative with this one lol, due to realism

As the Moonwoman spoke, Eldritch took in every word without interruption, until Kukutux was finished in her request. The spirit-woman turned her gaze away to look at the water of the lake, thinking...

Finally turning back to Moonwoman, she spoke. 
"It is with a heavy heart that I tell you Ivory Rose is gone. Though my pack has become dust in the wind, the forest still stands. Only I, my spirit-sister, and a guardian remain there. This news aside, I would be honored to offer my skills, with or without receiving anything in return."

The Seer offered a genuine, soft smile, taking a deep breath to further think of how best she would go about entering the spirit realm for the knowledge Kukutux asked for.

"Please, when you are ready, tell me the name of the spirit you wish for me to find. Also, have you seen any plants in the area that are known for causing visions?" Eldritch instructed and asked, gently, looking around the area for any sign of, perhaps, Jimson Weed...the hallucinogenic effects would aid her in her journey.

u can be vague if thats easier, this can be a trade thread for them both if u want!

kukutux was silent a moment. "then i add, you may all come to moonglow to be my companion for a meal, or to stay." she suspected that if eldritch wished a home, the sly shadow would have already sought one, she and the ones mentioned.

extending the woman a friendly brush if so allowed, kukutux turned her attentions toward the focus. "i do not know spirit-plants," she said softly, apologetically. "i will help you to search."

a breath. she leant forward, and whispered the name of the grey trader.

horror, piercing her now, the slice of her eyes away; "it is forbidden to say the names of those who have died." a muffled voice, made small by her fear.

Sounds good to me! <3

Eldritch smiled with silent gratitude to Kukutux's invitation. She would consider this, as well. It wasn't too long ago now that Meerkat had requested she consider joining the Caldera wolves. Or at least visit them...

To the knowledge of spirit-plants, Kukutux deemed to not know of any, but the offer to help search was appreciated. 
"Back in Blackfeather Woods, there's a tree that is sacred to those who worship the Daedra. Being near it can cause visions, and even make you hear the voices of spirits. Sadly however, a tree can't be carried, so I'll have to make do with what's available here..." This said, Eldritch took in the whispered name with a gentle nod of understanding to Moonwoman's fear. 
"I am not familiar with your gods, but if you are doing something forbidden with only benevolence in mind, I think they might make an exception." She assured. Truly, she didn't know, couldn't know, really. Kukutux's gods were not hers, thus the effort to comfort might be proven wrong in the future...

With that, Eldritch began looking for Jimson Weed, searching in the underbrush and by the water. Though this was her primary quarry at the moment, if luck were on their side this night, the Seer might find hallucinogenic mushrooms instead? She'd have to keep looking to know.

eldritch shared freely of their lore, and kukutux thought this a good omen. a promise from the shadowed woman. and the assurance that came from the other — she had not expected it. cheeks flushed dully beneath the short white fur of her cheeks, but she nodded all the same.

perhaps eldritch held truth in her words.

"daedra," the word curving pleasantly. "in the place where i was born, there is a black flower. our shamans use it to make a path for our spirit world. for them to walk. or for others to come to them." it was the same, kukutux was sure: a sacred plant used for a sacred purpose.

she was only unsure if she was meant to know them.

silently, the duck helped eldritch to search, pausing with a chuff over a patch of reddish lichen upon the edge of a stone.

Eldritch took in Kukutux's shared story, ear turned to her as she looked around.
So far, it seemed almost...cursed. Perhaps she might find some form of morning glory? 

A chuff from Moonwoman then, and Eldritch turned, coming over to also look upon the reddish lichen on the stone. 
Curiously, the Seer looked at Kukutux. She wasn't sure what kind of use this would have...

she glanced to eldritch, seeing the unknowingness there. "i do not know the name or the way of this plant," the duck admitted. but there was a shine now to her jadeite stare. "but i will taste it with you, if this is what you are wanting."

a pause. the voice of the inner spirit, clucking tongue in warning and in consternation. such things should not be attempted, and yet kukutux found herself buoyed by the knowledge of this woman.

Moonwoman seemed to understand her expression.
Eldritch widened her eyes a tad in surprise. She'd try it with her, if she wanted? 

"No, it's alright. We don't know if it can kill, so...I personally think it best that we leave it be." Though her gaze expressed her gratitude.
From there, El turned and continued to look. 
Shortly after, the shaman found a group of mushrooms. The hallucinogenic kind. 

She wasn't sure she would find any here, but it seemed like the cosmos aligned just right for them both, this day. 

"Here." Eldritch announced, glancing to Kukutux with some excitement. 
"I don't know exactly the common name of them, but I personally call these Realmwalkers" She explained, nudging one with her nose. Looking to Kukutux one more time, Eldritch took one mushroom in her teeth and chewed, ingesting it quickly. 

"It should start working in a few minutes or so." Eldritch explained, sitting down calmly while the shrooms did their thing within her body. 

The hallucinogenic mushrooms Eldritch found are Psilocybe cubensis. Forgot how to link external sources, but essentially, magic mushrooms <3

thx! <3

realmwalkers. kukutux was relieved to leave behind the odd first growth, and settled before eldritch. this time she watched with open and rapt interest, even as her own skin prickled with fear.

this is not your place! the inner spirit hissed.

what if you curse your womb by allowing a poison you cannot see to come upon your body?

kuktutux remained vigilant, but the ingrained terror of the spirits still clawed at her, tightening her breath.

Within thirty minutes, Eldritch felt the effects. Colors became neon and vivid and she saw the souls of every living thing. The organic life and body of water radiated with bold colors unseen in nature.

"I call upon the spirit of Revui. Is the boy who stole from Kukutux your son? Please give us a sign, if so." 
Outwardly, El was most likely speaking in tongues, but to herself it seemed like perfect common. 
Ten minutes passed. Fifteen, twenty. 

Eventually El saw in the distance a large coyote. It appeared a vivid blue-grey before passing into the landscape to never be seen again.

Knowing the effects of the mushroom would take a long time to pass, the Seer looked to Kukutux and nodded in confirmation, before unsteadily lowering into a lounge beside the lakewater.

the sound of the grey brother's name set every part of kukutux to bristling, and though it was silent, she felt as though her blood had turned to the tears of a glacier, burying her in snow.

eyes did not leave eldritch for a moment, and breath came faster as vision narrowed. it truly was the work of spirits.

she did not see what the spirit-talker had been given as vision, 

but terror and relief filled the duck to see that it was so,

and she breathed out audibly in gratitude to the darkstone woman.

"i give thanks."

After the dark grey coyote had vanished, Eldritch heard fleetingly Kukutux's thanks for her services. 
Taking a moment to arrange her words in a mind outside of its own body, the darkling replied somewhat like a machine with grinding. malfunctioning gears.

"Please, it was nothing. Only...doing...my job." She mused with a slow exhale, watching the sky

a smile. a nod.

"i will leave you now, eldritch. you have given me — many thoughts."

if she was not paused then, she would pull away and turn her steps toward home, still sickened with fear at having heard the grey brother's name spoken aloud.