Qeya River the speed of thought

When he returned to the riverside he carried a large rib bone, curving down against the earth. It dragged at the dirt some, catching on weeds. He placed it down on a flat segment of exposed stone that partly overhung the river's edge.

A yawn stretched its way through his maw. Kigipigak settled to his haunches and watched the river for a few minutes, his mind heavy, and only turned when he heard something moving across a patch of melting snow.

After the meeting at the Rise, Njord slipped away to cross the plains towards the deep Taiga. There was an urgency in his pace. A new threat surrounded Dragoncrest that pried open his deepest insecurities. The seafarer’s ego was cast aside as he caught the scent of his target.

With his course set Njord, who only stopped to pluck a steelhead from a lake, traveled swiftly until Kigipigak’s well cut figure was found besides the Qeya gnawing on a bone.

Njord approached with a stiff gait. Though he deigned to remain neutral, every cell in his body fought to stay guarded. Was it a fool’s errand to seek out this pompous man? The seafarer tossed the trout towards the northern hunter.

“I need yer help, Kigipigak,” he said, air whistling between his clenched jaw. “I need trainin’. To fight.”

please skip her unless addressed <3

She was not far these days.

When Kigipigak returned from Rivenwood, she refused to be much further than a stone throw away. Especially with the rounding of her sides. The undeniable shape her figure had taken on.

The shape of motherhood.

So she stared out across the taiga, at his pale winter form by the riverside. Half a mind to join him. Another half to simply admire him — it was that half that kept her at bay.

Although her eyes sharpened considerably when she saw a more colorful figure cut across the winter lands.

Who was he? What did he wish with her husband?

Their life here had only just begun.

Kigipigak was shaken by the potential that they may need to move soon; they now took up residence beneath the glacier and in the days to come, the Duskfire wolves would be leaving. Kigipigak had not though it would be a problem before, but the raid upon Rivenwood and the obvious weight Sakhmet was putting on, put a new spin on things.
He saw threats where before there had been nothing.

So when the scent of a man drifted his way, he was on his feet immediately. The bone fell from between his teeth with a clatter; as he turned to stare upon Njord he wasn't sure what to make of the man.

Kigipigak was made to listen to a request that wasn't just out of place, given their relationship, but was wholly absurd.

You're here for lessons? From me. His face slid from its pinched seriousness to something closer to the mirth he'd always carried - that pompous air that Njord hated so very much.

Kigipigak did not laugh but his eyes were bright. I could train you -- but what would I get out of it? You would be taking hours of my time away.

Njord sucked in a breath as Kigipigak challenged the seafarer’s ask. Already his hackles threatened to rise but, with a slow exhale, the red-tail steadied himself. Peace was difficult to hold onto in the Northerner’s presence, but Njord did his best. He knew himself. How easily he was riled by the pale man’s jeers… and so he placed an image of a calm sea in his mind’s eye.

“Aye,” Njord admitted curtly, “that’s right.” His toes curled against the snow as if to better ground himself. A fat fish laid before him, and yet Kigipigak did not see it as an equal trade.

“I ‘eard yer caribou herds became sickly an’ died. I can bring ya food from tha sea.” A small movement caught Njord’s eye and his gaze landed on a svelte, shadowy woman just beyond her pale counterpart. There was a soft camber to her sides. One of Njord’s brows raised and his eyes flicked back to Kigipigak. "Hours of huntin' doesna guarantee a kill. Trainin' me would," he added, and hoped it was enough to turn his mind.

Kigipigak was thoughtful, watching the other man. He saw the fish now but barely strayed an eye towards it.

Having another body around would help to ease his mind given the growth of his wife and the ever-nearing birth of their children. He saw the way Njord looked over Kigipigak's shoulder and moved as if to look as well, but halfway through the motion realized what it was he saw. He looked down at the fish, then at the river as it flowed by.

The larger creatures did not survive. We have had to make do with whatever I can chase down, which is enough for now - he paused there again; imagining what it might be like to feed not only two adults but a plethora of smaller mouths, which he had never been required to do before. -but in the coming days I will need help. If I train you, you say you can bring food. I would prefer if you stayed here for the training and for the hunting.

It was a good offer - fresh fish brought in by this man - but it would take longer, given the constant trips between the river and the ocean. Was Kigipigak expected to train Njord first with the expectation of a debt to be paid later? He had a need now for help; plus, it was Njord who was asking and not the other way around, which gave Kigipigak the impression he could barter.

If training is what you seek, my terms are set. You will live with us and hunt these lands, or fish this river. Do you agree?

Njord listened to Kigipigak’s counter with a shrewd eye and, though his demands we great, he was thankful the northerner negotiated in good faith. It seemed they were both driven by one thing: the fact that providing for family was paramount.

Njord’s posture loosened as his gaze traced the river’s edge in thought. Kigipigak was alone with his pregnant mate and soon, she would not be able to hunt efficiently. There were other mentors he could find… at the Rise, perhaps. To Njord, it seemed like there was still some room to bargain.

He looked back to Kigipgiak. “I can only stay for a few days at a time ta train an’ hunt with ya. S’all I can spare,” he admitted candidly. ”My clan has new enemies at our southern border, so I canna be away for long.“ Plus, there was his budding romance with Meerkat and the new family they hoped to bring into the world. ”What say ya?“ he asked.

Kigipigak should have seen how lucky he was, being given this opportunity. Even if this man was his rival he was an able body, willing to work. Maybe he did; but as he listened to Njord's counter-offer he was silent, almost grim as he considered.

If Njord stayed with them to hunt, then spent the rest of his time training, that could work. It might bring a ceasefire to their rivalry for a time. If the man and his wife were to succeed in this place they would need help with food and protection immediately - and in the future, perhaps another bargain could be struck. An alliance between the groups. It was something in the far future Kigipigak need not worry about right now.

Tell me of these enemies, Kigipigak requested; if there was someone dangerous near the coast then that was knowledge worth gathering.

We have learned of enemies in the valley also - he included after a second, remembering Rivenwood's situation. There were brigands who raided a nearby village and stole the children from it. Is it them? Confirmation might ease Kigipigak's worries or compound them; on one hand the raiders might've moved beyond the valley which would make the river safe, on the other... It could be another group entirely.

Njord waited for an answer but none came. Instead, the other man prompted a question – maybe to test the validity of Sapphique’s situation. The redtail shot him a suspicious sideways glance, as if to ask why? Yet there was no need. Kigipigak went on, with a grave face, to explain about a savage attack nearby.

Njord could practically feel his blood run cold as the scorn in his expression said it all. He would need training now, more than ever, if he meant to protect all he held dear. “Seems tha wilds are rife with evil sorts,” observed the seafarer bitterly. “Stealin’ bairns,” he spat with a cluck of his tongue, “who would do such a thing?” Though Njord considered Kigipigak to be equal parts warrior and pompous chad, he would never consider his rival to be capable of anything close to those sinister deeds. “Was it Duskfire?” he asked and prayed Meerkat’s old home hadn’t fallen under danger.

Njord continued on and shook his head. “Nay, our threat lies in Ankyra Sound. A wolf pissed all over our neighborin’ territory. A beastly white woman covered in scars with yellow eyes means ta make tha claim her own.”

A breathe exhaled through Njords nose. “We av’ an allied pack to tha East of us on Redtail Rise. Warrior sorts. An’ their leader, Avicus doesna care much for her either. Says this woman killed her mom an’ some bairns, as well.” Njord freely conveyed what he had learned from Erzulie to Kigipigak and his sanguine woman. The foreboding danger felt like a thunderstorm rolling in and gave Njord all the more motivation to strike a deal.

Took out the bits about Blackwater since that thread is happening concurrently with this one, and Njord wouldn't have IC knowledge of it yet.

Njord sounded as exasperated by the idea of children being stolen as anyone else of noble blood, or pure heart. Kigipigak listened to him; when he asked after Duskfire the pale man shook his head and quickly said, Rivenwood, south of here.

He was taken by surprise when Njord gave more details about the people giving him, and the coastal wolves he lived with, trouble. The description gave rise to a frown upon Kigipigak's face, because it fit someone he knew, and that worried him.

Pale, and scarred. There was a woman like that running with Moonglow months ago - while we hunted with the glacier village. The man's jaw tightened and he looked away from Njord a moment, considering that it might be Nyra.

She had been a mysterious addition at first, then someone difficult to trust. Easily provoked. That she had finally left Moonglow to forge her own path was not surprising nor was it that hard to imagine the threat that she posed to those around her.

You will need more training than I can provide, he concluded as he looked to Njord again, dropping the hostility and the mirth that often sparked between the pair. But I will train you as much as I can. We can start when you are ready. Nyra was a formidable opponent precisely because of how reckless she could become in the heat of the moment.

still skippable <3 just an...info digestion post for her, lemme know if it isn't okay!

They spoke of things that seemed fitting for two hale men.

Yet, she knew, that these things involved her too. Involved the life that seemed to grow livelier each day within her. Names and places of people they knew — of things she knew only a blip of. Places of importance and things to keep track of if they were to stake claim here.

Rivenwood, Moonglow, Nyra.

Her heart grew heavy within her chest. A desire to leave this place built in her bones, but she would do no such thing without consulting her husband. Especially not as he sought to make a trade of training with this russet, seafarer. Their relation still unknown to her but regardless of whatever it is, they know each other enough to have such trust placed upon sharping their skills.

She wished she had fine tuned her own fighting, before her sides had rounded and hips widened.

She wished for plenty of things, in her silent moments, but had no regrets all the same.

Whatever may come, she would have Kigipigak — and him, her.

The fact that Kigipigak’s state was absent of any levity was evidence enough that the situation was dire. It felt like a rock, filled with evil dread, had taken up residence in the pit of Njord’s stomach. A large, curved frown pulled at the corners of his mouth and the seafarer’s brows knit in consternation. If this Nyra was known about Teekon for her sinister nature, then what force would be necessary to chase her away from the borders for good? Possibly more than Kigipigak could provide, as told from the horse’s mouth.

Njord nodded sternly, a deal brokered successfully between the two men. “An’ I will hunt with you – for you an yer shadow.” His gaze swept to the women as he bobbed his head, as if to assure her that he was a man of his word.

Then, he turned to depart. “I shall settle things in Sapphique an’ return in a week or so, on the full moon,” he said. Njord would wait a moment longer for any last remarks, before departing to the East – fish left behind as a token of his promise.

The situation resolved. Their deal struck. Kigipigak watched Njord a moment, even as the other man's eye turned towards Sakhmet who lurked nearby, and he felt the desire to prickle or to growl, to warn him away. If they were going to work together they would need to find common ground; Kigipigak could use the help, and so he had to keep himself calm, rather than possessive or defensive.

Soon enough the man was turning to head home to the coast. Kigipigak watched him go, staring after the space a long while after. He turned an ear to the direction of Sakhmet and let his tail sway a few sweeping pendulums, in case she wanted to come close.

She waited until the man was safely distanced before she approached, summoned by the sway of Kigipigak's tail. His mere presence alone really. She could not resist his side for long. Keen to press into it as she eyed the fish left behind.

You know him, She commented softly. More of an observation than any sort of question.

Where is he from? He had not seemed of Moonglow from what little she had been privy to.

Sakhmet's presence soothed whatever had riled Kigipigak's spirit. Her observation earned a small huff which he buried in the fur of her nape. Where is he from?

The coast. Originally, I'm not sure. I have met him a few times and we do not usually get along. Which made the deal all the more incredible. Kigipigak would have to stow his feelings if he was interested in following through with the arrangement. He will help us to settle the river, to keep you safe. In exchange I will make him stronger.

wrapping up? <3

How odd, she thought, if they did not get along why did they make a deal with each other?

But she had seen the way Kigipigak had matured. Not at all the same man she had met upon the plateau, but the man she loves in both ways.

No one better to teach him, She offered warmly, affection on her features. Perhaps she could lure him back for a break with kisses and gentle touches.