Broken Boulder Starchaser

This new land was strange and wonderful and beautiful. Full of new sights and sounds, new experiences, and the promise of a fresh start. Iota chuckled to himself softly as he lazily padded through the chilly loam, single seeing eye chasing each faraway glimmer of light in the heavens until it landed on the moon. The somber silver light bathed across the unusual boulder standing like a silent sentry over the field, giving its surface the illusion of glittering from the minerals encased within. Smiling to himself, he flopped ungracefully to his side and finally rolled onto his back so that his long legs and massive paws dangled rather unbecomingly above his slim form. "Ah, lofty Igaluk... Does Malina still yet evade you? How long has it been since you held her burning beauty in your arms?" he mused, almost as though he were mocking the moon... In a sense, he was - it was something he often did when given the chance, though usually not if he suspected others could hear him. His unusual attachment to the stories and legends he had learned had earned him the scorn of many his own age. The older he got, however, the less he cared.

ooc: for @Calida 

Calida had been given the okay to travel, and tonight, she wandered the furthest yet from the glacier. Her head wound was well-scabbed over and itched like crazy - she did her best to leave it alone. Her headaches, too, were quickly decreasing in both pain and longevity. It was with a light heart that she traveled, her eyes set on the moon as she went. It was somewhat cold, but her winter coat had come in thick and deeply russet: she was easily seen against the snow, but for once, she didn't care - if she ran into trouble, the glacier and it's inhabitants were not far off. She was slipping surprisingly well into pack life, and wasn't nearly as awkward around strangers anymore: it was this that allowed her to approach the stranger male with some confidence, and introduce herself. 

"Hello, stranger. I didn't think anyone else would be wandering tonight. I'm Calida, I'm from a nearby pack." Calida sat a moderate distance away, still erring on the side of caution.

The frozen ground had masked the sound of the approaching strangers paw steps, and Iota fell rather ungracefully to his side in shock at the sound of her voice. He haphazardly slapped a smile onto his face, tilting his head slightly further to the right to better take her in with his good eye. She bore a still healing wound on her head, and sat back out of what appeared to be nothing more than curious caution... Allowing himself to relax, he settled himself into a more dignified sitting posture and chuckled softly with a nod of greeting. "Apologies... By my reaction, you can see neither of us was expecting company out here," he laughed brightly, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm new around here - just a wandering bard seeking good soil for his poorly-laid roots. I'm Iota. What can you tell me of this nearby pack which you've come to call home? Have you been there long?"

"Oh, God - sorry," Calida gasped, eyes widening and ears tilting back as the stranger slipped and fell. The male just laughed it off, and the red woman chuckled awkwardly, ears perking up again as he spoke. When asked about the pack, Calida told him, "It's Duskfire Glacier, to the west of here. They took me in nearly two months ago now after a bad injury." The male seemed amicable enough, so she lowered her head to show him the scabbed-over wound at the back of her head. "They are good people, and I'm certain my alphas would accept you, should you seek a home." Here, she would offer him a friendly smile.

Iota listened as she told him of the pack that had taken her in during a time of need, studying the scabbed wound on her head with a small frown. He gave an acknowledging nod of his head and smiled softly at her, letting the moon-drenched silence settle between them for a moment. "It would be in my best interest to find a place where I will... fit in. It sounds like this pack you've found yourself in may be a good fit if the wolves there are in the habit of helping good-natured strangers," he chuckled, letting his gaze drift upwards to the moon once more. "I've found in the past that my rambling ways tend to rub some folks the wrong way. Pups tend to enjoy my stories much more than most adults I've met, sadly. I suppose because they, like me, have not yet lost their zest for life."

"I'm certain you'd fit in - and certain they would take you in." Calida told him, smiling slightly. When he mentioned pups, her thoughts turned to the pack's youth, and she told him, chuckling, "Duskfire does have several younger ones, and I'm sure what with the season, there will be even more." Calida had not come into heat herself yet, but she knew it was just a matter of time. After a few moments, she added, "Oh, yes - the pack will be moving soon; almost all of the prey has died. I'm not sure when, or where but..." she trailed off, grimacing slightly.

Iota couldn't help the smile that slowly spread wider and wider upon his maw as she spoke, and his tail began to wag behind him unbidden. It seemed that coming to this new land far away from his place of birth had been the right call - perhaps his luck was truly beginning to take a turn. "This is certainly a time where Nunarjuak gives and takes in equal measure... It sounds worth seeking out your pack and its leaders before they've decided to pick up and move on. I've had a bit of a string of bad luck, and it seems I've come here for a reason after all," he mused with a broad smile in Calida's direction. "Perhaps a story teller to entertain the masses will be just what they need."

"Who's Nunarjuak?" Calida inquired, frowning slightly; she'd never heard that name before. Then, she shook her head, telling Iota, "Er... How about I take you back to the glacier, and you can tell me more about yourself?" It would be worth getting to know him, if she was going to take him to see Lane or Issorartuyok. "And I can tell you more about me, if you want." Not that she had much about herself to tell, but still, she was working on being more social. She had to start somewhere.

Iota's smile turned to beaming at her question and he chuckled softly at his own child-like glee. It had been far too long since he had been given the chance to tell his favorite tales. "Nunarjuak is the earth mother, she gives life and takes life away at her will... Sometimes she is seen as cruel, but truly she has the best interest of all her creation at heart," he explained, rising with the intention of following her back to the glacier. His expression turned forlorn for a moment and he sighed before continuing.

"My story is a sad one, as a whole - but I'd like to think it's not managed to take my zeal from me just yet. I've remained naively hopeful despite hardship... My mother did not want to be a mother - and she saw me as a burden. It's why she named me 'insignificant'... She's the reason I've no sight in my left eye, and why I bear the scars of her hatred," he began as they walked. "I found a pack to call home for a time, but my stories won me little favor and fewer friends, so I set out again and found myself here... You've allowed me a moment to hope that my luck is turning - so thank you for that, Calida."

Calida listened rather intently as Iota told her of the Earthmother; she'd never heard any tales or folklore, no Gods nor Goddesses... nothing to give life any real wonder. "I've never heard of her," she admitted. Then, she added, "Well... I mean, maybe our cultures are different. I grew up far to the northeast of here, where there was little but taiga and evergreens."

They began to walk, Calida setting a rather leisurely pace; she didn't think he would mind, as it would give them more time to talk. When Iota had finished telling his story, the red woman frowned, her eyes deadening somewhat as she recalled her own mother. Clearing her throat, she confided quietly, "Our mothers were much the same, then. I was named Calida, for fire - fire to be stamped out," She snarled softly, and her tail lashed as long-buried memories came to the surface. She shook her pelt, trying to dispel her sudden tension.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, grimacing. "My... my mother... she left no physical scars, but..." Calida trailed off, but she was certain he would understand what was left unsaid. Changing topics, she said, "Tell me more about the Earthmother. you said she created... everything, or just us?"

Iota listened quietly as she responded to everything he had had to say, and he let a moment of silence pass between them before opening his mouth to respond. "It's possible, definitely... I grew up on the far north eastern coast in a similar landscape - where the moon seemed to dominate over the sun most of the year. I much prefer the even partnership Igaluk, the moon, and Malina, the sun, share here," he chuckled, glancing once more up towards the silver ball in the sky. When she spoke of the similarities between their mothers, he felt a tug on his heartstrings and he stared quietly at her for a moment as they continued on. "Sometimes the invisible scars they leave behind on our hearts and minds are the ones that ache the most... Neither of us deserved their scorn - but we've come far despite it, wouldn't you say?"

His expression had softened considerably as he smiled over at Calida, a knowing sort of comfort shining in his good eye. When she continued on to ask him more of the earth and her creation he perked up considerably, his tail wagging despite himself. "Well... Before the earth looked as it does now, it's said that only water was upon it... From the sky came land, ice, rock, falling to create the lands we now know and travel. It was said that man and animal lived side by side, trading forms with one another in a land that was always covered in darkness... Words came next, and with them came magic - a fox called Tiriganiaq met with a hare called Uqaliq... Tiriganiaq wanted to steal food under cover of night so he cried 'Dark, dark!' but Uqaliq wanted to find food within the grass, so he cried 'Light, light!'. This is how day and night came to be... Or, at least, that's the story I was told. The beautiful thing about stories is that they don't have to be true to inspire feeling within us," he trailed off, feeling a bit sheepish as he had gone on a considerable rant... But it felt good to be telling his stories once more.

As they traversed to snowy taiga, Calida listened to Iota's story. She was intrigued to find that the sun and moon alike had names; she'd never thought to give them any. Of course, Calida was a very... physical being. Her beliefs were in honor, to protect with physical force - not tied up with the stars and sky. Still, it piqued her curiosity to hear of their differences, and it made the trek to the glacier much more exciting.

When it came into view, Calida motioned toward it, telling him, "See, there? My pack makes its home there. There are caverns, a lake, a field of ice... We've a medicine den near the lake where I've been staying since the accident."