Ouroboros Spine without a compass

@Aiolos , @Kukutux , @Vairë , @Shikoba visiting! srry for the @s! on the edges of the territory most likely, pls let @Raiyuk post first! <3

finally at moonglow. the quiet journey comes to an end with a call to its leaders. she lets raiyuk step forward as the one who can enter freely. unsure of what to do, the nebet sits with her head held unflinchingly high. the last thing she wants to do is disrespect a potential ally.

the gifts sit by her side. with her height, she takes a peak at the territory and observes how different it is from akashingo and moontide.
anything to pass the time, really. the flower field tickles her arm, and just for a moment she returns to the isle before briskly dusting the thought away.

They reach the edge of the village and Raiyuk crosses the boundary without thinking about it. Those of the villages moved so freely that he had never stopped to think about how that might confuse a visitor like Racharra; and when he noticed she had not followed, he stopped and turned to regard her.

Then, doubling back, he gave a sheepish look. He didn't say anything but his gaze lingered a moment - her dark coat, the flowers, the spring sun, she looked --

I'll announce you. Uh, blushing, he looks towards Moonglow and then raises his chin to call, Racharra of Akashingo has come for a visit. I'm here too, hello.

It wasn't as drawn out or complex as it perhaps would have been if it was spoken by her own entourage. He did his best, though.

life settled into a near-pleasant rhythm for kukutux.

she had not yet sought to visit the ulaq claimed by her daughter and her husband. that time would come.

for now, she asked nasamiituuq to take her place beside her mother, and went to answer the call.

"it is good to see your face, raiyuk," kukutux said. the young man was dutiful and polite, a credit to his far wilder seal hunter father.

the young woman was strong and fine-built. "i know the name of akashingo. you return to to moon villages so soon?" kukutux asked, her smile warm.

she's never had an entourage call her name out before, so raiyuk's attempt was as close as she could imagine. she didn't have any fancy titles to prattle over anyways.

distracted by the peeks at the territory, she only catches the fleeting moment as raiyuk spins his head around from her and called for moonglow. racharra didn't dwell on it, far too embroiled in preparing her words for when a leader arrives.

a pale, older woman emerges from the territory and racharra clears her throat. first, the matriarch speaks to raiyuk in tongue she can't understand, before referring to racharra. the nebet acknowledges the warmth with a smile of her own.
yes, but for different matters entirely. i came here in hopes of speaking to the leaders of moonglow. golden eyes flick to raiyuk briefly, and racharra adds in hushed voice: privately. her smile twitches a wider, nervous, smile before relaxing.
it's about allyship between the moon villages and akashingo. though she's careful not to specify the means.

"come to my ulaq, racharra of akashingo," kukutux invited after a moment. "raiyuk, there is elk meat in the cache beside the healing ulax. eat and rest there," she offered with a soft smile. she did not know him as well as she might have liked, but he had grown into a dutiful seal hunter man.

an alliance between moon and akashingo. was she not looking upon it now?

she turned, inviting the noble girl along the smooth-packed path. "was your journey difficult?"

raiyuk is dismissed, and she watches as he separates from the women. the words ulaq and ulax ring strange to her, but then again so did Ra when she first learned of him.

the well-used path stretches onwards through the territory. the invitation is accepted, racharra picking up the gifts.
no, not at all. it's part of my duty as nebet to visit. raiyuk and i have brought gifts too.
she'll show the skins in their beauty once they arrive at what the moonglow woman calls an ulaq.

forgive me for not asking sooner but, what is your name? i can't recall you mentioning it.. racharra intrigues, though she already has her suspicions

the girl was hospitable. the ulaq was a large densite built from the rock of the mountain behind, and square-topped with a flat ledge of slate. always meat was laid here in strips to dry, and today was no exception. "i am kukutux."

stacks of hides in various stages of preparation were neatly arranged around the small clearing. new skins still glistening with fat and blood lay stretched upon branches nearby.

the clearing was wide and half-circular, of dirt now, all the grass having been worn away over the years. 

kukutux took a strip of birchbark and filled it with lengths of dried salmon, caribou fat, and crushed rosehips.

this she pushed toward racharra. quietly she settled across from the girl, pulling the deep pile of a stagpelt across her haunches. 

"among the sunshine people, marriage is often the first way we are bonded to one another. however, i have the knowing that akashingo village wants trade first. is this right?"

with hesitance is how racharra enters the ulaq, watching as a meal is prepared for her by the moonwoman, to which the nebet utters a gentle thank you. wine would do good with this, and racharra wishes she'd taken fermented fruit from the isle or from home.

kukutux stands before her, and she is as sharp as racharra hoped she would be.
trade is part of our deal with moontide. marriage is what akashingo offers to all of the moon villages. racharra begins after a swift bite of food.
i am looking to betroth to a man from either of the villages. a man of strength, preferably. i came first to look, to see my options, before reporting back to the palace and making frequent trips from then on. but i've been told that you are a matchmaker. is this true?

"yes. this is true."

she watched racharra for a moment. "you would come to live in a moon village? or do you have the wish that your husband should return to your own home?"

there was little incentive, in her mind, for any sunshine wolf to leave the bear wilderness, not when it was so thoroughly controlled by their people. what did akashingo mean to give?

her eyes moved to the fine luster of the skins that racharra had brought.

when kukutux stares, racharra stiffens into her most presentable visage. if this were an assessment of her beauty or her heart, racharra isn't sure whether she'd passed.

that would be decided for by whatever my spouse feels is best. i'm partial to either, the land here is beautiful.

but it would never be home. ocean sand and dirt are soft but neither would ever be as rich nor as familiar to her feet as the red sands.

it's to her relief when kukutux turns to the gifts, her own gaze following. had she passed? would it be rude to ask so?

tag for reference! <3

after a long moment of detailed inspection, kukutux glanced upon toward racharra. "my son @Kassuq has gone to the caribou hunters. but he is a man with travel in his spirit. he has always left moonglow, even if he returns to the village. i will send my words to him, and to you. it may be that he is the choice for your mind, and for akashingo."

she did not wish to send a son, but his wanderlust and her ambition perhaps might gain the same goal.

"i promise nothing. it will be his choosing."

stiffness returned to racharra the instant she met gazes with kukutux again, and her offer was given. a traveler, away on some journey, named kassuq.

it was better than nothing.

of course. she dips her head. thank you. may he and i cross paths. i'll be looking forward to what he thinks.
racharra finishes the rest of the food mostly out of courtesy. even as she rises once again to offer a smile to the matchmaker, a pit remains.

food would be given to racharra and raiyuk for their return, but kukutux saw the nervousness in the young woman.

she had much to bear on her shoulders.

moonmother felt kassuq might be willing to carry some of those burdens.

racharra gave one final dip of the crown as she rose, slipping in another thank you as she excuses herself from the ulaq and the fresh air of the field hits her squarely.

she walks with uneasy pride through the village, though if anyone else were to see her it would be with a happy gait and pleased smile.