Mudminnow River shrike

maybe @Sun Eater ?

suliya moved through the valley with a quiet reverence, each step careful and soundless against the soft earth. the chill in the air had grown sharper, signaling the onset of winter, and she knew the caribou would soon begin their seasonal journey. she could already smell them on the wind, the faint musky scent of the herd mingling with the earthy aroma of the valley, pulling her forward.

her breath rose in small clouds as she lowered her head to the ground, her sharp eyes tracing the faint tracks in the damp soil. the lanzadoii way was to walk with the herd, to follow their paths and patterns as closely as her own heartbeat. she was one with them, her life woven into the rhythm of their migration. each day spent alongside them was a testament to her skill and dedication as a hunter.

she moved cautiously, following the scent, her senses keenly attuned to any sign of the herd nearby. every muscle was tense, ready, though her face remained calm, her mind fixed on the task at hand. she didn’t simply hunt caribou; she respected them, revered the balance they brought to the land. they were more than prey—they were her purpose, her livelihood, and her connection to the lanzadoii traditions that defined her.

as she crested a small ridge, she paused, gaze sweeping over the valley ahead. her heart quickened slightly as she caught sight of the faintest movement on the horizon, a distant flicker of antlers moving like shadows against the pale sky.

would u accept his son? :3 lmk if not tho and i can delete!

in one of the brief moments of rest rewarded to them by the caribou, ghelan pulled away from the saatsine. unsure of why, but he also had no intention of turning back. the sea breeze of moontide has long since abandoned him, and they would never reach him from here.

but this cold wind does alarm him of a stranger, and ghelan stands straight. he wouldn't yet reach his father's height, but he was inching close. whether that was good or bad, ghelan had yet to decide.

the stranger is a woman, and she's alone. ghelan huffs to announce his presence from a distance, red eyes locked with her pale velvet silhouette.

suliya stiffened at the sound, turning with narrowed eyes. her gaze landed on him—a young stranger, though there was something eerily familiar in the set of his eyes, the brightness of that cherry red. she watched him carefully, noting the strength built beneath the adolescent lankiness, the darkness of his coat broken only by the snow-white accents that seemed to glow against the shadows.

her nostrils flared, catching the faint, unmistakable scent of blood woven into his fur, and her expression darkened with caution. in low, measured ahtna, she addressed him, voice carrying a warning, who are you, boy, ng'e'aa ayn ts'en?

her eyes flicked briefly to the amulet hanging around his neck, then back to his face, guarded and questioning, awaiting an answer that might explain the unease prickling along her spine.

she spoke his language — and in contrast to the power he flaunted, ghelan stammers and blubbers through a response with the grace of a seal.

aah... who are you, boy. he didn't know the rest of what she'd said, but at the least he has some direction. the boy's brows crinkle while he collects his words in lanzadoii. ghelan. lanzadoii. of saatsine. chieftan sun eater's son. and you? his nostrils flare as relief returns to him for just a moment.

suliya’s brow lifted at the mention of the chieftain’s name, her interest piqued as the boy struggled through his introduction, the words clumsy on his tongue. she observed him in silence, her gaze steady, unflinching, catching every flicker of awkwardness and every attempt at strength.

ghelan, son of sun eater, she repeated in lanzadoii, letting the name settle between them like a shared truth. her tone was soft, yet carried an edge, a contrast to the boy’s unpolished response. i am suliya lanzadoii of the bloodlands, she replied, the name holding a weight in its simplicity, a name that traveled on the lips of those who remembered older ways and quieter shadows.

she watched the relief flicker in his eyes, the way his nostrils flared as he grasped for composure. suliya allowed herself a small, amused huff, tilting her head slightly. you hunt the caribou?

mistmantled and with the same carved grace that sun eater had come to recognize, the woman stood before ghelan.

their mouths moved in words he could not yet hear. his eye moved from the small tangle of cows he was watching back to the stranger whom his son had intercepted.

now long dark limbs carried sun eater toward them; his posture was relaxed, firm in his assured position as chieftain. ears flicked. he had come only in time to hear her shift to common, but the accent there was undeniably —

sun eater did not interrupt, only took a supportive pose beside his son to regard the woman. a stranger, striking, with eyes that did not overlook a single detail.

said weight was lost on ghelan, who only perked at "lanzadoii" and nothing else. she was part of them, in some way. father will know more than he ever will.

she seemed nice — at first. but just a hint of amusement in her sent a flurry of shame to ghelan. he couldn't help but pout while a frown weighs heavy on his lips. are you all this haughty? he mutters in sharadoii, his gaze leaving her briefly to gaze at the caribou. 

i don't want to be like papa.

she speaks to him in common now, but the son continues in lanzadoii. 
sun clan is lanzadoii. of course we do. today, we followed. ghelan's vibrato dwindles when darkness cuts through his peripherals, and soon he was enveloped in shadow. without a second glance, he already knew who it was that stood next to him.

suliya lanzadoii of bloodlands. he relays to sun eater. she is alone.

suliya’s gaze drifted briefly to the dark male—this “sun eater” as the boy had called him—and she sensed a deep familiarity in the scent of his blood. she flicked her ears as if responding to an unspoken recognition, though no name came to her mind. primal instinct dictated her movements, and she held his gaze calmly, acknowledging his chieftain’s presence without submission.

her attention then shifted back to ghelan, a glint of amusement sparking in her eyes as she caught the boy’s pout. his attempts to stand strong, to speak with assurance, reminded her of many young wolves who had yet to grow into their own strength. she allowed a faint, almost teasing smile to cross her lips.

in lanzadoii, her voice was soft yet deliberate, you look strong, boy. she glanced briefly at the chieftain beside him. blood defines you. and me, she wished to say, a double entendre, as she held muradoii blood through her veins. 

she inclined her head to sun eater, offering him a respectful greeting, her voice now firmer. suliya lanzadoii, as your son has said. her gaze flicked to ghelan, then back to sun eater. the bloodlands— antler gale— have taught me much, but my path lies away from them now. my brother inherits mother's band.

lanzadoii flowered in her words and relief answered in the heart of sun eater. "suliya, you are welcomed among the saatsine." 

who knew of his breaking with the cousin river bands? who had heard the name cen? deciding to be careful, sun eater chose not to mention his own mother's band. "i left the glacier people when i married a sharadoii woman," he said, clucking tongue as if to chastise himself. "who was your mother? and your grandmother?"

seeking among lineage had brought him sulukinak and meleeys. what might be carried by suliya of antler gale? and why had she not stood against her brother? sun eater bore more than idle curiosity, but was direct enough to for now avoid it.

mm. he hums to the woman's teasing (or praise?), red eyes drifting to his father as he searched for a common link between suliya and themselves.

when father refers to red leaf, it's with shame. how many times before had he regretted marrying mother? regretted having him with her?
perhaps because he was already soured, perhaps because the woman was right and strength does course through him — ghelan protests his father just slightly.

...you do not have to speak of her like that. he whispered in sharadoii. he pulls his gaze to his feet, watching the pale tuft tied to his amulet dance in the wind.

the łu’ nda’ tsaay’e let her eyes roam the dark man, taking appraisal from the boy of her comment. it made sense to her then— a sharadoii mother, hence the tongue that she could not fully understand. it was full of knicks and quirks that differed from her own, but her mother tongue had been believed indescribable: murdoii.

thank you, she dipped her head to the patriarch of the band. it was custom for a male to leave his natal band— but to marry a sharadoii? suliya let her facial expressions do the talking: minute shock.

a mother in ikpik, granddaughter of iluuraq. ancient murdoii. though, would he know of her father? my father is lanzadoii. kavik, though i do not know much of his heritage.

she cast a side long glance to the teen who muttered something in sharadoii beneath his breath. he did not look happy. was there tension amongst them? suliya could not tell. my brother, ugiun, was a bad chieftain. greed sought him to cleanse the caribou, a treachery i wanted no part of.

sun eater fixed ghelan with a bleak stare, one forbidding yet suffused with a comprehension that only they shared between them. he had not spoken ill of her; their son was only sensitive to her mentions.

that amulet! he wanted to break it, but he knew its destruction would only drive ghelan aside and perhaps bring evil down upon his own head.

and it was the same it seemed for suliya, whose brief surprise was met with an amused glint to his slate eye. perhaps she did not understand the politics between they and the sharadoii, and he found this enjoyable. refreshing.

"i do not doubt these names," sun eater spoke, turning the breadth of his focus back toward suliya. "kavik is a cousin. we hunted once as children."

he did not smile, but his gaze was warm.

"there are other lanzadoii kin here besides myself and ghelan. sulukinak is my niece. meleys is my sister. and your brother, i will hold his name as stricken. it was a bad thing that was done. may his hunters leave him."

ragged ears swung to hear the caribou. "will you stay, suliya? or will you continue to follow them alone?"

permission to skip ghelan

kavik is cousin. this was good. łu’ nda’ tsaay’e decided then that if there was lanzadoii blood here, then she should be here too. though, hers may not be as pure as one may think.

his warm gaze brought her hope. hope that she could escape her brother's massacre of tradition. suliya was no woman to endorse wrong doings— except her own.

these names— she would remember.

with his question, she glanced towards the cows. back to sun eater, i stay with the herd. she said, gaze not quivering from his grasp. if this is yours, then i will run beside you.

"then run with us, ts’akae!" sun eater exulted. it was a wonderful sensation to hear lanzadoii spoken by yet another. "there are many hunters here, and a ghost talker. he has had his vision," he said confidently of river walker.

such a presence established his band further among his people — though he did not wait for approval before he half-pivoted, motioning ghelan along. sun eater must speak now with his son.

single eye rested implacably upon suliya for a moment. he had never known if kavik was siq'udae or blood.

no words said, sun eater went on.