Mount Apikuni arylide

As they settled into the wood and tracked the herds across the valley, Redd also roamed the surrounding ground.  The mountain to their rear drew her.  It harkened to the rise, higher ground from which to appraise the lands below, but it spanned into a range on both sides.  The stones were powerful here, not solitary things as they were upon the taiga.

She wound a trail up and into the lower reaches, then paused to survey her progress.  The Emberwood was an uneven sea of dying color below her.  Come winter the sea would drain entirely, leaving only a forest of skeletal limbs in its wake.

She saw no caribou from here.  Perhaps higher, but she did not press on just yet.

Instead she breathed in slowly, tasting the wind and the messages it carried.  Not all were clear, but from the north came the sharp word of snow.  More would fall within the day if the breezes did not turn.  She shook out her coat in anticipation.  Snow slowed the herds and impaired all senses.  The hunt lead would gather them.  She should return before the night arrived.

she had come looking for more watch points and better tracking. so far there had been little. yet she did not feel deterred. she looked for signs of other animals crossing through as well. her eyes searched the bark of sparse trees to see what left marks.

saatsine walked here, too.

another woman. this one had arrived before they had gone to walk. this one painted in autumn colors. strong and healthy.

ice diver snorted her greeting, then a soft shake of her own coat. the chill was sharper in the thinning air. promises of winter and its thicker snows. had the woman seen something promising up here?

Someone else walked behind her. Redd recognized one of the pack, a woman she had not spoken with yet. This was not unusual as she had spoken to few.

Snow comes. She said quietly, looking out again with a contented air. She would return before nightfall but felt no impatience to depart immediately. There was a quiet calm to the elevation that reminded her of simple days.

This pack follows them always? She asked, wondering about the herds. It was a strange existence. But she found an ease within her, also, in the lack of a space to defend.

not so long ago she had been given this talk. now she passed along wisdom as if it was her own. pleased to bring another hunter into their clan.

we follow caribou. this time of year, mountains and taiga. for they had not been such a group when they might have wandered beyond. mothers birth alongside caribou even. in the spring when they leave, we will follow. and they must be ready to march. mothers and children both.  it lingered in her own mind for a moment before she focused back upon the moment.

the whole world is for saatsine.

Redd had questions about this practice but they would be better asked of the one who led.  This woman followed, and be it caribou or wolf, so did she.

Then there is no claim. She confirmed quietly, tilting her head slightly with the obvious intent to clarify.  It was a difficult concept still.  To lack a claim was to lack an identity in her mind; there was little to separate pack and stranger with no home to tie them.  Were any who chose to run with them accepted?

If she was to protect, and if she was to bond, then these things were needed.  The woman seemed patient in a way that encouraged her to continue.

she considered it now. not upset to be put to question. she only wished to not pass along information that might displease the saatsine chieftain.

we do not keep one land, a shake of her head. some of us know the river beneath the glacier to be like a home. yet if the caribou bid us to move, then we should move. yet she did not speak with an authority to press this upon the woman.

this is a different life, but not so terrible. was it hope or wanting in her voice?