Northstar Vale kilaun ↭

tooteega was the wise woman, who could walk upon the seas. no sacrifices were given to her; the men did not fear tooteega. she was a god for she-wolves. she could not interfere with their totems. ataksak — her mother would have clucked and scolded to hear kukutux now, praying to tooteega instead of the goddess of happiness.

but kukutux did not want happiness. she wished to understand why she felt the way she did, whether or not it was shameful. why the hunter of seals had never made her experience such emotions, even though he had been gentle and kind. 

and so it was tooteega she sent her prayers, the toothless old wolfess who sat outside an old ulaq and answered the questions of women. agana. why does she turn away from me? is she also ashamed? kukutux asked of the spirit, head bent over an offering of three crossed bones she had made upon the exposed rock of a cliff.

the woman was sat in clear contemplation before an offering that kalika assumed was for their false gods. had she more respect for the lies of foreign faith, she might have kept her distance. however, the nereid knew not of such a concept and held no shame in intruding.

kalika was silent in her approach so as to not offend the woman with a boisterous display. even outside women held thrones between their legs, seats that held a similar worth. she waited for the stranger to speak, wondering if she would attempt to do so at all.

tooteega was silent a long while, and kukutux kept her eyes downcast until the old woman began to whisper.

it is not our way, and it is not her way. but it is different for her. it is not our way because you are to be wife. it is not her way because she does not know how to be husband.

shocked, the duck rocked back upon her haunches, the connection with the wise-woman breaking. she looked up, and there she spotted another, watching her, another pale spirit with sunbeam gold spun into her pelt, and sea-dark eyes. 

kukutux blinked, a dreadful awe filling her belly.

the two of them held an impressive resemblance. kalika grinned, finding herself pleased with the stranger's mum mien. it was a common side-effect of her presence, this sudden speechlessness. the siren took great pride in her agelessness, as was apparent in her gaze.

did i interrupt something? kalika asked, only slightly exaggerating her accent. she fell back into a lounging position, legs spread carefully to the side. while awaiting the stranger's response, she combed gently through the fur lining her inner thigh.

sedna.

but why would the salt-goddess take this form? why would she pursue kukutux so far inland? mouth pursed; the duck pulled her eyes away from the other's preening, from her accent, from the beam that brought the woman's face aglow.

was this sedna?

she could not know for certain, and so kukutux made a low obeisance, muzzle brushing the stone. "this woman greets you." interrupting, no, for tooteega had gone silent.

kalika viewed the display with a childlike giddiness. the positions that these wolves resigned themselves to, were they really so comfortable in submission? she wouldn't argue, finding their docile dispositions to be good fuel for the ego. what is this woman's name, then? she asked, curiousity clear in her tone.

the siren gave pause to make room for a response. i am kalika, of the nereides. they were once well-known in these wilds. she wondered if her aunt's legacy had survived in their absence. she resumed her preening while in wait.

"i am kukutux," the duck murmured softly. kalika sounded like no name she had heard before, and while she did not wish to be in the presence of sedna, the girl experienced a brief moment of disappointment.

jadeglow gaze rose finally, flickering shyly upon the brazen openness of this woman who spoke "nereides." kukutux had not heard of such a place; she was intrigued, but reserved in her own displays.

unsure of what to say next, strangely intimidated by kalika's demeanour, kukutux was silent, watching the woman for a swathe of curious moments before she dropped her stare away again.

kalika's focus was on holding her gaze. why are you nervous? she asked. there was no reason to be afraid, not when in the presence of a friend. was kukutux a reserved woman? there was no shame in that, though the siren doubted that this was the case.

i'm kind, she smiled, the nereides are kind to all. to women, especially, but kalika thought that their generosity did extend to the males in some ways. they were allowed to breed and to serve, a better lifestyle than having no life at all.

she did not know if she had ever felt so bare before the eyes of a stranger. the thought harried her, chafed the small proud portion of the duck's mind, cultivated despite her childhood lessons.

"you remind me of the sea," the slight girl answered without guile. she was not afraid of sedna, only nervous to be suddenly thrust into the deity's eye. had the goddess come to judge her for what transpired between she and agana?

"it is polite to be ... not direct," she finished lamely, ashamed of her poor command in the common language when she had been in the wilds long enough to learn it.

that is my home. to be beside the sea and beneath the moon above her, the mother calls me. it would be some time before she could return. come spring, she hoped to help set a new claim for her people — if only she could find them first.

the siren shook her head, a small laugh escaping between her lips. you are a woman, kalika pointed out, why don't you speak like one? the common inferiority among the foreign women, it confused her. did they not know their own value?

mother. ocean. now suddenly kukutux grew unsure that kalika was not some aspect of the sea goddess, and regarded the other pensively. "why do you live in the mountains if the sea is your home?" she inquired, suspicion and curiosity vying with her mannerliness.

what kalika said to follow shocked the duck again; her eyes flew downcast to cover the rapid, suprised blinking. how do women speak? "my mother raised me to be this way," was all she had, and the spirit whispered ever present that she must not think the name of the woman who had given her life.

a well-warranted question. kalika had been asking herself the same thing. the sea is not ready for the nereides to settle again. it would be eventually, right? when she settles, we will return. she could cope with a few months in the vale while waiting. these wolves were kind, most of them women; were the conditions different, it might have changed her decision.

she sighed and shook her head. to be timid? kukutux had potential.. somewhere. kalika was confident that there was something inside of her worth finding. do you enjoy that?

lashes fluttered against the girl's cheekbones. she could not remember the sea; only that she had run to it to escape cry. and even now the thought of his glacial stare chilled kukutux.

hoping he would not suddenly reappear, the duck focused upon kalika. she did not understand what the other meant; kukutux did not feel timid. not before a woman, even when that woman might also be sedna.

feeling rather small, rather disparaged, foreign, other, kukutux blinked once, and then looked directly at kalika a long moment. "it is all i have left of her."

offering for tooteega finished, the girl straightened beneath the weight of what she had taken as insult. if the other wanted nothing more of her, she would be happy to depart.

kalika could see that she'd offended the girl, but felt no guilt in doing so. it was a truth that kukutux needed to hear; the siren was sure that she would one day understand. their interaction had seen its end, as was told by the girl's expression. well, then, she sighed, good luck. she stood and turned, planning to head for the border.

good luck? what sort of response was that? kukutux scowled openly at the woman's retreating back, allowing herself a moment of rare fury when kalika had disappeared from view, jade eyes blazing with the flaring ire of indignant youth. 

her paws twitched irately as she set off in the opposite direction, but soon she grew cool and lonely. had the woman been correct? if there was no place for her ways, were her ways wrong? lips pursed, she traveled in silence, and did not return to her den until after dark.