Moonspear back to the forward command center

@Kukutux

 

After seeing to Isilme, Hydra made her way to the rendezvous. She was uncertain if Kukutux would still be there or if she was otherwise getting acquainted to the territory; Hydra would find out soon enough. The disappointment in her brother sat like a heavy stone within her stomach; even after comforting the young girl, it had never left her. 

She wondered if all of her brothers but for Jarilo would do this to her. All she had done for them was everything; and what did they do for her? Question her, despite all her actions—for baseless words! For beliefs that suited them as it meant they could turn their cheek to her decree—

Hydra paused in her jaunt, looking around her for something to vent her own frustrations upon. Perhaps it was unwise to see Kukutux then and there... or perhaps she could test her skill in the hunt to exhaust these energies that brewed within her. The season was a maddening one, that much was for certain. Shaking out her furs, Hydra began her jaunt again; by then, a heavy snow was just beginning to fall.

kukutux had never heard the word 'rendezvous' before, and so did not understand truly where it was the embattled arcturus left her. all she knew was that she must wait. she set down her burdens of fur, blinked around her. for now, moonspear did not seem all that different from courtfall, though the truth remained to be seen.

exhaustion tugged at the little duck, but she resolved to stand firm. the sky crowded, darkened, and even in the daylight large flakes began to fall to earth. "piksiksuk," kukutux whispered to herself, draping narrow shoulders with the pelt of a black rabbit.

she was lost in thought when hydra appeared; startled, the girl ducked her head down and approached the leader with a humble demeanour.

Hydra caught sight of Kukutux with furs around her shoulders; the snow, as it came in droves, did not bother the matriarch. Greeting her with a chuff, Hydra again regarded what was 'round the others shoulders. Does that help? she inquired with interest; her own winter furs disallowed the snow from reaching the skin, and she found she quite enjoyed the cooler temperatures. 

Circling to be beside Kukutux, Hydra hummed: Earlier, I fear I did not ask much of your culture to better understand it. My brother did not mean to insult; he, too, does not understand. We have always had a choice, you see. I meant to provide him with one himself; he does not take well to feeling as though he has none, she quipped, revealing plenty to Kukutux in knowing that more likely than not she would become a part of their family. All men of breeding age in the higher ranks were her family after all... and it was those she considered for Kukutux, for now.

the night ruler made inquiry, flanked kukutux. she was perturbed and yet intrigued, somehow soothed also by hydra's explanation.

lashes brushed against her cheeks; she shifted the skin closer, stepped to match the pace of the leader. "my culture is foreign here. i understand. but it is all i have. thank you, hydra," kukutux whispered.

"it helps sometimes," the pale girl mused, but in the next moment her green gaze had risen to the cold beauty of hydra's face.

"everything ... that happened. i do not understand that part."

All she had. And she wanted more from it, with it really. Could you explain it to me? Bride-price, and all, she requested. Kukutux had said it was what she wanted, and Hydra was inclined to take her at her word. But she wondered at the future; what would that mean for the children of Kukutux? Her bride-price was the bounty she had brought, and a home in turn was what they seemed to provide... a husband, soon enough, if all went well. 

With Andraste? She inquired, turning to look back to the soft, fair features of Kukutux. She was a beauty, really, in an entirely different way than the average built matriach. Sharp and severe she seemed, but her own features were as soft around the edges as Kukutux own. Rarely had the ability to ever see it, too daunted to take a better look. It gave Hydra the ability to look at others all the more while they respectfully averted their gaze. Kukutux was cherubic; carved from the moon itself with her hues, shadow among it in some places if it was not sweat or debris. She was easy upon the eyes, though Hydra had the strange ability to appreciate beauty in every wolf... even the ones so foul as Vengeance. 

Hydra explained, It is in the past. She is a fickle woman, who abandoned her ties to those that deserved more from her for her own ambition due to her Heavens, who came to her in a lightning-strike that we and Diaspora's General healed her from, she drawled. On behalf of Dragomir and Isilme she would say no more; if they wanted to share their own story, they would. Hydra would defy Heaven, Hell, and every other deital realm besides if it meant abandoning her own. She sought to remove her own guilt through you, I think. But it is not my forgiveness to give, for that part in it, anyway. Otherwise Hydra had removed her ties and the others debt through Kukutux.

her gaze trained upon hydra; she meant to be respectful, but in her observations she saw a silken gentility. an elegance, cultivated through long leadership and no doubt breeding. hydra's powerful demeanor was alluring, a dizzying display of easy might to which kukutux might never aspire.

she was too soft for such things, too retiring. too shy. that last one, now, burbling to a blush upon her cheek as the stormcloud asked after her world.

hydra and agana were in many ways alike, and for a breathless moment, kukutux struggled with the sudden strike of pain over remembering her companion's golden eyes.

"i was a bride once before. i liked a man. he liked me. he came one day to ask my father what he could bring for me. my father told him to bring pelts, bones, meat. he brought it as he hunted, and when it was all delivered, i went with him to his dwelling and became his wife."

a breath; a blinking. "i knew him. but a woman does not always know who her husband might be. she is allowed to reject him if she wishes," kukutux added, remembering hydra's earlier words upon choice.

"now my bride-price is my skills. and now, i can give him children." and you, the spirit whispered warmly, for any cubs born to the hearth of kukutux' husband would also belong to moonspear. 

the talk of andraste silenced her, and she traveled in quietude, thinking upon all the leader had said. she knew not diaspora, or these others of whom hydra spoke, but it seemed that her trade had been for nothing, if it did not grant the forgiveness that the fairy-queen had sought.

"when the sun returns, i shall show you how to dry meat, if you would like," she offered, a bit bashfully as jadeglow gaze traveled once more to hydra's countenance, not so forbidding as kukutux had first believed.

Hydra listened to Kukutux tell of herself; once-married, knowing of her husband. It sounded as though there were no children involved there, and Hydra imagined that the man must have passed. Callous, perhaps, but she needed to be sure: he is dead? She inquired, blunt but voice soft. Death was cruel; it would spare none in any lifetime, herself included. 

Hearing that she could deny the marriage furthered Hydra's belief in the fact that she might have a choice in it all. Hydra did not want to remove it from her and was glad to hear it. I have one other brother within the ranks. I do not know how he would react to it all... still, perhaps you might like him. His name is Jarilo; he is quiet, but kind. Her brother had never expressed a desire for more, but she would give her family the world if she could. One step at a time, though; the Wilderness would suit them just fine. 

Looking now to the path ahead, Hydra drawled: once you are wed, is your husband the ultimate authority to you? Her inquiry was more for her own knowledge; she wondered if Kukutux would cease answering to her altogether in favor for the ideals of whatever husband she might come to have. It would not matter, given she and her family ever aligned in their viewpoints... and yet... unfair that perhaps Hydra desired to be that authoritarian figure in her life regardless, an unspoken, weighty thought.

never before had such a question been put to the duck. she pondered it for a time, attempting to ascertain why it was hydra had asked.

in the end, the girl decided it did not matter, that the answer would be the same no matter what the situation. "twelve moons he has been gone; at the dancing lights." the harder response must come after. 

kukutux hoped hydra would not ask what the lights were, for she did not know how to answer. weary she was from all that had gone on this long day.

"only at our hearth is a husband true ruler. even he must submit to the ... to you," kukutux whispered. a wife had responsibilities to which a husband could not direct her, but in his ulaq, a man would find deference from his wife.

jarilo. "so arcturus is your brother," she mused aloud, unsure if this had been said before, but placing the information aside all the same. "he was kind to me. if all your brothers are similar, i will be happy."

a brightening of her features, small teeth showing in a tiny smile before she found submission again.

Gone. Confirmation enough. No living would follow Kukutux here, only ghosts—Hydra could handle the former well enough alone... as for the latter, she supposed Kukutux had dealt with whatever among them remained to move on as she was now. Pleased to hear that Kukutux answered ultimately to her, she quieted. And when her brother was mentioned, Hydra peered to her. Yes, she confirmed, blinking as she sought Kukutux for any physical signs of her opinion of him. 

He is an oaf, she wanted to say then, though swallowed the words. Frustrated with him as she was, he was her brother and she loved him. The matriarch would not speak ill of him, though she was less than thrilled with the way he seemed to think of her. Cruel and unfair, that—she would never do wrong by him, by any of her family. 

That is good, then. They are all kind, so long as you do not hurt their own. The same as me that way, I suppose, she mused, still watchful of Kukutux. She was difficult to anger truly, though one surefire way to be met with such a feeling was to harm anything she cared for.

perhaps the obsidian queen had not meant a warning; perhaps so. kukutux took it as the latter, and the sidelong appraisal of the regent seemed to confirm this for her.

she quailed somewhat beneath hydra's eyes. this was a place of strong wolves, warriors all; she did not think she could truly be suited to do as they did.

but to be a healer? to be a wife, a dam to the new young of moonspear? kukutux knew this was a role for which she had been taught from girlhood.

"you will allow me to be a mother?" the little duck inquired, remembering what hydra had said during her offer of kukutux to arcturus. that he had rejected her; the wound continued to smart, but she would bury it as any true woman of siqiniq could do.

The inquiry was met with a glance, and then Hydra turned to look at her wholly. So long as you find a husband here, you can become a mother; you and your husband both must come to me. But I will force no one to do this. It is something I would like for my brothers, I grant you this—but they must decide for themselves they are ready for such a chapter to begin. You have likely always wished to be a mother, a wife; understand that such a thing has not been on their radars in their lifetime that they have ever shared with me, at least. It is new to them, and I will not rush them into something they themselves are not ready for. It is a lifelong commitment, she expressed. It was unfortunate Andraste had only brought her now, but that was the way of things; little forethought, that woman had. 

Your way is different than our own. I ask that you be as patient as you can. And if you find no husband here, I will not keep you upon Moonspear. The other could return to Aurewen if she wished; Hydra had no desire to use or abuse Kukutux in any such way. Hydra did think there might be a future for her here, but then the remainder of it all was not for her to decide. If her brothers were not ready, then that was all there was to it. She knew Kukutux too little to feel too badly about it; Hydra could not tell any sibling honestly that Kukutux was a good, or bad, match. She knew better than to trust the way one seemed. It very rarely translated to who they truly were.

hydra gave her answer, and it both resolved kukutux to meet her goal, and dissuaded the duck from wanting to try. the blackbear asked for patience, and the girl gave a vague nod.

but she had waited, beginning with cry's broken promise and ending with andraste's untruth about a trade that ended the girl's time at courtfall, bringing her to moonspear.

silent for a long while after hydra had finished, kukutux wet her lips with a wary tongue. "i have noticed that wolves in this land marry for love. i do not understand why many wait through the years of children to find the one they decide is special."

a pause to gather her thoughts before she went on. "i would like to stay even without ... even alone. i have come to enjoy moonspear." it was truthful; despite all her misgivings, kukutux had come to see the slopes of the great mountain as something akin to home.

"i do wish this," the duck said softly, "but i do not require love. i wish a home, children. but he does not have to give me his heart. perhaps it is easier, then," the little waterfowl murmured, before she sighed and pressed on.

"have you always lived in this place?"

Hydra smirked at Kukutux's observation. Not all of them do, she corrected. Hydra had not begotten children with Dirge out of love. Not at first, in any case. There had been an attraction there that had always existed, but she sought more than that. Not love, no, but reliability. Stability. She wanted a mate she could count on for life. Someone who could rear children with her while also guiding the pack with her. Dirge had proven more than capable. But he challenged her to be better each and every day; the more moments spent together, the more her love for him grew. She could not deny that. Children are a lifelong commitment. Who you decide to rear them with is also a lifelong commitment, she drawled. As Hydra saw it, anyway. And she remembered Andraste: even if they tell themselves they will stay away and send their children off, it never happens that way. Not that Hydra had seen or experienced. Someone would always be hurt, and the children would be used... 

She did not want the dramatics that came with that. If Andraste thought to use her own children as currency again, Hydra would kill her for it. 

To say Kukutux admittance surprised Hydra would be an understatement; she imagined Kukutux might want to return to the woman Hydra so detested. To hear it was not so caused Hydra to think that Kukutux was smarter than she herself had initially thought (though that was not to say Hydra had ever thought her dim to start with... still, she could not fathom why any would follow the rule of one such as the pale lightningstruck wretch). The compliment to her home was not missed; Hydra felt pride for this, as she loved her homestead fiercely. I am glad to hear it, Hydra drawled back in turn. Moonspear, in her opinion, was one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen. It offered a great view of the world beyond and made everything feel in reach. So as to that, she offered with a warm grin: it is easy to enjoy. Kukutux did not yet know the half of it; Moonspears splendor was without comparison. 

Kukutux continued, and Hydra's smile was replaced by her typical neutral, stoic mien. We Moonspearian's are not a passionate sort. Love might come, and you would be lucky for it to; but we value the strength that comes with a promising partnership. She meant, of course, them becoming mates.  That is for them to determine, though. Once it is all decided, do come to me and let me know prior to all else. Her ears pressed forward some as she looked to Kukutux then to be sure she understood this. 

The next question was answered with a proud nod. For all of my life, she drawled, thinking to add: Arcturus and Jarilo, too. Kukutux might be interested to know that much, which was why she added this detail. One of them might become her own.

a little 'o' of surprise on kukutux' parted lips, almost comical as she looked directly toward hydra for a shocked moment. the leader had achieved a great deal, and not on basis of love. she prized strength as kukutux had been taught to do, though the pale girl's young heart ached for the warm blossom of a husbandly affection she had only just begun to taste.

then the seal hunter had been killed. then they had all died. 

she would not think of it now. 

the wolves of moonspear valued ability, loyalty to one another. they were tightly knit, as had her family been upon the aisle. all interelated through one form or another, blood, marriage; it made no difference. they of the dark water and the seals, they had been as one, hunted as one, breathed as one. died as one. except for kukutux, and she had been too young then to carry away the seed of her homeland even as she grieved.

she must start over anew, and lowered her muzzle in a nod as hydra instructed her closely that she and the man she chose must come before the blackbear. kukutux could dream of no world in which she defied this powerful creature, and was pleased to find that a glimmer of warmth had begun to grow in her chest for the nightpelted regent with the piercing stare. 

"i hope the same for any children that i have," kukutux said softly, feeling somehow more confident in their discourse, but decided to leave off the subject for now. "are there others here who might be in need of a midwife?" she asked softly, assuming that hydra had already whelped in her years, anticipating more children would arrive in the spring, a new generation of the large family that had claimed the beautiful moonspear.

Hydra was glad to hear that Kukutux felt such a way, as opposed to any alternative. If Kukutux was to become with child through either brother she knew this would be something that made them happy beyond measure, too; that was how Hydra wished it to be. Their strong family unit, as permanent thing in this place as the mountain itself so long as they both stood. The thought of Jarilo or Arcturus own brood scaling these rocks as they themselves pleased her; she knew if either of them crafted such a vision in their minds eye, perhaps they would not resist Kukutux at all. 

This moment, Hydra favored Jarilo; Arcturus had vexed her. 

As for the next question, Hydra looked thoughtful. If Alya were to bear children, Hydra already knew that she would permit none but for Lyra to assist her... and Lyra would never dream of letting another near either of them in so vulnerable a state. If any were to be a midwife to Alya, it would be her. There is only one other mated pair here other than myself and my own mate; if cubs come from that union, there is already a midwife in place should one be needed. Hydra offered Kukutux a grateful look; already, the other was willing to help and preparing for her own future here. It was noted. 

Come, let us walk together a while. Then I will let you rest, she started lowly, continuing on then with: I would like to know more of your ways, Hydra drawled, the words not truly a request given her desire to learn. For as long as Kukutux would share with her, Hydra would listen and walk alongside her.

kukutux had forgiven arcturus. in fact, she had never blamed him for her hurt, though the newness of it smarted. the scene of the fairy being chased away played over and over through her mind. hydra was indeed formidable, and the duck was relieved to be beneath her protection.

she wondered at this jarilo. would he be kind and reserved as his brother was? fierce and commanding like hydra? she could not picture anyone who demanded a greater measure than the ferocious queen.

to be a woman! and to be so powerful! it shook kuktutux far more than she spoke, this reality that the once-sheltered girl had suddenly, shockingly, beheld.

and then hydra asked after that ruptured cultural system, and the duck bit her lip, for she did not know how to respond. the truth, then, direct and unflowered.

"we lived upon an island. men were the hunters. women gathered and tended the children. marriages were made at birth. you grew up with the one who would be your wife or your husband."

her voice was quiet, halting; she was not sure of her words, but the cool intellectual hunger in hydra's gaze drove more from her stammering lips. "we marry y-younger than you here. but that is ... was ... our way. my mother was our healer. she taught to me and my sister the plants i know now."

a muscle tightened in the girl's slender jaw; shut her eyes for a firm moment, willing back  the tears that always threatened when she thought of how she had lost them all. not before hydra. not tonight. kukutux would not weep now.

"they died," she went on, hoarsely, simply, vaguely. "iyakgik," kuktutux sighed. "stones that fell upon our world."

her chin trembled now; the girl looked away from hydra, grief thickening her throat painfully.

Hydra listened with interest, though soon enough it became clear the conversation pained Kukutux. She listened even still, wondering if speaking on it helped the grieving process or hindered it. It seemed wrong to interrupt her in the midst of her sharing, and so Hydra was quiet throughout. When Kukutux had finished, the note of it all somber, Hydra found herself staring at the soft features of the other even as the newcomer looked away. 

Licking her chops, Hydra shared: my mother and father were both warriors. We have always been given a choice in the things that we do. And what we do is always for one another. But when our parents died, she drawled, it felt, for a while, like the light of the moon and the air that makes it possible to breathe went with them. When I saw them there, I thought that it did, she continued, matter-of-factly as she, now, looked away. But then I looked around me. My brothers, my sisters. My subordinates. The way their flanks rose and fell. The way the moonlight hit them hours later. They were still breathing, and the moon still had come to rise. I knew I must do as my parents had done, and as I had always done, for them while they, too, still breathed, Hydra looked to Kukutux then once more as she finished with: Anything. Everything. 

That was what her family was to her. And so she felt, for a moment, she understood to a small degree of what Kukutux had likely endured by losing what she had. How was Kukutux not unmade, by the loss of it all? There was some sort of strength within Kukutux not visible to the eye, but that Hydra knew must exist within her. You are a new subordinate to me, but no less important for it. You are part of the whole, and Moonspear, we are a family. Patience is difficult to exercise in this season, but if there is a husband to be had for you here, I hope you can be so with my brothers, softer now, as she sought understanding.

hydra's words at last moved kukutux. she stood with gaze downturned and rivulets of salt cutting their way through the fur of her cheeks, nodding once or twice at the beautiful moonlit image of familial strength and determination that the great leader wove for her. and then, after that, the soft notions of being invited into said arms, of patience, of resilience.

the girl drew a shaking breath, offered hydra a watery smile. "even if i have no husband here, i will remain. i have much time to think upon these things, and i wish to spend it here." with you, with moonspear. the blackbear had become quickly to her both a sisterly and motherly figure, even in this so short a time. but kukutux knew that such feelings would only grow.

"i thank you, hydra. for giving me so much when i have nothing."

The womans admission pleased her; having learned more of her, and her way, Hydra had a different sort of appreciation for her. She was a kindly, good woman; soft though she seemed, she was indisputably strong for what she had faced. Kukutux had watched both her family and what she had believed to be her future die, perhaps before her own eyes. But here she still stood. 

Hydra would have to, of course, share this moment with her brother. Kukutux had been alone for so long, but now she would have family again through Moonspear. She felt he would have the same reaction to this all as she, so similar were they in their nature. For her thanks, the matriarch shook her head and returned with: You give yourself. That is everything, Hydra returned in earnest, continuing on with the she-wolf. Even if they moved in silence, Hydra was simply glad for her company.