Great Bear Wilderness iglaaguruna ❈

@Nukilik. between the sentinels and deepwood weald, here.

steeling herself, the little snowduck had crept from her shelter and headed over moonspear's borders for the first time since arriving. the territory was large and there had been no reason to leave, but then arcturus had come to her. and now she found herself slipping off, shoulders wrapped with her prized ermine pelt, to hunt for the antler-blood of which she had spoken.

but once outside moonspear, kukutux found she had lost the old fear that once accompanied her travels. hydra's domain was safe, permanent, and the duck had found that small roots within her heart had been put down into the atmosphere of the packland. not yet home, but it had become what courtfall once promised to be.

and so kukutux went on and on, until the spires loomed small behind her, a darkened forest swallowing the girl. in the cold gloom, the shadows raced round, promising an odd view of a naked wood just beyond, but here she paused, too hesitant to go further beneath the sudden icy wash of realization of how distant moonspear was.

It was unwise to leave the island. She was still not perfectly healthy (her bruises had diminished somewhat and that was all) but the itch in her skin grew stronger by the day. Nukilik could not find comfort anywhere along the beach, nor did the shelter of the trees afford her solace; around her the island hummed with activity and an electrified excitement while the sisters finalized their claim. When they summoned everyone together for a meeting, Nukilik would not be attending.

The burning in her skin was only soothed by the frigid sea. As soon as she sank against the tide she felt relief; and the tugging of the ocean brought her a mild panic, so she kicked and swam, pulling herself across a sand bar and scrambling for solidity. When she looked back she was on the other side of a narrow divide which was steadily filling with water. It would be some time before the route home was exposed again — she would have to wait it out.

Thus the woman found herself upon the mainland once more. As the water dripped from her body she felt her skin chill, the outermost layer of her naturally thin coat gradually stiffened as the residual water froze. She tried to shake it off - then to run and warm herself - all the while thinking, 'Stupid girl! Stupid! Good way to freeze to death,' and she sought the forest in her frenzy. By the time she stopped running she was indeed quite cold; not even her breath made shapes as she panted, but she hunkered down all the same to try and retain what little heat her body was manifesting.

kuktutux knew that even if she departed the snowy forest now, she would not return to moonspear before the following day. dismayed by her own ignorance, the girl's pale ears swept forward at the hushed sound of breathing nearby.

despite her usual battery of misgivings, kuktutux approached, wending forward until her curious green eyes lit upon the crouched form of a wolven figure. a step closer. the stranger's scent was female, which eased the spearwolf somewhat. "hello," she began hesitantly, hoping she was not about to disturb a sleeping individual.

a step more. kukutux frowned. her young healer's senses suggested something was amiss, but without truly invading the other's personal territory, the duck could not be certain.