Ouroboros Spine I've met the myth hanging heavy over you

When finally he had tired of Jakoul, days later, Raimo returned to the lower reaches of the spine and picked his way across the refugee camp. He did not think to hide his new mantle of shared scent until he had crossed in to Moonglow's heart, and by then no manner of rolling in the moss would cleanse him.

He slipped between the trees and followed the path of shadows until he found a small creek to wet his tongue, soak his rock-bitten feet, and think. His mind was full of Jakoul; he only wanted to return to her and the embrace of her body, but he had duties here, and he had pledged himself to serve Kukutux.

Above all he must serve a purpose. He must keep his role of the hero solidified for his story to progress — but it had been tainted by his own wayward nature, now.

Adrastus did not note the fay that Raimo had left- but his absence from Kukutux's ulaq indeed had not escaped his notice. And as he ranged, the dark hunter's scent had faded and Adrastus had taken note. He did not raise alarm, as he assumed simply that either Raimo was off scouting or hunting elsewhere, or that he had wandered off with no notice. 

Either way, when he did return, he smelled of another- which rankled Adrastus. While he still had not come to terms with his union with Kukutux, he did not appreciate the fact that Raimo might possibly be out with other women as well, simply out of respect to their alpha who had, at one point, deemed him fit enough to cross her threshold. He was neither impressed to see Raimo return, nor was he pleased that he came back smelling so strongly of another. 

He'd trailed through the borderlands where the Glen wolves had settled and toward a stream, which was where Adrastus caught sight of him. He chuffed lightly in greeting. He didn't want to have to deal with Raimo- but circumstance had seen fit to direct him back to the pack. You found your way back I see, He stated, as he lowered his head to drink.

The voice smacked him in the back of the head. Brick-like, you could say. The pain started in his ears as soon as the first sound uttered from Adrastus and drove deep in to him, down his neck, coiling in his shoulders. Raimo slunk a step and let the feeling sink deep through him.

Raimo glanced to the burly shape of Adrastus where he bent to drink, tonguing at his fangs behind his lips for a second as he considered what to do. The moment flew by.

As did you. He said, referencing the man's recent trip to the wilderness and back again. Raimo had heard his rival had gone off somewhere but not why, nor had he seen the gift that had returned with him yet.

One fine ear turned toward Raimo as he drank but he did not usher himself to respond right away. It seemed that he had taken notice of the time Adrastus had spent on the mountain, which didn't phase him at all. If anything, it pleased him to know that Raimo had known that he had been gone- for as far as he knew, he had gone away with a task given to him by their leader. Raimo had slunk off into the wilderness of his own volition and had come back reeking of another woman- something he felt might offend Kukutux. 

I did as I had promised to Kukutux He said once he'd finished drinking. And when he had returned, she had pronounced him as sivullik. He looked to Raimo. He doubted, sincerely, that he too had been given a task to complete when he'd gone off from the pack without first communicating with his packmates. For all intents and purposes, he'd disappeared, which had caused Adrastus to lose even more respect for him. She has been working on the lynx pelt I brought back. It seems to be special to her. He said.

The further the man spoke, the more Raimo thought, I could ruin that pale coat of yours, so easily too. And, what use would Kukutux have for that skin after-the-fact, I wonder.

Otherwise Raimo had nothing to say.

He thought back to Jakoul instead. Finding her among the glittering rocks of the quarry. The shape of her sharp-angled body, her eagerness to please, the hours spent with her and more than anything, the laziness that persisted after a full day spent with her.

Raimo wondered if Adrastus would know that feeling. If he had yet to take Kukutux or, finding the shadow gone from the land on his return, if he had slunk willingly in to the ulaq to fill the void left beside Kukutux.

No, he had nothing to say.

Silence was Raimo's rebuttal, and Adrastus would leave him to it. If anything, it was a bit of progress, he thought, for Raimo to keep his passive-aggressive comments to himself. The man made daggers of his words, and could not be trusted. 

So he licked his lips. When you are away, we hunt without you. And the hunters grow stronger the more they hunt together. They didn't need to count on Raimo anyway, for their hunts to be successful- but his status as secondhunter would surely be challenged if he continued to slip away. There is one among the wolves from the Glen who impresses me. Their leader, Antares. Have you met him yet? He asked.

It was hard to tell if Adrastus was being friendly or antagonistic as he continued to speak. The silence dwindled. Raimo was left to determine for himself if it was worth biting back with his own commentary or not.

When he began to speak of the refugees Raimo scoffed. He had been through their camp. I have met a few that wander beyond their limits, but no. He says. Maybe he should be more cautious with how he addresses the new sivullik but as far as Raimo is concerned, nothing has been solidified.

The visitors will recover and they will leave. They have land to return to. This is not their home. He advises, eyes narrowing slightly as he looks upon Adrastus. Whoever this other wolf is — Antares — he is not welcome so far as Raimo is concerned.

He could tell with the sharpening of Raimo's gaze and the tension that rippled through the muscles of his shoulders that something about the Glen wolves did not sit well with him. As this was the first time he'd spoken with the male about that topic, it intrigued him to see an unexpected amount of what sounded like resentment in Raimo's voice. 

They are considered family to Kukutux and are welcome here. They too lost family to the landslide, and should be shown hospitality. We have not set limits for them, He said, hoping the gentle reminder might keep Raimo from separating them so much from the wolves of Moonglow. 

But it would seem that Raimo was eager to see them disperse. I am not so sure they will leave. There are so few of them; I would think they might strengthen our own pack, should they choose to stay. He paused. You should watch the way you speak of them. You sound as though you are threatened. He said, with a dry, skeptical chuckle.

Those that came to them as refugees were young, prime examples of wolves with room to grow. They could serve Moonglow if they stayed, this Raimo knew. He had been territorial around adults that showed up at the village's doorstep already - Adrastus could attest to that - and having these others here, connected in some way to Kukutux no less, did make them threats to him.

Having Adrastus point this out only made him bristle more obviously. I do not want to waste our resources. I have known too many young wolves like them, and the young like to roam. They might take what we freely give and then vanish. Even saying it aloud, he knew that was unlikely with their connections to Kukutux. Still, he wanted to dissuade from the concept Adrastus had presented.

You think it wise to let young, unknown men live among us? I thought you sought to keep our women safe, Adrastus. His tone is more cutting than before, thinking of how Adrastus had been so quick to defend Sialuk to Kukutux, speaking ill of Raimo behind his back. Kukutux had told him as much.

He was indeed threatened. Why else would he think the wolves had come to glean and clean out their resources? They had been exhausted and travel-weary, but none beyond being capable of hunting and feeding themselves. No pregnant women, no children- a handful of young adults at best, and their leader was the son of the alpha Kukutux herself had once followed. 

So when Raimo's frustration seemed to boil over beyond reason and rational thought, Adrastus flattened his ears and raised his chin a touch. These are wolves Kukutux and Sialuk have known for longer than they have known you or I. It is by her word that they are welcome among us, and by her word that they will continue to be welcome. As she says, so do I. Your lack of faith makes you a weakness and a blight, he informed Raimo with a soft growl. He did not approve of the way Raimo saw their guests- though it made him nearly giddy to know he might have something else he could use to convince Kukutux that he was not fit to be in his hunting circle.

Fine, he shot back, biting the air with a clip of his teeth. He hoped to silence Adrastus' voice from this point, but more came flowing from him. He was like a river of thought manifested to words, flooding the air. More mockery, more insults. If Raimo had not tired himself out with a day of straight lovemaking in the quarry, maybe he would have the energy to strike at the man. The look in his eyes was unhindered for a moment, but Raimo knew it wouldn't help anyone to cause a stir at this moment.

Faith was never a prerequisite of this place. But I concede that they might earn a place among us, more-so with Kukutux' blessing. He did not like the way Adrastus spoke. As if he were somehow an expert, having learned as much about the ways of the moon-woman and her daughter as Raimo; they were equals in everything but status, and status was a point of contention neither seemed willing to solve at the moment, so to hear Adrastus prattling on about faith only grated on his nerves further.

Are they able to hunt for themselves yet? I presume you have kept an eye on their recovery - tested them, for the sake of the hunting circle. Or maybe they were all too weak? Maybe Adrastus had been too busy on his little quest and thus slacked in his other duties. Not that Raimo could say much - he too had been away, hardly earning his title.

He was spiteful and venomous; a wort to be worried free from the flesh if Adrastus could find some way to burn him out. With the way he was acting, Raimo seemed to be lighting the torch meant for his own pyre, and the light of that flickering flame did not flatter him. The pale hunter regarded him with an even, but focused gaze, having come to the conclusion that he did indeed fit the impression he'd made. 

I have been. While you've been away, He responded calmly. He knew now that Raimo had little confidence in him as well; but he wouldn't have assumed he would have Raimo's respect simply because Kukutux had ranked him higher. I am Sivullik. It is my job. Kukutux named me such when I came down from the mountain with the lynx pelt. He said.

Anger burned through him unabated when Adrastus spoke his title; rubbing it in that Kukutux had abandoned the shadow and replaced him so readily. He reacted to this because of his own still festering hurt, lunging a short distance towards Adrastus with a low rumble in his chest.

And I am supposed to respect you because of this? No question? Like you respected me? He could not help the revulsion on his face, the twist in his gut. He did not care for a response and was too angry to listen, at least for now. A flare of his old self; the person he hid behind the guise of a hero.

He pushed towards Adrastus then, alongside the water's edge. He felt the cool splash of the shallows underfoot and angled himself to prowl around the massive white figure of his rival, not quite pantherine enough in that moment to avoid lightly grazing him; black on white. Better to remove himself from this conversation before things got out of hand.

I respect her judgement, as she has earned it. He spat as he tried to move on from this, stiff-legged and stalking.

He made a valid point. As much as Adrastus didn't like Raimo, and had thought him an ill-fit for the pack right off the bat, he wasn't stupid. No- he suspected the dark male was in fact very clever, and in the sharpest of ways. He knew now that he'd been established as sivullik that he would have a shadow, no matter the time of day or night, no matter how overcast or sunny it was- and that that shadow might seek to overtake him at any point. While he took some comfort in the thought that Kukutux had placed her faith in him, and that the other wolves of the pack at least liked him well enough, there was no denying the fact that Raimo was a tough contender- and that he did not seem like the type who would give up on the role he wanted. 

"Yes and no." He replied simply. There was more to it than simply choosing to follow, or not follow, another wolf. He knew he would not follow Raimo, and that Raimo would not likely want to follow him- but he had proved himself to be capable, and faithful to Kukutux. He had, by some fate, brought her a pelt which belonged to the creature which meant a significant amount to her. In her eyes, he had been chosen- and he would ride with that as an explanation for as long as he could, and in the meantime, he would do what he could to rally the hunters and make sure that they would follow him willingly. He sought their favour, so that they might choose him over the dark, burly soldier- but he wasn't sure how he might eventually win Raimo over as well. He wasn't sure if that was even possible. 

But he knew better than to antagonize him openly, even though Raimo sought to press past him a bit too close for comfort. He remained sturdy on his feet, unwilling to bend and allow Raimo to pass without first brushing against him. He could have reached out and nipped the dark male on the rump for daring to come so close; but Kukutux had hoped that he could eventually make Raimo his brother, so he held back. He chuckled softly, as he watched the male skulk off, his shoulders hunched, and the fur along his withers as prickly as porcupine quills. "Happy hunting," He said, as a farewell, and trotted through the stream, and off into the woodlands.