Duskfire Glacier they will not be hurt.

Angakkoq wandered beneath lilac skies of dawn, tufted paws of snow-powdered froth whispering and whisking over the half-frozen terrain that had become both familiar and beloved. The first bright rays of orange had begun to wink over the equally vivid horizon of the Glacier's iceplanes as she quickened into a light trot, warming her stiff muscles. Imaq squinted emeralds of seafoam against its light fondly, absorbing the rays as they kissed her face -- wondering if perhaps Êrsta had missed something. If Sedna was to be the orphaned girl's mother, why would it have been so improbable that Siqiqniq were her true sire? The truest father she had ever known anyways, the sun who had watched over her entire journey and lit her path.

The morn had begun to break bright, promising the fair warmth of a temperate spring day when the she-dog reached the meadows blanketed in lavenders and other wildflower -- the skull of some creature from one of her catches held gingerly in spotted jaws. Amongst the edges of the glen would Imaq stop to place the offering neatly amongst the roots of some shrub, compiling a secret sort of altar hidden amongst the valley's budding foliage. 

It was almost like a game, wondering if any would find the trinkets she left tucked amongst the flowers.

Hope you're feelin better, just gonna snag this up. Lmk if I got something wrong or if you would prefer someone else for this thread!

The morning sunlight shown bright against closed lids, nearly penetrating through the thin skin and hurting sensitive tawny irises. Rye stirred and rolled over, a groan of protest emitting from deep within his chest. He tucked his head closer to his belly, trying to keep the light from touching his eyes but it was futile. His internal clock had already begun to tick and the rest of his gears were set in motion. Rye sighed loudly, pouting as the remaining sleep left his lids and he began to fully awaken. The woodland male took to his feet, stretching his back legs then dipped his chest down with his forelegs stretched out to wring the last bit of muscle back into position. As much as Rye abhorred waking up at the crack of first light, he loved to stretch every fiber in his body, stretch them to their limits with the utmost pleasure in doing so. 

With a final lick to rid his lips of breakfast, Rye set out to find Imaq. It had been a minute since they had last talked and he was hoping to get to know her more. He wasn't sure where to start looking but he took a brief look around his immediate surroundings and had with no luck, not even a scent, so he decided to move to the midland of the Glacier. This time his efforts yielded something, a scent, which Rye swiftly followed. The scent led to a meadow where it was muddled in the abundance of scents the wildflower produced, for a moment the woodland male remained still to fully enjoy the view ahead. Bright colors of yarrow, lavender, poppies and more perfectly complimented the she-dog in the distance. The beauty of the day was only just beginning to reveal itself.

Rye slowly began to approach Imaq, careful not to crush or disturb the beauty surrounding him. Eventually he made it within hearing distance and gave out a simple call. "Hey," he started, narrowly dodging a partially bloomed daisy, "How are you doing?" With one final, awkward work around a flower Rye was at a comfortable distance from the female. He was curious what she was doing in the meadow, having not seen the shrine.  

thank you! and you're good!

The gilded shaman glanced up as the call reached her folded auds, which perked to life suddenly with the greeting that found them. A welcoming smile graced her golden features, tailless rump giving a canine wiggle of excitement. "Hello," the dove returned as the earthen agouti maneuvered his way through the fragrant blooms. 

"Aya," the aureate northron agreed gently in her mother tongue, cinnamon-freckled diadem dipping slowly in a shy gesture of affirmation. "The inua have smiled on me -- on all of the Glacier," the sea witch murmured by way of explanation as she straightened, casting a content look around the territory their tribe had claimed. 

"I come to honor them with gratitude," Angakkoq continued, glancing back to Rye with a searching look. "What of you, kinnuajok-ijik? How are you?" 

Gently and steadily a smile formed on snow white lips as Imaq greeted Rye with a gracious smile of her own. She was pleasant to be around, her language lost to him and her culture still undefined yet so delightful to experience for the woodland male. Attentive eyes and ears watched and listened as the ivory female explained herself in a delighted manner, Ryes own emotions mirrored hers. His smile blossomed to his eyes and swayed his tail to his sides with exuberance, rustling the flowers behind him. "I am good, my belly is full, my bed warm and my home safe. There is not a thing more I could ask for." His heart was filled with pride over his new home and his tone as well as his expression, reflected that pride with abundance. 

"Yeah," He contentedly sighed, tawny eyes searching the horizon for nothing in particular, "Life is slowly improving." His smile was but a fraction of what it was as he slipped into a more quiet and reserved frame of mind. He returned his attention back to Imaq and wondered how happy she was, he did not mean the facade happy others tend to put on to save face. No, not that kind of happy but the inner more reserved and guarded emotions, that's what he silently desired to know. With inner turmoil being his current bane, he dreaded others possibly experiencing what he was but he knew it was far too early to get to that metaphorical marrow in the middle. 

"I hope you do not mind my asking but what does that name you gave me mean? The Kinnewuh one." He butchered that pronunciation, absolutely ruined it but Rye still couldn't help but chuckle at his own failure. He hoped Imaq wouldn't take offense to it, or the small laugh. 

Imaq only smiled as she listened, pale face and cinnamon-ringed peridots upturned towards the earthen agouti -- breathing in the light, sweet scents of the flowers he'd disturbed. She was glad to hear that things were going well with the man though she too wondered silently if he had spent anymore time wandering the Glacier by Taqqiq's soft silver light. 

"Will Rye go to Wintersbane? Seek a...uh," she trailed off then with an awkward chuckle, realizing the word had slipped her mind momentarily. "Nuliak," she tried in her own language, though she knew he wouldn't understand. The she-dog stood there silently a moment, gaze dropping earthbound as her golden brow rumpled in heavy thought. Suddenly, her aquamarine gaze brightened with clarity, widening a tic in her excitement of remembering as they returned to the Hotah once more. "Ehm, a wife." 

It had occured to her that the traditions might be different here but perhaps they were not so different from her homeland. Maybe this was something men still did here, in this place she had come to know as home if not as Teekon, in their own way. It did not strike her as rude to ask, she thought perhaps the sleepless male might benefit from a woman's touch in his life. The bachelor was kind but Imaq got the distinct feeling that he was lonesome, that he held secrets beneath his smile as Sedna's daughter did. 

"Hawk-eye," the gilded merle explained in response to his query, daring to step forward and gesture towards his golden gaze with a point of her muzzle -- though her blotchy nose of pink and liver stopped shy of brushing his cheek.

His head tilted inquisitively as Imaq searched for her words, Ryes own mind filling the spaces prematurely with half-baked guesses which all turned out to be wrong. The conversation had taken a path he was ill prepared for, small tension formed in his brows and eyes as he sought the words he wished to use. He wasn't entirely sure what the cream colored girl was asking, he didn't see any reason to ask Wintersbane for a wife. His features softened as he found what he searched for. "No, I think he would be okay if I chose that on my own time." He decided, sounding more confident in his answer as it went. Perhaps she meant if he was searching for one, "If you're asking if I'm looking for one, well not really, it's just something that happens ya' know?" Rye averted his eyes from Imaq, letting himself get lost in the prospect of having a wife but only allotting a few moments to the idea. "What of you? Do you plan to ask Wintersbane to be your husband?" Rye wasn't around the alpha much, he didn't know who he fancied, if anyone. Females dominated the pack, leaving plenty of suitors to choose from if the alpha so desired. The same to be said for Rye, it's a bachelors haven.
Upon hearing his given name, the woodland male smiled humbly. Quietly admiring his nickname and letting the honor wash over him briefly, since childhood earning a nickname was Ryes favorite thing to obtain. Often they were specially made and tailored to only one specific wolf, his pack shared the males sentiments, deeming short names as nearly sacred. A twinge of melancholy tainted the jovial mood, Rye had abandoned his own heritage and their own customs at a young age and though they did not have copious amounts of traditions they were still held in high regards. In many ways Rye cradled the customs in his heart but those were his subconscious' secret. "Thank you." He muttered, his eyes returning to Imaq with sincerity carved within them.  

Imaq's crown of cinnamon-dusted cappuccino cocked to the side slightly, taking her turn at waiting patiently for Rye to find the right words to formulate his response to her query. She smiled when it came, glad to hear this was a custom that differed from the arranged marriages of her homeland -- a bit relieved too. A lot relieved actually. "Not in Nunaat. In Imaq's home, a girl's atâtak -- father -- decides. Or her brother. Or her chief -- like Wintersbane."

The she-dog blinked in surprise at her friend's following question, heat coloring her pale cheeks at even the thought of asking something so bold. "No," the cur chuckled lightly as she answered with a shy shake of her head, tropical gaze dropping uncertainly. "Imaq..Imaq will choose too," the wolfdog replied, albeit with a measure of hesitancy -- as if still unsure that she had the freedom to make that choice. 

Apologies for the wait and length of post 

Rye listened keenly as Imaq offered a peak into her homeland customs, his ears remaining cupped towards the female. Judgment was not the males way of life, he couldn't say with confidence his way of living was any better than other ways but that couldn't keep him from harboring relief Imaq was not in her homeland. He was comforted to hear she was choosing to use her freedom but it begged the question, did she miss her home and why was she not there? For the male, he did miss his own homeland but always had that desire to roam, experience what mother nature had to offer him. "I'm glad." Rye admitted, "But why did you leave your home?"   

Imaq felt the blood drain from her face, not having expected the question, leaving her skin as pale and cold as if there were no fur to block the chilled winds that sighed across the Glacier. Of their own accord, her eyes widened in surprise and her lips fell open -- stammering wisps of nonsense that were almost inaudible, as if the very air had been sucked from her lungs.

After a moment, the gilded merle managed to regain some measure of composure -- gaze and freckled diadem dropping alike so that her gaze was hidden from Rye as she rasped a spotted tongue along her creamy chops in vague anxiety. "Imaq not.." she faltered, failing to find an explanation that could explain -- that would make sense to the he-wolf even when Imaq herself still failed to understand her father's betrayal. 

"Imaq no choose. Imaq...ipik," she practically spat the word beneath her breath. "Dirty. Had to go, father wolf said," she tried to tell him. "Say Imaq is Tupilak, sea-witch. Bring dirty on all of Kalallit."

youre good! 

translations:

ipik: dirt or filth.

Kalallit: family.

He saw the look in her eyes, noticed the twitches in her lips and felt the cold shift between them. Rye wanted to take back his words, apologize for asking and pretend it did not happen but there was none of that. Imaq gave her confession, at first she stumbled with her words but then the female released the rest in near quick succession. A solemn silence filled the space between them after she spoke her last word and Rye let the quite grow as he gathered himself. He wondered what words he could string together to make up for her fathers betrayal but the more he tried, the more he realized there are not enough words in any language that approached fixing the betrayal. 
"I'm sorry Imaq." He murmured, letting a few moments pass by before speaking again. "I have only known you a short time but the Imaq I know is none of those things. The one I know is benevolent, gentle and as vibrant as the lights in the night sky." His words remained softly spoken, their sincerity clear and concise. Rye wasn't going to ask why she was labeled those things, it wasn't his place to know, in his heart, all that mattered was who she was in the present. No one had a clean or strictly happy past, everyone went through something and changed because of it but it was always up to them how they could build their present and future for the better.   

Imaq wasn't really sure what to expect in regard to Rye's reaction. The pregnant silence swelled between them, the she-dog left to shift on her paws uncertainly -- wishing almost immediately she could snatch the earnest words back out of the air. 

Too much, she thought with a grimace. What had she been thinking, opening herself up to questions surrounding her past like that? What if Rye wanted to know exactly why Salik had thought her to be cursed and ruined?

Thankfully for them both, the earth-toned agouti seemed reluctant to pry further into the details of her relocation to Teekon. In fact, he seemed...almost happy that Imaq was here now. His words caused an unexpected smile of surprise to spread over the Selkie's lips -- beaming at the woodland he-wolf for a moment before her head ducked bashfully.

"Nakummek," she whispered to him in her own tongue before glancing up to translate for his benefit: "Thank you, Rye."

Apologizes for cutting things off so abruptly but I have abandoned my poor secondary character and have some long over due threads needing written. Generally I like to keep 5 and 5 threads for both toons. Thank you for the thread! You can post another or just archive

Rye returned with a delicate head nod and soft smile to her thanks. Relief had flooded his senses once Imaq smiled, his words had appeared to be taken to heart and that was more than he could ask for. For the moment, he watched the breeze billow the flowers around them, quiet hissing following as it ruffled the pedals. Rye didn't simply want to dive into a completely different conversation so quickly, her admittance still laid heavily on his mind. Regardless, the hotah moved his attention back to the merle. "I should head back and busy myself with who knows what." Probably refreshing markings if they needed it. "It was a pleasure talking with you Imaq, as always." Rye bowed his head, waited for her reply and headed off to check the boarders.   

you're good! sorry for the long wait on this, i took a brief break from wolf

Tupilak was a little worried that she might have chased him off with her honesty, and the glimpse into her traumatic past. Even so, she couldn't bring herself to ask the golden-eyed huntsman if this was the case -- merely nodding absently and offering a half-smile to the Hotah's words. "Rye too," she murmured, watching him depart with lightly furrowed brows. Maybe she would have been better off keeping things to herself. Muttering a quiet curse beneath her breath, the speckled she-dog trotted away from the flowered valley -- hoping to leave any leftover embarrassment behind with the skull offering she'd gifted the inua.