Horizon Ridge Niptaruk

Kigipigak had journeyed towards the coast for a while. He found a stream to soak his muddy self in, then some time later a meadow of tiny white flowers that enticed him.

He rolled down one hill, hiked up another, slid down that one on his belly, all in fun. As the day waned he stopped his stupid antics and began hunting for something to warm him through the night.

From the hilltop he could spy the familiar silhouette of Greymoor; now abandoned, of course. A raven careened overhead and away. Kigipigak turned and followed it - westward, up among towering hawthorn trees.

The sun had set hours ago by now. The warmth of the day still bled from the patches of soil exposed between the trees, and it was among these corridors that he now found himself pacing aimlessly.

Lane's path back home was all guesswork at this point. She knew that the route around the mountain chain would take longer, but she was willing to make that trade if it meant she wouldn't have to haul her six-weeks-pregnant self across the mountains.

After briefly visiting the ocean in a calmer part of the bay, Lane had retreated back inland, hugging the edges of the barrier forests and mountains. All of the wind, sand and salt wasn't really her cup of tea. The views were nice though, and she could think of worse ways to travel. Knowing she was about to be cooped up at the Glacier for who-knows-how-long after Wintersbane's kids were born, she was attempting to savor every minute. 

The sun had long since sunk into the ocean, and Lane had climbed up the mountain ridge just a bit, searching for a nook that might shield her from the winds as she rested for the evening. She expected to turn inland tomorrow as she rounded the ridgeline, beginning the last and longest leg of her journey home. Bidding farewell to her oceanside strolls would be bittersweet, she imagined.

Kigipigak was wide awake despite the hour. As he paced he listened, hoping to hear something in the wind that would give him direction. This dark time would have been better spent gathering his energy through sleep but he couldn't rest yet, he was hungry, but most importantly Kigipigak thought he could hear something large trundling through the woods.

It could have been a bear, thought the young man. He paused and slowly turned his head to help focus on the sound of movement. On second thought it did not sound as heavy-set as a bear, whatever it was. Perhaps a wild pig; a sounder of pigs would have been quite the challenge for Kigipigak to hunt in the dark and he was further intrigued.

The wolf began to prowl in earnest, seeking the sound of movement while trying to mask his own - unaware of how this might look to the woman who was hiking among the trees nearby.

Lane picked her way through the rubble at the base of the ridge, slowly making her way northward as she rounded the edge of the ridge. Once the ridge began pulling eastward, the wind died down and the terrain gave way to a scattering of enormous trees. Lane sniffed at the base of the nearest one, searching for a hollow in which she might curl up for the night. 

The sounds of her own movements briefly silenced as she sniffed, and Lane thought she heard  the slightest rustle in the underbrush as she stood motionless. Her head swung around, and she squinted into the gathering darkness. "Hello?" she inquired with a low woof. Maybe it was that woman she'd seen wading in the bay the day before?

When Kigipigak drew near enough to spy something amber and shifting among the foliage he burst from cover.

The sound of his heavy foot-falls interrupting the girl's shaky greeting. In the dimming silverlight he could make out her shape - then understanding that what he tracked was no boar, nor bear.

A woman! He did not recognize her; the young man was taken by surprise.

Oh! Kigipigak initially exclaimed. He sank back a step, deflating in to the shadows as best he could, trying to afford the stranger some space after his abrupt arrival.

I thought you were food. I'm very sorry! A pause, as he thinks quickly, stealing a few awkward glances at the trees and the twisting shadows. It is very late to be wandering.

As soon she she turned, a flurry of movement met her gaze. Lane gave a surprised bark, hastily scrambling backwards.

The man who had appeared looked to be no less surprised than she, sinking backwards almost immediately. After a beat, he apologized, and Lane relaxed. She even smiled, entertained by his explanation. 

"So.. you admit that you're stalking me?" Amusement played clearly in her voice. 

Lane ignored his comment about the late hour, which admittedly annoyed her a bit. She reasoned with herself that she was probably taking it too personally. She'd had about enough of judgy strangers thinking they had the right to tell her where she should be and what she should be doing, just because she had the audacity to be visibly pregnant. Surely that hadn't been his intention...

For a moment she looked visibly rattled, enough so that Kigipigak anticipated being yelled at for his blunder. Instead there comes a hasty quip, the womans voice light with humor.

Aha! Yes, you looked like a filling dinner from what I could see. That... wasn't as complimentary as Kigipigak thought, given how it sounded in his head. At least she wasn't too offended by his assumption.

Now that your blood is pumping, maybe you could help me. I was hoping to find something to fill my belly - and I'd be willing to share in the success. His brows raised, wondering if she would partake in a hunt with a stranger.

Had he been aware of her condition (or in any way knowledgable about that sort of thing) Kigipigak might not have made the invitation. But he's dumber than he looks.

Was that... a fat joke? Lane raised an eyebrow, almost impressed by guts it must have taken to poke that kind of fun at a pregnant woman. 

He went on to mention her pumping blood and what she could could do to help him, which made her raise the other eyebrow. What exactly what was he about to suggest..?

And then he invited her to a hunt. Lane was taken aback by the twist; it seemed that they weren't kidding around anymore. Were they ever kidding around? Lane wasn't sure. Maybe this guy was one of those people who was actually trying to be serious, but everything they said came out sounding like deadpan humor. 

"Heck yeah," she agreed immediately. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been asked on a hunt, what with her packmates all thinking she was too delicate to do anything remotely productive. 

"Whatcha in the mood for?" She'd seen a herd of animals on one of the beaches she'd passed-- they looked like some weird combination between a furless mole and a giant slug. And they barked like a bunch of coyotes with whitecough. Maybe they could take down one of those?

There was a momentary doubt that crossed her face but as soon as he touched upon the topic of a hunt, the woman relented.

I am not from this area. What do you know of it? He asked as a response to her own prompt, seeing as Kigipigak would not know the herd paths in these parts.

If we fell something large then I can also offer transport. I will help to bring the meat closer to home, if that is an option. But he did not know how far that truly was for Lane.

Lane sighed, knowing her answer would disappoint the man. 

"Not much, I'm afraid. I'm just passing through, and I haven't been this way before." The seals might be a good option, but Lane it would be a long ways backtracking to get back to the Sea Lion Shores. Here in a seaside thicket, at nighttime, boar were probably going to be their best bet. "How do you feel about pork?" 

He offered to help her transport their hypothetical kill home, which was awfully generous. Lane shook her head. 

"I live at the Glacier, so it would be too far." An idea came to her. "But you know.. there was a woman who was kind to me. She lives nearby, at the plateau with the blacktail deer heard." Lane tossed her muzzle over her shoulder, indicating vaguely southward. "If we have anything leftover, you could take it to her, and tell her 'Lane says thanks.'" Was that too much to ask? He was already being incredibly kind, offering to take her along on a hunt.

Kigipigak has hunted boar previously but not often. The prospect is invigorating; they are more than a match for a posse of wild pigs, he thinks! So that is the goal; but he need not carry the remains so far, and upon hearing about Sakhmet's plateau he laughs.

Yes, I know of her! That is where I am heading after. and then when the pig is cached and he has slept a bit, out again to track the herds. How fortunate that Kigipigak will have this chance to really prove himself!

If I find the pigs first I will split their number and you may choose the weak link to chase. If you find them, we reverse that plan. How does that sound?

He was ready and hiking up the hill to where a dense grove of trees sat idle, watching their trunks and the tall grass as he prowled.

So I looked it up, and a group of wild hogs is called a sounder. I don't think Lane would know that, though, so she's going to call it a "herd." xD

"Oh!" Lane laughed along with her companion. "That works out well, then." Life was full of funny coincidences, wasn't it? At least she wouldn't be imposing on the man's kindness. 

He laid out his plan, and Lane nodded. She only had one small amendment. 

"Can we stick together? And then I'll split the herd, while you chase?" Lane was carrying her weight a little differently these days, and lately she wasn't all that sure on her feet. Their chances for success would be far greater if the man was the one who ultimately chased down the prize. It would put him in the position of most danger, but then again, maybe that was fair since he was the one walking away with most of the kill.

Also, she was pregnant. There was always that. 

The man must have caught the sounder's scent, because he was already headed up the hill, making his way intently toward a copse of trees. Lane followed.

Huh, that was weird. There was something oddly familiar about trailing along behind his white, fluffy rear. Lane blinked, a little thrown by her moment of déjà vu. Had they done this before?

He paused when she spoke, turning his ears towards her approaching figure at first, then forwards again to listen for boar; but he had heard the request and gave a stoop of his shoulders, nodding acceptance. It was fine to lay the chase-work upon him. Perhaps he could so impress the woman that she would not feel beholden to her mountain home, and come with him to the plateau!

Kigipigak knew it was foolish to hope such a thing, and so he kept it to himself.

He then journeyed off from Lane's position so that he could set himself up among the grasses, keeping his gait even and his body level with the earth, not that he could sneak around with his great size and pale coat. If the woman was to do the initial seeking then Kigipigak needed only to wait, watch, and then run at the splintering of the boar's sounder.

Should they find one, at least.

Lane noted when the arctic hunter slowed; they must be nearing the sounder, then. She slunk past her hunting partner, knowing this was her part of the plan to fulfill. The woman wove deftly in and out of the grasses and rocky debris that made up the ridgeline. 

She halted. 

The sounder rustled through the underbrush just north of her position, where the trees were thickest. In the darkness, she could only see a collection of shadowed movements. A few quiet grunts met her ears. 

The darkness was no problem. She didn't need to see the whole sounder; she only needed to see one...

And there he was. 

There wasn't anything in particular that set this boar apart or marked him as an easy target, save for the fact that he was the one that was currently positioned furthest from the herd, at the edge of the copse where the treeline met the beach. 

Lane charged, intending to drive a wedge between the lone boar and the sounder, forcing him to run out onto the open beach, where he would be an easy target for the arctic hunter who lay in wait.

While the woman worked to pinpoint a target, Kigipigak kept watch. He was eager to take part in this hunt. Awareness of his surroundings was something Kigipigak prided himself on, and yet in the lowlight of the shadows he could not make out the shape of boar bodies any better than the woman. That was alright; she seemed focused on a target, and so he moved in a careful sweep to an appropriate position.

The creature was far from the main group but that didn't mean much. It wasn't the largest of the boar, but when it saw the shifting light across Lane's body it sounded an alarm of sorts, then turned to square-off towards her. The rest of the sounder took off — Kigipigak listened to their dwindling sounds of distress and dismissed them.

As he burst forth to chase the boar, the ground transitioned to beach grit and his speed took a hit. Kigipigak would not let the strangeness of sand detract from his efforts; he dug deep, launched himself in to a steeper run, and came up alongside the boar in time to reach for it.

The boar gave a surprised squeal as it turned and gnashed its own teeth in response, very much a fighter, unwilling to go down without a brawl. Kigipigak shouldered at it and snapped at its face, shoulder, really anything within his reach.

Lane's inexperience with hunting had led her to believe that the targeted boar would respond like other ungulates she had hunted, running away from the suddenly-appeared hunter. She was not prepared for the boar to square-off, and then charge toward her. 

How quickly the hunter became the hunted. 

Lane yipped in surprise, scrambling to get away from the creature. She ran out onto the beach, leading the boar in a chase across the moonlight-soaked sand. She stopped only when she heard it scream, the sound reverberating from a distance that she judged as safe. 

Her fellow hunter had joined the fray. He was engaged in a fight with the fierce creature, and Lane found it impossible to simply stand by and watch, even though that would have been in line with their earlier agreement. She circled the tussling pair, darting in to bite when she saw an opening and then jumping away to protect herself. She would do this repeatedly as the fight continued. In this manner she would rip a gaping, bleeding wound in the boar's middle back.

Kigipigak managed to get a few decent bites in, but nothing that held firm. The boar was prepared to tear its hide out of the wolf's mouth whenever it felt the pinch of those teeth, leading to a series of gashes along one side of the creature and a silver sheen where the moonlight caught upon the blood. It began to pivot and face Kigipigak with the same gusto as before, frenetic in its stamping and tilting its head to shovel at the air, or reaching to snap with its own blunt - but still dangerous - teeth.

Later, Kigipigak would wonder if the beast had been possessed. Having hunted boar before (although infrequently) he had never come across such a desperate, yet worthy, adversary.

Then there was Lane; having returned to lend her aid, Kigipigak was just as surprised as the boar when she emerged from the dark, and missed a step in his arcing assault. Thankfully the boar's attention had drifted too, sensing movement, and Kigipigak was given a small opening to dive in and grip at the creature's neck, as it was screaming in pain from Lane's bite.

Still, the boar would not be felled. It pulled against the grip of teeth, moving in to Lane's space and then pulled away from her, trying to smack at Kigipigak with its face or a kick of a leg. Each moment of effort spent to fight was weaker than the last, until it was sucking down wet, grunting breaths.

Even as the hunter gripped its throat, the boar fought, stumbling toward Lane as it resisted its aggressor. Lane snapped, but her teeth met air the boar stepped sideways, seemingly by chance. Lane continued to needle at the boar, distracting its attention while her fellow hunter drained its life force. 

Eventually, they were both standing over their kill, watching as it struggled to rake in its last few, dying breaths. "Sorry, didn't mean to pick the insane one," Lane apologized, panting. She didn't like to speak ill of the dead, but it wasn't dead yet.

"Brilliant fight," she complimented. "What's your name, again?" Had he already told her? She was terrible with names. 

Lane would check to make sure the creature was dead, and then she would feast with gusto. She wasn't just eating for herself, after all.

Kigipigak gave a laugh once his mouth was empty of coarse boar flesh; he had enjoyed the chase but the fight was his favorite thing, and it had been a while since the young man had a chance to get his blood pumping. He would have to seek out more of these beasts in the future!

I am Kigipigak! He bellowed as his laughter tapered away. Although his voice was filled with good cheer he was also out of breath. I almost want to find another! That was fun. But he jested; Kigipigak was not so mighty that he could square-off against so many beasts one after the other.

There was no prompting needed to eat. The woman set about inspecting the downed creature and then sank her fangs in to it, tearing strips and eating what she desired. Kigipigak would wait and when she was full to bursting with the hot meal, he would do the same.

The man rumbled out a name that Lane forgot immediately. With names like that, it was hopeless anyway. The only part that she caught was the "pig," and that combined with their boar hunt would solidify the hunter's name as "Pig-Man" in Lane's memory. 

He mentioned that he could almost do it all over again. Lane lifted her gaze from her meal, mouth full and eyes wide. She paused her chewing, trying to gauge exactly how serious the man was about that statement. After a beat, she decided that he was joking. 

"You're as crazy as the boar," Lane joked back through her mouthful of food. A smile pulled at the corners of her stuffed cheeks. 

She would take only what she needed to get her back to the Glacier, knowing that there were more hungry mouths for Pig-Man to feed at the plateau. Lane reminded herself to check in at the plateau in a few months, to see how the woman's pack as coming along and perhaps visit with Pig-Man if he was still there. 

They would part on friendly and jovial terms. At some point in her journey back to the glacier, Lane would realize where she had seen the white hunter before: he was the wolf who had appeared to her in the blizzard, the very first time she ascended the glacier. He had probably saved her life that day, for it was his appearance that motivated Lane to dig herself out of that snowdrift instead of succumbing to sleep and the heavy pull of hypothermia. 

Lane would kick herself for not realizing sooner and recounting the story to Kigipigak to see if it had truly been him that day on the mountain. 

Oh well. Perhaps they would meet again someday. 

Feel free to fade or archive! :)

He laughed again at her comment but was thereafter focused on the food, devouring some fatty chunks of belly meat when Lane had finished. When he looked up again after, she had already departed.

Most of the pig would be pulled apart and cached nearby, some carried closer to the plateau, or filling Kigipigak's belly as fuel for his continued explorations.

It was a good hunt, one he would readily spin in to a daring tale in the coming days.