Ouroboros Spine The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang

Trips to the watering hole were few and far between; the last of the heat wave had tapered off though, which was a blessing to the bulky teen. Nuak lacked the energy to do much beyond nap, eat what was spared for him upon the ledge where he was kept, and glare at the resident guard — the oft distracted @Zane.

He didn't look like much. Kukutux trusted the man to watch over the boy, but so far as Kiliutak could discern of them, they didn't have the heart for it. Nobody had come to beat the boy for information and he wasn't lacking in food, which should have eased his distrust of the people inhabiting Moonglow village. Instead, Kiliutak only grew more suspicious of them; he was adamant that his heart remain hard and cold like stone or ice.

In watching the shadows of the woodland around him, nuak saw the now commonplace figure that was his guard. They were facing away from him, distracted by something. With nobody to stop him -- though he could not say for how long this window would remain open -- Kiliutak lunged out of the dark crevasse where he was kept and tried to slink as quietly as he could along the narrow path banding the mountainside, eager to sneak away.

Duchess put Zane in charge of watching the kid, something that both baffled and bored him simultaneously.

He wasn't much into the whole "prisoner" thing, what with being the picture of free-wheeling himself, so his promise to keep tabs on the kid was touch and go at best. What would it hurt if he snuck off? One less wolf to feed, better life for the poor little dude, yadda yadda. Plus it'd mean Zane didn't have to sit out and do nothing, but somehow still stay awake, hours of each day. He could usually manage one or the other - a little less usually did he manage both.

He wished he was asleep when he saw the little dude start to sneak off. If he was he wouldn't have to do shit but apologize and shrug and move on with his life. Now he had to intervene. Fucking hell.

Don't think I ever asked you where home was? That where you are headed, kid? He asked conversationally, not bothering to get up just yet. Maybe he could convince him to get a few licks in on him or something, a scar or two to make it look good. Why were they keeping him here anyway?

The stranger's voice startled him. He froze on the spot and hunkered ever lower, as if to become the worm turning the dirt. There was no avoiding the truth: Kiliutak was not built for stealth.

The guard had not moved to stop him. His voice barred the way only for a moment. Kiliutak was perplexed by the man's lack of interest. He had been present for the entirety of the boy's stay; yet this was the first they had spoken, and they seemed almost... annoyed.

Not at the escape attempt, but at something else.

Kiliutak slowly relaxed, to a point. He was stiffly stalking along now. Ready to bolt if the guard came after him - thinking this was a trick.

Bearclaw. He uttered; looking to the shadows in case other fangs came flying at him, hungrier ones. Or nowhere, he didn't know where Avicus had ended up. If she were alive, if she were dead. If this village had dispatched her then Kiliutak couldn't return to Merrick if he hoped to survive.

He had one job.

You letting me go?

Bearclaw. The fuck kind of name is that? Zane huffed with a laugh. What, that next to "Beavernose"? Just south of "Moosedick"? That second one had him guffawing loudly, and honestly, probably longer than necessary.

Fuck he was funny.

He was still grinning from it when the kid asked the dumbest question... the hell? I ain't lettin you do shit. He replied, rolling onto his back as he did so that the cooler grass could do its work. You sure you wanna leave? Because askin is a pretty weird way of doin that, little dude.

Nobody had ever spoken ill of Ursus to the boy before. He did not know how to take the jesting of the man's voice nor his laughter, which was bursting forth like an unwelcome geyser. Bristling, lashing his tail, he glared at the gray man hotly. His lips trembled as if he might bare his teeth but even now, Kiliutak was cowed and subservient; he did not yet know if this man hoped to strike him down and would not open himself up for more hurt.

Its—Its the name of my home. I don't insult your home— Kiliutak began to retort, except he knew as soon as the sounds left his lips, he was lying. He had disrespected Moonglow by pilfering from its stores, destroying his way up and down the mountain. Knowing this didn't ease Kiliutak in any way.

He stood rigidly outside of the man's reach and finally grimaced rows of teeth at him.

I'm not going back to that rock. Kiliutak declared. Better to fight his way out, he thought. Better that than wasting away in the hot sun while being watched at all hours, only given leave to drink water with a babysitter. He had done some damage to the village weeks ago and still there was no verdict for the boy; only an endless waiting.

No; he was done with that. He wanted his freedom and this man wasn't going to get in his way.

Would be pretty hard to, kid. I ain't got one. He opened both eyes and lazily rolled to a sitting position, now staring at the wolf slinking away. Unless you mean this place? Zane laughed, gesturing with a paw. Shit. Sure, I've hunkered down here. But I think home is somethin everyone puts a little too much credit to. I ain't interested.

Zane wasn't invested in keeping this kid captive, but if Duchess wanted him around, he had to trust there was some kind of reason. No way he was getting into a fuckin fight over it - let someone else be the bully. The idea turned his fuckin stomach. Talking, though, was shit he could definitely do.

Like you. You don't stay here, where you gonna go? Back home? Kid, if they gave a shit about you, you wouldn't be here. If you're gonna put any stock in callin a place 'home', might was well make it a place where the wolves actually want to keep you. Otherwise what's the fuckin point?

See that, wise as shit! He knew nothing about this kid's past, or what the place he belonged to was like. But Zane had a hard time figuring he was wrong, mostly because he didn't think about it long enough to second guess it.

Kiliutak was perplexed by the way this man spoke. He claimed this was not his home - yet here he was guarding it, working in concert with the witch and her orders. What was that if not loyalty to ones home? Perhaps he too was a prisoner; then why did he watch Kiliutak on the rock and not keep to one himself? No, not a captive in the same vein. Not the same as the boy at all.

He scowled as he listened. Kiliutak did not know why the witch had kept him - neither why she refused to kill him, as any Ursus wolf might take such liberties with any captives they held. The slowly dawning knowledge came, that Moonglow was not the same as the valley.

She is a witch! Kiliutak exclaimed as an act of protest, as if that should hold weight. What does she want with me? He huffed and, inevitably, sat in the dust. The question was rhetorical as Kiliutak doubted a mere guard would be privy to such machinations.

Zane was right on many accounts. Nobody had come for him - not the red daughter, not the beasts that lorded over Merrick's valley - and only Kukutux seemingly cared for what became of the boy. She led him to water. She had food laid out for him. No teeth cut his skin, despite how barbed her words oft became when she visited. Still, all that meant to Kiliutak was, she had designs in mind that he could not figure out.

Was she waiting for a full moon before the slaughter? Would she feed him to her boars, summon spirits with his ending? Maybe barter his life to some greater beast; as Merrick held dealings with the bears within Ursus, Kiliutak could only imagine the sway of the witch on her own mountain.

She calls me family. He blurts.

What, Duchess? A witch? Zane didn't even try to stifle this bout of laughter. That was about the dumbest thing he'd ever heard... and shit, he'd heard a lot over the years. Fuck, that's good. A witch. Holy shit. Was this kid for real?

Hell if I know, he added when he'd calmed down enough to go on. She's a chick. Maybe she wants to adopt you or some shit. Or maybe she just wants more free help. Figure you'd probably have to ask her. If she called him family, then probably option one. It was a little creepy if you ask him, though cute (maybe, in a weird way). She'd certainly never called him family. He didn't know whether to be grateful or a little offended, actually.

Ridicule. It was not new to Kiliutak. A different flavor of the same sort of disrespect he had endured throughout his life. This man did not draw his teeth across the boy's skin but the sound of mirth erupting from Zane gave the same effect. Kiliutak winces, internalizing the sentiment.

The thought of being adopted by Kukutux is a strange one. He does not understand what an adoption is, only that she had called him family and had yet to harm him in any meaningful way; at least physically, Kukutux had contained any desire to strike at him.

Kilituak did not know what to do next. He did not want to return to the cliff. He could not linger long within Moonglow lest someone notice him and either he, or Zane, would be in trouble for the laisseze-faire manner of the situation unfolding. He could run, tempt fate — but go where?

Zane was right. He had no options. The uncertainty of the moment plagued him.

Zane could sense his uncertainty, but to him, things were clear enough. He didn't much dwelling on shit like this anyway - it was stupid, stressing yourself out over tomorrow when today there was food to eat and sunlight to enjoy. Dude could drive himself crazy trying to sort out everything that might go wrong.

Look, borders aren't goin anywhere. How about we grab something to eat? I'm fucking starving. Zane got up and stretched. At his age, even lying down in certain positions for a while had repercussions, but he was unbothered. He was still a god-damn catch even with a few creaky steps.

The man came to a surprising conclusion, offering the boy a meal. Kili did not trust this. What could Zane hope to gain from getting him something to eat? Being seen outside of his hovel by anyone else would likely put Kili at-risk to a greater extent; that could have been the man's true aim - or the false expectation that Kili would be more obedient after sharing food with him. The boy calculated various angles that Zane could have been employing within his manipulative schemes but in the end, he felt the hollow ache in his belly and it was far greater a motivator than his suspicion.

Zane led the way - and Kiliutak kept every facet of his attention on-alert for tricks.