Totoka River When the lights go up

hopefully he'd come this far! If not, I can easily shift this.

Flexible in timing <3 for @Kigipigak

Traveling with @Figment and @Bronco again was really, really great.  It felt like the old days, and the only thing missing was Penn.  Except, if Penn were around, doubtless he and the other two would be fighting nonstop and she'd be having to defend his ass-hattery by defusing the inevitable tension.  Some things never changed.

Despite his difficulties, she did miss him and wonder what the fuck kind of trouble he was up to now.  Had he settled down?  God, snort at the mere thought of it.  No way.  Penn!?  He was probably getting his ass kicked from pack to pack and making maybe a couple friends just as useless as him along the way.  And that was the optimistic take.

Fennec nosed her way towards the river and, when she reached it, leaned down to get a drink.  The air smelled super salty but, thankfully, the river water was clear of it.  She'd hate to catch a mouthful of ocean by accident and was staying well back from the coast for that reason.  She could explore there after.

The ocean threw her off last time too and she knew, without a doubt, anywhere with sand was off the table for claims.  She didn't mind traveling through the shit but too long on the beach would drive her absolutely nuts.  There was no constant landscape - everything was changing all the time, and while it was cool to check out what the ocean had to offer, she needed a place she could map.

Finishing, she leaned down further and, on a whim, dunked her entire head into the icy flow.  She held it there for a couple of seconds, then reared back with a gasp.  Holy fuck, yep!! That was the wake up she needed.

After taking some time to heal and to think, Kigipigak made up his mind. He told @Shikoba that he would be traveling away from the hunter's camp for a day or two before his departure, to make sure she had someone else take over his patrols of the herd.

When he departed it was at the crack of dawn one morning. The pearlescent pink shell clutched between his teeth. Kigipigak moved across the marsh until it terminated alongside a ravine, found a shallow point across that, and journeyed beyond, to where the air became rich with salt and he thought he could hear sea birds.

His goal was to find Njord and return the shell to him. It had been childish of Kigipigak to take the thing as a trophy; it had been childish for either man to become so enflamed that they would fight for no reason, too. Without knowing where the man made his camp except the basics (that he was a coastal wolf), Kigipigak was intent on scouring the northern beaches for signs of the redtail.

Kigipigak's hunt appeared to have come to an end as he followed a winding river. There was no sign of the man, but someone else had come trailing through the area recently. He tracked them until the snow thinned; a narrow golden body was perched on the edge of the river, and Kigipigak boofed around the shell as a greeting.

It was only then he realized the stranger's head was submerged. After a few seconds they reared up and back, spraying frigid water everywhere; it was a bold way to fish, if that was the goal. Kigipigak snorted softly, the shell preventing him from his usual laughter, and made his way closer.

She heard him coming from behind as she shook water from her ears, and with a flick of her head she twirled, her claws gripping the bank carefully to avoid spilling into the river. One mistaken step and she'd be drenched.

It's rude to lurk behind someone. Don't you have manners? She slipped into the role easily, giving a confident smile and lifting her head a bit.

She'd found, in her time alone, that others were less likely to mess with a wolf who seemed like they belonged in a given place. Even moreso, the more she projected, the more willing they'd be to believe she was what she claimed. This wolf walked like a traveler - and that meant he walked like a client. She knew the sound of a likely trade when she heard it.

Kigipigak was oblivious to the deformities of the golden wolf, and only huffed when they spoke, spinning towards him. It was a woman; she looked more like a ranger than a warrior, and held no mark of Moonglow or Duskfire; neither did she smell strongly of the sea, but of the forests of the region. A rogue, so far as he could tell.

He took a moment to lay the shell down upon the snow by his feet, light enough that it would not sink in and be lost. It was not my intention to scare you.

That said, Kigipigak did not believe in apologies.

I am looking for someone. He is a puny— already Kigipigak had blundered, and paused before his tongue could let the nickname puny hunter man flow. He is a hunter around my age. Thinner than me. Brown coat, with a tail as red as maple leaves. The obvious question came next. Have you seen him?

I took something from him that I would like to give back. His eyes lingered on the shell.

It was pretty clear from the start that he hadn't noticed her blindness. Fennec never knew, nor had she asked, how some picked up on it and some didn't. It was always interesting to note how interactions shifted, however, and she could usually tell fairly quickly if a wolf knew.

Fennec took a few more steps away from the water and settled into a nonchalant stance. Maybe. I see a lot of things. She smiled as she delivered that cryptic reply, though the entire time she spoke, she was careful to track where he might be moving.

Information comes at a price. I can even tell you your future, but only for a favor in return. It had been a long time since she'd slipped into the tone and mannerisms of the Wraith but it felt good to do it again. Hopefully she hooked him; they were getting close enough to the coast that she wasn't sure how to even find prey here, much less hunt it.

The woman reminded him vaguely of Kukutux in the different manner of her speech, but that was as far as the connection went. This wolf had an unnerving quality to them which Kigipigak did not like.

She roamed a bit, with Kigipigak's attention upon the shell, and when he noticed the white wolf followed after her. There was now a healthy distance between them, clue enough to her effect upon him.

Kigipigak was not a man of superstition; having now lived with Moonglow for many moons, he has taken on a light appreciation for things such as spirits, but does not know how to take the woman's offer of telling his future. It couldn't have been true — but, he was intrigued.

If it means I can find the man I am seeking, I will sit and I will listen. He went on to agree. Kigipigak carefully minded the shell, keeping it between his paws while he sat back in the snow.

What is your price? He would not give up the little ornament that he'd pilfered from Njord, and hoped the golden stranger would have something else in mind.

Fennec knew exactly what she wanted, but she decided to pause for a moment as if considering it. Might as well let him think he was getting a bargain? She liked to change her approach each time she did this, try out new things and see how they worked.

So far she didn't know much about this stranger. He talked like he probably didn't chill much, but outside of the assumed uptight she got from his tone and word patterns, she just knew he was looking for a man. She doubted he was telling the truth on the why, though. No way he stole something and was just giving it back. If that was the case, he was even more of a square.

If you can catch something and bring it to me, then I'll give you what I know. Fennec really only had one piece of information, and while it was (ironically) helpful, she had no way of knowing that. She'd still sell it on the possibility, though, and whatever fortune she felt like giving. This guy could maybe use it. Didn't feel like he had a lot of fun vibes.

A trade of food for information? That was not so bad. Kigipigak did not know if what the woman said would be valuable, but he did not mind the chance to hunt. He had hunted plenty of the large, ill things across the taiga.

Something small for this woman. He could see if any burrows held life, such as sleeping rabbits hiding from winter, or see if he could catch a bird. He was not so quick that it would be easy; plus, he wondered if he should care so much about the word of a stranger that he might throw himself in to this mission.

I will return. He intoned as he turned back, treading the way he had come. His focus was now on the surroundings and what he might find among them.

He was gone for some time. Long enough to perhaps cause doubt in the woman. It appeared as though Kigipigak had withdrawn from the agreement until suddenly, he was appearing again — breathing heavily around the lengthy body of a red-smeared ermine.

This he tossed at the woman when he caught sight of her golden fleece. He did not say anything after, as he was still catching his breath.

Fennec waited with surprising patience, simply listening to all of the sounds around them here.  She got up to wander a few times within the span, but she always returned back to the same space and sat expectantly.  She didn't figure he'd blow off payment, but if he had, she'd leave when the light did.

Sounds like we have a deal.  Fennec didn't bother to turn as she heard him approach.  A reading and information, she decided.  One was what he had paid for, the other for practice.  He was a true stranger... what would the signs even say?

First, there's a pack, north of here along the coast.  You might start there.  He didn't sound like any of the wolves she'd met taking Alyx there, and she doubted her sister would be caught dead associating with someone like this guy.  So she assumed he didn't know it well enough to dispute her claim.

And now, for the second part. I sense that there isn't much you think you need answered. Fennec smirked, deciding to try a new type of confidence out. This was a prediction she hadn't been asked for, so it really was a bit of a favor. But everyone has something they are looking for. That kind of arrogance can stop you from finding it. If you aren't open to something new, you'll be stuck like this forever. It was a bit of a leap, maybe, but Fennec knew by now that no one was completely happy with their life.

She listened carefully for any sign that he was getting aggressive with being called out, but her own tone and delivery remained neutral. She closed her eyes out of habit and took in the scents, sounds, and feelings around her. Mold and decay, just a tinge of it. There was death in your past. Something ended. The wind that carried it whispered past, making her ear twitch. You're keeping secrets, from yourself and from others.

There were roots here, though. But you are at the start of something. Something strong. You might fear being known, percieved for what you are, but don't let the turmoil of others drive you. You'll find what you are looking for, and being known isn't always a bad thing. Fennec's expression shifted into an even wider smirk as she moved her paw and met a root that seemed to be twisted around another one. I see love in your future.

After this she waited, seeing what kind of an effect it would have. Probably unsatisfying, since he didn't seem to be the type to appreciate her craft. But he couldn't say that she'd given him a bum fortune. His was probably one of the most disgustingly optimistic reads she'd gotten in a long time.

interesting!

heart of matter - ten of pentacles
opposing factors - mother of cups
root cause - eight of swords
past - death
goal - seven of swords
future - four of wands
you - ace of pentacles
hopes & fears - daughter of swords
external factors - three of swords
outcome - the lovers

The first thing she did after he returned with the kill, was tell him of a pack. Kigipigak knew vaguely of this pack on the coast but it felt good to have it confirmed, and to be given a direction so that he might find his way. Perhaps this was where Njord did reside — but before he could plot out what to do next, there was more the woman said.

He was not so arrogant as to think himself immune from fate, but to hear this stranger speak of things she did not know and could not know, and with such conviction, was rattling to the man with no faith. The woman sounded more and more like Kukutux; her words were just vague enough to make him think, but also somehow accurate.

Everyone has something they are looking for.

Kigipigak did not think the return of this shell was so important that this applied, and began to think of all the other aspects of his life where such a statement might be true. He sought for himself a place, yes, a person also; someone to guide him, someone to protect and serve, the way he had been meant to.

There was a death in your past.

How could she know if this? He is stunned.

You are keeping secrets.

At this remark he scoffs, bristles a little, and shifts his weight uncomfortably, all signs that she strikes true with her words. How could she know of this? How could she know about Auktuk's demise or of Tartok, without Kigipigak speaking openly about either thing? She was a powerful creature, this woman. More than Kukutux perhaps, which was an unsettling thought by itself.

He listened as she spoke of finding what he sought, and began to detach from the conversation. Her smile made him uncomfortable; it was now that he saw her gleaming eyes, their misted white. Had they always been that way? Perhaps as she recounted her premonition the power of it changed her — but he was uncertain, incredibly unnerved by it all, and would not look her in the eye.

I see love in your future.

Love? He scoffed again, more audibly. No, this woman was nothing like Kukutux. She was something malevolent, preying upon bits and pieces pulled from the aether. What Fennec would see as optimistic Kigipigak would find intrusive and above all, impossible.

Thank-you for the knowledge of the pack, he tersely replied, and looked briefly to the thing he had killed, licking the taste of it out of his mouth and swallowing thickly. Your half of the bargain was in good health when I caught it, unlike much of these wilds. There is sickness in the bigger creatures, so be wary of them. It seemed only fair to share this with her, as she had done the work of a mystic, and perhaps in treating her with care the woman would not curse him on his departure.

No; he would refuse to become the superstitious fool after one conversation. It was still disturbing to Kigipigak, though. He did not say another word, turning to grab the shell he had dropped, and began to disperse.

He didn't seem to buy what she was selling, but he did pay. A lot of scoffing, and shifting, but only time would tell. Of course, she wouldn't know either way how accurate it was. She'd probably never see him again.... and she kind of preferred it that way. It added to the mystery.

She nodded at his warning, but said nothing as she listened to him leave, choosing to instead stare after in a way that she knew some found disconcerting. She never understood why but she took full advantage regardless.

When he'd gone far enough she turned and left, making note to share the news about the prey with Bronco. They might want to watch what they ate then, coming through here.