Duskfire Glacier sonraun

she hadn't left druid's side. 
and she hadn't gone back to rivenwood.
something terrible had happened there. her heart broke for mahler, for wylla, for witch and sequoia; she hoped that whatever had befallen the bypass would not come here.
druid was asleep. heda crept wearily to find water at the meltwater lake.
it was there that she began to cry, hoarse, choking sobs that she attempted to hide as her tears fell into the cold surface.

Although this was not his home, Kigipigak had come to know it pretty well since the villages had worked together. Now he was a guest here with his wife. It seemed only fitting that, while Sakhmet spent time with Lane and the others, he should be at work.

Kigipigak was careful of where he went. He did not want to overstay his welcome or disrupt the natural order of this village. When he went for a late patrol it was to the lakefront, and it was there he found a familiar figure... Except that she wasn't meant to be here, he remembered. This was one of the girls from the hunt who had visited from Rivenwood.

Hail, he softly greeted, unaware that the curve of the girl's body was due to grief, or that the shaking of her shoulders was from sobbing and not cold, or work upon the shore. As he got close enough to hear the cries, he felt suddenly out of place.
Oh. I... I am intruding. He ducked his head slightly, and turned away.

when her head rose, it was to see the moonglow hunter. but they had moved on and the man remained. knowing nothing of the goings-on between the leaders of this pack and the happenings of the other, she sniffed back her tears and furiously wiped at her face. 
"no, no, it's okay. it's — the lake isn't mine."
heda swallowed and stood up, tail waving with a welcome she didn't feel. "my sister is sick. she —" the girl looked in the direction of rivenwood.
"something happened there."

As she hid her feeling and tidied herself, Kigipigak kept his gaze averted. She was all apologies until the truth came, and even then it was broken apart in a way that made the man of Tartok at once curious and concerned.

He looked where she directed, towards Rivenwood, and then back to her. Your village.

What could have happened? Mahler was an older man but a strong one, and last Kigipigak had heard, all was well there.

He sinks to his haunches. Have you eaten? There is little else he can offer her besides a hot meal, if such a thing still exists in this place after the illness has swept through. He is frowning as he adds a bit roughly, Your sister... she will be alright. Lane is greatly skilled.

Besides that, Kigipigak doesn't know how to help.

abruptly heda was angry, finished with the conversation, and annoyed with kigipigak for continuing a discourse she had started. "not hungry," she mumbled, turning her golden eyes onto him for a moment. the girl padded forward more quickly, leaving the lake behind, wending her way in the direction of the borders.
she nodded sharply at what kigipigak said. he was right. but heda didn't want to talk about it anymore.
"will you spar me again?" she asked, facing him. the wind clawed at her blood-red hackles.
and despite her sudden icy demeanour, heda's gaze was pleading.

He had hoped to quell some of her anger with a meal. To show he cared, that there were others around to help; but his words only burned through her.

Kigipigak did not know what else to offer. She as the one to come to that conclusion: offering her own terms. A spar. It was not wise to fight when angry but Kigipigak would not forbid her this. Boys did it often, and she had a legitimate reason.

He moved to square off against her, watching the wave of her spine. As you wish.

she was grateful that kigipigak agreed, and shot him a look that said as much. this time she only took a second to position herself before she was launching toward the white wolf. her jaws did not open until she was close, and she flung them up, aiming for the lofty place of his ear.
heda fought to keep calm, to keep her control present, apparent, even while her mind whirled.

Even in this dance, this battle, Kigipigak would not hold back.

He saw the fever of rage within Heda and other things he could not name. They infected the way she walked, the way she postured. They blurred her vision and the rest of her feeling; she fought against herself more than anyone.

Kigipigak took his time and paced until he saw an opening, whether she gave him one or she slackened in the instant didn't matter, and then he lunged.

kigipigak was measured in his strength.
he struck her broadside with bruising force; the girl went down. the breath smashed from her lungs and she lay at his fee, gasping.
slowly she gathered herself up, groaning and staggering. but her body recovered swiftly. heda shook the snow off her coat and circled to the left, shutting her mouth from a pant as she rushed the man again.

Kigipigak would not use his teeth in this fight. He put himself at that disadvantage on purpose; not to protect her body, but to protect Heda's spirit. She was already hurting from the news of her home being ransacked, and the fear over her friend. He did not want to turn her anger upon him even as an outlet.

As she circled him Kigipigak drew away, until she rushed for him, and then he moved towards her rapidly and wove to the other side. He moved to grapple with her with his forelimbs (like a hug) and shove her back, which also opened him up for retaliation from teeth.

If that was what she needed to do, he would give her the chance.

heda took the opportunity. as kigipigak's heavy forelimbs settled like the glacier itself around her slender shoulders, she arched and snapped toward the juncture of ear to cheek. 
perhaps it was her awareness. perhaps it was her respect. heda did not want to draw blood and so only dragged her teeth through his fur. she tried to rip away from the man, stumbling with a growl and driving her shoulder toward his chest.
her long forelegs tangled. she went down in a clumsy heap.

She snapped for him fitfully, and teeth grazed through his fur without the malice Kigipigak had expected. He should have known better than to anticipate rage from this girl; she was hurting and she was stressed, but she had more sense than to dole out those feelings indiscriminately. She was more composed than he was, at her age.

Pulling away after, they were a tangle of limbs. Shoulder meets chest, briefly winded; he turned his head to suck a breath as she curled in to a ball, or something close to one, and was a bundle in the snow at his feet. He found his feet quickly enough and knew the hit had been good - Kigipigak knew what a fresh bruise could feel like.

He was panting. Watching her, not yet submitting. Kigipigak waited to see if she would get up and joust with him again or let herself fall prey to exhaustion - and he did not know which he would prefer.

heda lay there for a long moment.
her golden eyes were upon the sky.
and then slowly tears began to trickle from her eyes, silent, trailing backwards toward her ears. they pooled uncomfortably around her ruff.
"i wish i was strong enough to go home."
heda's voice was soft. she felt like a coward; her fighting abilities supported this.

The girl did not rise to strike for him again. He watched her without scrutiny, without judgement. She lay sprawled on her back; her voice was strained with emotion.

This was not something Kigipigak knew how to handle. Tartok was a place of strong emotions sometimes, yes, but it was not an aspect that was cultivated within himself. His mother had been shrewd as she'd grown her family.

You are young. You will only get stronger. He murmured as he settled to his haunches. He did not know if that was the right thing to say -- to insinuate that he agreed with her, that she was weak now; because she wasn't at all.

I will go. His voice was quiet but empowered, certain. There is a small group leaving from Duskfire to investigate. I will go and I will tell you what I find. But only if that was what Heda wished. If she could not be there herself, Kigipigak could make the trip.

"okay."
the anger was mixing with pain; she felt bruised inside and out, and suddenly wanted to cry harder than she was now. but not in front of anyone.
not in front of him.
"okay, thanks. and thanks for the spar," heda said, flinging herself upright stumbling around kigipigak. "i'm sorry — thank you for going to rivenwood," she tried to clarify, voice breaking at the last.
and then heda did run away, run and run until she could be in the furthest recesses of the glacier, where not a single soul could hear the broken sobbing that erupted from her throat like vomit.