Stone Circle I think of how to change myself

Veiðadýr (Hunting Fields)
note...
I imagine Sanja is more talkative around Bjarna, so the girl can learn!

Seeking the comfort and companionship of another being, Sanja took to exploring the terrain nd before long she found the cub girl, in the meadow. From afar she could see the pale puff playing with a deer bone.

@Bjarna, sighed the woman as she came upon the child, hurrying in whatever capacity she could manage (which wasn't much faster), and swept her in to a hug. Flowers crushed beneath her body and perfumed the air; it was almost too strong of a scent.

You are dirty! Sanja went on to notice. Her voice was light with mirth; she saw nothing wrong with a little dirt, and was pleased that the girl had been so engrossed in her playtime.
Sanja reaches out to kiss the girl's head and progresses to a few motherly licks, to at least clean the dirt from her cheeks.

whatever had happened with the other rib bone from their excursion had not mattered to the young polar bear girl. she had kept one with her and treasured it greatly. wherever went bjarna, went the stag's rib.

"bjarna,"

she stopped her tossing and toiling with the bone, turning big blue eyes onto none other than mother bear. her trinket would be abandoned in favor of meeting the hug she was given. physical contact was always cherished and favored most among all.

she had not had this with first mother bear.

she had plenty of it here.

she gently leaned into the kisses used to groom her before she declared something very important — you dirty! she offered back through giggles. bjarna no dirty.

despite that fact bjarna was, true and well, dirty.

Her face was clean for a few seconds at most. Her laughter filled the space, and her wriggling only served to mess up the cleaning that Sanja had attempted. The woman laughed too - at the futility of her efforts, and the happiness she saw within the girl.

I missed you, She says as her laughter wears away. They were only apart for a few hours while Sanja had slept and tried to hunt, and the woman felt badly for not bringing anything with her.

Have you seen any deer? This was their favorite place to graze; between the shadows of the forest and these sprawling flowerbeds, it wasn't hard to see why.

bjarna had become a sponge to sanja.

absorbed every bit of knowledge and tried to mimic every thing that her mother bear did. this included her language, both verbal and body. if mother bear hunted, bjarna stayed back and tried the same. if mother bear spooked off others, bjarna tried to mimic such strength.

this was not to say she was good at it.

one. bjarna lifted an oversized paw, aiming to put it up like an antler. big, big ears. if the girl had learned the word for antlers, it eluded her now.

Big, big ears! Sanja wanted to laugh at the mental image; but she did not want to dissuade the girl from speaking, or learning, and so she was only happy to have the knowledge.

Perhaps she could tell Inkeri; but one wolf could not take an entire deer themselves, she thought. Even the man who had helped her, he could not do it without her own involvement.

The laughter in her heart diminished when she remembered the trade with @Colt.

Hungry? She asked Bjarna.
Maybe sister Inkeri has found something.

hungry.

she echoed with a nod. although instead of moving she nuzzled into the side of mother bear. a yawn, more of comfort rather than any tiredness.

mama adventures, she cooed, rolling her head to peer at mother bear from an upside down angle. where go?

It pained her to think that the girl was hungry and that she could not adequately provide. The last decent meal they had shared - the buck - had been consumed days ago, and what was left would only rot. Sanja considered seeking the male again - provided he was amicable to helping them - and then immediately shut that train of thought down; what more could she trade?

But the girl was not so focused on food. Bjarna burrowed against Sanja and the woman was easily distracted.

Well, let's see.. I went to the forest, and the creek. Then I went to the stones, oh! She remembered the woman there. I met a lady named Taktuq there. She is staying with us now.

taktuq.

this word was familiar, in an odd way. one she could recall but not place much meaning to. what had that word meant exactly?

taktuq?

this she echoed with a curious look, expecting mother bear to give more meaning.

who was this she that carried the familiar word?

I think she likes the stones, Sanja went on to explain. She did not yet realize how important the circle was to Taktuq, or that the woman had lived in this place before.

I think she will be happy here. It is quiet. There are things for her to hunt, and maybe if we are nice she will share what she catches.

The woman smiled and watched the bear-child, finding peace in her company.

bjarna likes stones. she mumbled back into the crook of mother bear. content with the answer, uncertain that taktuq was once a mother bear to her too.

be nice, share stones. she nodded in understanding. paws smushed up into herself as she curled up tightly. it was not hard to share. not now, when mother bear provided everything for her that she could want. all of it certainly more than she originally had.

mama like taktuq?

Mama like 5aktuq?

Her heart was in her throat. Her face grew warm in an unpleasant way, but the rest of her flooded with dopamine and other hormones when she heard the bear-girl speak.

Yes, mama likes Taktuq. She answers.

Mama. Now was a good time to get used to the idea.