Ouroboros Spine you don't recall our house near the ocean

@Kukutux for leadership visiblity <3
music

She had spent a night in the woods below by herself.

It had felt like her birthplace for a long while in the dark. Some part of her mourned that too. How Akkuma had seemed so Melonii in his moments. A twist of Sobek and Anasi, names that had not even parted her lips in what must be years.

So she mourned them and her son into the early hours.

As sunlight sent long shadows over the woods, she began the last leg of journey. Up slopes she had crossed once before. Twice before. Thrice.

She could not keep track of how many times she ventured and roamed. Youth had her believe it had been desired, wished for. Instead she realized she lost bits and pieces of herself each time. This time had been the biggest loss. A whole part of her had been lost in an emotional landslide.

It showed upon her face as she reached borders. The scents of @Kigipigak prominent along them.

For a moment she could only stand, looking down upon slopes. The woods and water.

She could not tell if it was peace or apathy.

sivullik would find her, the scent rings familiar to her but nothing of Moonglow. she knows her face, seeing her in the circle of women time and time again when nativgik and Moonglow had embraced each other with past trips. her name is not clear, but her face is.

shikoba has been busy with her constant prowling and remarking of the borders. today is no different, though the wife of kigipigak was upon the spine instead of a nameless wanderer. the native would see the hurt that seems pained onto the colorful visage of the other beautiful woman. a quiet chuff, an offer of greeting and comfort that sakhmet was not alone in her struggles.

can delete if you'd like for kuku or kigi to respond first! <3

shikoba is perffff

The face of a woman.

Sakhmet had felt the important of the women in her life time and time again. The warmth of Shikoba was not lost upon the once Issumatar.

Who quickly tossed herself towards the other woman. Seeking comfort in the physical and wishing to be all at once wrapped up in Moonglow.

she did not expect the sudden embrace.

but shikoba knew well enough that it was something that was yearned for. ever since she birthed mojag, she'd become more aware of what others felt. not due to her inability to understand, not due to the lack of caring before. but simply it was something she just truly never really focused on. feelings were primal and elementary for her, and shikoba tended to endure the ones of aggression, complacency, and in rare moments, joy. 

but now that she was anaa, she knew of the several faces of emotion. and she knew that the one sahkmet wore needed something more than words could offer. 

shikoba envelops her the best she can, whispering in the words she learned from moon woman to comfort the lost issumatar. quietly, shikoba welcomes her home and promises her safekeeping. she would remain here for however long she was needed, enveloping her in all of the warmth she can offer from her small body.

If she cried, it was silent. Buried within Shikoba and Moonglow. It felt as thought she had paid a price for all the times she had left. To have her own son have to leave.

She did not know how long she was there, pressed against the hunter.

Eventually her voice broke.

I want to be home.

"i want to be home."

"you are, sister."

shikoba would not pull away from sakhmet, but she would position herself to be a guiding hand for the woman. back to their ulax, their home, her husband, and her family. shikoba would take a slow pace and allow for sakhmet to set the pace that was comfortable. she would aim for the path towards quiet, one where she knew less wolves traveled, in hopes of not overwhelming the woman.

but eventually, she would call for @Kigipigak, in hopes that his presence might be something more familiar than what shikoba could offer to the woman.

Sister.

Yes, they were sisters, weren't they? Hunters that had shared blood among the food of their villages. Sakhmet ached to be in such a place again. The taiga whispered to her, but she could not answer it.

She was needed here.

With @Kivaluk and @Kigipigak — the parts of her hear that still remained. Her eyes darted to and fro in search for them. Shikoba called and Sakhmet had nearly forgotten, in all the tears, that she had a voice too.

Hoarsely it vibrated into the air too.

Asking for her husband and son to come back to her.

the call rose for his father and then his mother's voice joined in; rising on the wind for him. his heart stutters in his chest; aching. had she returned? had akkuma? though, kivaluk cannot help the creep of doubt that his brother's ...aches could be balmed so quickly. not much time had passed — or so this was how it feels to kivaluk. the truth was it could've been weeks and they all blended together to be one indecipherable blob of time.

his long legs carry him towards where the call(s) had risen.

mama? he asks tentatively, forgetting that he is almost a man grown with the small tremble of his lip and flutter of his ears, slicking back atop his skull. in that brief moment he feels small again; a boy needing his mother. his gaze scours her side for akkuma and feels his brother's absence with a keen stab betwixt his ribs. is akkuma not with you? he inquires, though he can plainly see the answer for himself.

it shouldn't surprise him but kivaluk realized that he'd held onto that small flicker of hope all the same.

I havent got internet yet, so this is a cameo!

Soon after their relocation, a voice carries to his ears. Kigipigak experiences a myriad of feelings when he recognizes that voice: elation, followed by concern, followed by a distinct heartache that is so strong he is nearly knocked off his feet.

As he moves steadily towards the border where Sakhmet waits, Kigipigak cannot help the sense of shame that arrives upon him; days before Natigvik had stood strong, and now the remnants struggled to integrate.

He spied Kivaluk first, and saw that he approached two figures - one, the sivulik, while the other was Sakhmet. Their other son was not there.

Kigipigak stopped. He knew in his heart he could go no further; the heartache felt like an infection, seeping through him. He would watch the reunion from a distance instead. There were questions he could not ask. Feelings he dared not entertain. So while Kivaluk welcomed his mother, Kigipigak held off - mourning what was, as he turned away.

the boy comes with confusion.

the husband hides within the shadows.

the sister is there to hold her steady. shikoba is unsure what to make of this but knows that the lost issumatar is now at least home. to shikoba, that must be enough to please her aching heart. when asked about akkuma, shikoba would shake her own head as an answer. only sahkmet was at the borders, no one else.

she would invite for the boy to come closer, perhaps even take her place in supporting the other woman if he beckoned for it. if not, shikoba would aim to allow them to reunite at their own pace, and perhaps guide them back to the ulax if desired.

It hurts all over again.

A blinding, brilliant pain in her chest and mind.

I'm sorry, Kivaluk... Her voice crumbled in her own throat. She could feel it, that familiar burn at her eyes even as her body begs for relief. She has no more tears left to cry! Yet still her body mustered up that last ounce of energy, of hydration.

She felt undeserving of her only remaining son at that moment.

kivaluk is quiet as sakhmet apologizes, ears twitching when her voice wavers. there is a gamut of emotions that flood within kivaluk's chest then. guilt and anger in contention for the lead and most dominate of them.

mama — he croons, voice cracking with thick, unspoken emotions: not wanting her to carry the burden of akkuma's decisions or his disappointment. neither was hers' to bear.

you are not responsible for akkuma's decisions. not anymore. they were old enough to make them for themselves and akkuma had made his long ago, following along the path he'd set for himself since kigipigak's trip back to his birth home.

the love of his brother and mother — and father — were not enough and though that smarts and stings mercilessly like a wound refusing to heal, kivaluk is determined not to carry it. he would do as he's always done: soldier on. do not be sorry for him.

late reply so sorry, last from me <3

there were words spoken, tears that were still endlessly shed. shikoba was quiet through all of this, though when it seemed like things could move on, she'd encourage for the boy to lead his mother to the site of the ulaq. shikoba herself would ensure to see Kukutux after this in order to bring the news of the returned mother and wife. hopefully, this news would delight moon woman.

but until then, she'd remain as helpful as she could be. for kivaluk, for sakhmet, for the last remaining bits of nativgik.