Ouroboros Spine a creature, that i am

i left this all welcome so no pressure! <3

he seeks @Sakhmet, carrying betwixt his shoulders a soft, piercing weight of shame that as he trains and works to make himself important to moonglow that he has neglected his mother. still, he loves her with the ferocity that any son can love his mother, and with kigipigak's again departure assumably back to the tartok wolves of his birth place, he feels a deeper guilt that he has not stopped in his grind to check in on her.

he aims to end that this morning, making his way through the spine in search of her, pausing now and then to dispel the light snow that clings to his winterfur.

She had softened some since her return from the coast. Close she kept a dark fur as she worked at the frozen earth. Softly she formed and rounded the makeshift of a den.

Nothing could have stopped her.

Save for the soft presence of her son's approach. She was not blind to the way he had grown, the things he had done with such greatness.

Silently, she moved to offer a kiss to his head. Even as he stood over her now!

kivaluk lets out a low, affectionate croon of greeting as his mother comes into his view, tilting his head down to welcome the kiss she leaves there. he butts his skull against her muzzle lightly: reminiscent of how he might've done it as a cub to her leg. for a moment, he allows himself to feel small, to draw comfort in her presence before guilt barrels in like a bull in a china shop.

kivaluk's ears flutter back to rest at half mast atop his skull and he pulls back some, frostbound gaze studying her.

i'm sorry i haven't spent much time with you lately, words threatened to tangle in his throat, with his breath. with kigipigak's departure and akkuma's! how are you doing, mama?

Oh, don't apologize. She thought to wave off the idea that she needed one. You have been busy, I've heard. Secondhunter, hm? Her eyes crinkled with a soft smile, a light of pride in her gaze.

What did she have to show for her lacking presence? Not much.

I've been...okay. It was hard to hide. Harder to dwell upon. I went with Kukutux to the coast. Perhaps we should make that trip too sometime.

If he wanted! He was hardly her little boy anymore.

despite her reassurance, kivaluk offers a soft, apologetic frown. still, he hedges. it's no excuse. he hadn't meant to block her out while he was working through his own warring emotions and making himself useful to moonglow. yeah, he lets out a breath, disbelief heavy in the exhale. it's kind of crazy. he admits; humbled and amused. but i'm eager to keep proving that it's not wrongfully trusted.

i'd love that, mama. kivaluk tells her with a soft wag of his tail.

He was growing into a steadfast man.

Sakhmet saw much of his father, Kigipigak, in him. A soft winding pain in her heart. One that she had to gently set aside in favor of the growing boy before her.

It could never be wrongfully trusted in you. You have humility for it already. And she was proud that he had not let it go to his head already. Although his duty had always seemed to come first.

Sometimes it worried her.

Maybe we can both test our hunting skills on the coast? The land is different there, the prey is too! I swear I saw these...weird, round beasts. Probably good for winter fat. A seal. She had not the proper name and could only laugh in her own disbelief.

a soft smile tugs at the corners of kivaluk's lips at sakhmet's words; tail wagging softly. it feels good to be praised, like the soft flutter of fingers thru his fur, but he is careful not to let ego grow into arrogance about it. he knows that he still has a lot to learn, a lot of growing to do yet.

holding onto that helps to keep him grounded.

yeah! that'd be fun. kivaluk agrees eagerly. d'you think we could take down one of those weird, round beasts? he asks using sakhmet's provided terminology for it.

tags for thought reference <333

Could they?

Why...

I bet we will. You are growing so strong! And I can be a quick-footed herder for you.

She did not know why her heart skipped in her chest and she thought of hunting with @Colt and @Amalia when the former had returned to the riverside. When he had promised to hunt a dark beast and —

She sunk back into her place in time.

Come on, She motioned softly. I wonder if we can see the sea from the spine's heights.

i look forward to it. he says with a boyish grin, excited by the prospect of both spending time with her and being able to hunt with her.

at her invitation, kivaluk follows. what's the sea like, mama? kivaluk asks as they walk, trying and failing to picture it. having never been there he isn't sure what to expect of it despite that it's a bigger version of the qeya river.

How to describe it!

It is...endless! The water stretches out as far as you can see, but it is so cold like the river. She wondered if it was that way year round, maybe. Always a cold reprieve for any seadwellers. Such a thought enchanted her, much like the taiga. You can't drink the water like the rivers and lakes, though.

You'd find it hard to believe that it's just beyond the mountains and trees!

She looks to him now, wondering if he finds excitement in it too.

it was strange to hear that he could not drink seawater.

oh, is drawn from betwixt kivaluk's lips, buoying his confusion. why not? he asks his mother next, not bothering to tamper his curiosity; seemingly endless.

admittedly, kivaluk struggles to imagine the sea, with it's strange creatures, undrinkable water and endless stretch. this inability to conjure any sort of mental imagery draws a soft frown upon his lips.