Ouroboros Spine All the missing, crooked parts.

When Ciri had left Noctisardor Bypass, her father had been gravely ill. She painfully recalled the rattling within his chest, the bark of his never-ending cough. It'd haunted her for many months following her departure. Guilt had consumed her and she'd tried her best to convince herself that Mahler would not have wanted her to watch him suffer. He'd be long dead, she believed, and the swallow deserved to live.

She had done just that, and learned to make peace with her troubled past. She'd ventured far and wide, saw much of the world, though ultimately her heart lead her back to the lands of her birth. Ciri, fast approaching her third year, recognised that she did not want to be alone forever. She wished to create something she herself had never had: a family built on stability, and she wished to seek it in the lands where she'd deserved to find joy.

Snow fell softly, lingering in the obsidian furs of her dorsal, and she located the territory where Moonspear's survivors had gathered. @Kukutux had offered her kindness there once, long ago when she'd been a yearling, and she was hopeful that she would be welcomed with that same warmth. Ciri hovered at the outskirts of her land and sent forth an announcement, a smoky request for an audience.

!!!

the scarred seal-hunter listened. 
he had been thinking of going on another hunt and perhaps returning with a fine pelt. many women here wore them. perhaps he might catch their eye if he had an elegant fur as well. 
here he had heard of spirit-visions, for boys. he was a seal hunter man in his village. but was he only a boy here?
these things weighed heavily on him. chakliux was glad for the distraction of the call. in the way of a hunter taking up his weapon, his throat thrummed with sound and he paced to the border in a confident way. 
this one called for the moon mother. he grinned a white smile and approached with a friendlier air. "another daughter to the moonwoman?" his eyes saw the dark earth beauty of her frame and the way she too bore the eyes of sun yellow. but not a hawk, like sialuk. hers were the color worn by the great cats who dared stalk out on the ice after seals as well.

When a pale figure entered her line of sight, Ciri lifted her gaze and smiled brightly. She was quick to assume them to be the Moonwoman herself, though it became clear to her as they neared that this wolf was far taller and broader. The swallow's expression wavered and her anticipation was swiftly replaced by disappointment, though she was quick to collect herself. Her vibrant eyes glistened with kindness as she regarded he who'd answered her call, and she offered a friendly sway of her dark tail.

I am not, she answered, though we are family, somehow... Kukutux had assured her of that, once. Ciri had never inquired as to how it was they were bonded, though she recalled her having bore the Ostrega name. A cousin of her mother, perhaps, or having wed into her bloodline.

family but not a daughter. chakliux sensed in her lack of reaction to him that she was upon an errand of some intensity. "come. i will take you to her ulaq."
the hunter set off along the path visible beneath the snow, drummed down by many paws by now. it traced along with the sister oaks to the right and the lake to their left. 
as he walked, the brash young wolf could not stop himself from stealing small looks at her. he had seen her first smile unfurl, after all. "i am chakliux. the women of my seal hunter family are cousins-by-marriage to the people of kukutux, who are called the sunshine people."
he wondered if geneaologies were of interest to this poised young ground-caller.

He did not wait with her for the Alphess, but instead offered to take her to her. Ciri pricked her raven lobes in surprise, having not expected such trust in her words from a stranger. There was plenty of reason for him to doubt her claim, for she and Kukutux looked nothing alike. Sunflower eyes followed the alabaster wolf as he shifted, making to lead her away, and after a moment of hesitation she found herself padding along quietly at his rear.

I am Ciri, she offered when he shared with her a name: Chakliux. He carried on to explain that he was in some way related to Kukutux' kin, though it was the mention of "seal-hunting" that captured the swallow's attention. She brightened, intrigued: you came from the coast?

chakliux looked toward a returning band of hunters. the scent of blood played beautifully upon the air. it mingled with the crisp astringency of a new herbal mixture. voices carried in laughter.
all that was not present among these familiar sounds were the cries and shouting of children.
"yes. my people live very near to the sea. we build our lodges from ice. and we walk out upon the salt water when it is frozen and hunt the seals."
"it is a good day for a man when he kills a seal!" chakliux exulted. soon they would be in the small bare clearing that marked the beginning of the moonwoman's large densite. he did not want to go, not yet, and looked for her lion's-eyes. "maybe if you stay, you will join me in hunting?"

He glanced off to the side and Ciri's hawk eyes followed, swift to find others as they moved. She blinked, curious; her nose twitched to the scent of blood on the Winter air, reminding her of how empty her belly had felt in recent days. It was not something she wished to dwell on, not with other matters that required her attention. She glanced toward Chakliux once more, eager to hear of his tales from the sea, and her interest was piqued.

He and his kind had walked on frozen water. Ciri had never known the salt waters to solidify, and she wondered of this mysterious land from which the pale-furred man hailed. Fascinated, she waited for more, but instead Chakliux questioned her willingness to hunt. Oh, yes she said quickly, no seals around these parts, though. We'll have to choose a different prize. Ciri emitted a breath of laughter.

i will post w kuku after chakliux then he will be dismissed <3

he laughed, a playful and boyish sound. "good. i will come to find you when you have decided."
chakliux spoke no more, pulling his brightberry eyes from that of the woman and sending a low sound up to catch the moonwoman's attention.
"hiyi, this one says you are family, village mother. so i have brought her to you," the xi said radiantly toward the leader of moonglow. he stepped back now, wondering if truly kukutux would recognize the other.

layers of deerskin lay across her haunches. moonwoman was smoothing the final tufts along the soft side. they had been cured; she ran her paws across the surfaces, searching for any sign of rot or loose hairs beneath the finery.

there were none.

the seal-hunter sounded for her eyes. kukutux raised them, shielding her eyes with a paw. and then he was speaking, and her own spring-jade gaze was upon that of the girl ciri, who had become a woman.

still thin, still carrying something but perhaps all women did. moonwoman smiled broadly into that familiar beautiful face. the last time they had spoken it had been one of sorrow and hardship and death.

"sialuk has made a green thing out of moonspear. the mountain heals."

and now ciri returned to the places below it. moonwoman looked at chakliux and her eyes sent him away. these words were not for him nor for any other man.

Chakliux laughed with her, and it was like music. Ciri had enjoyed his company however brief it'd been, and found herself looking forward to hunting with him come evening. She rather appreciated the idea of being found.

There was no time to let her imagination stray, however, for Kukutux was presented before her. The swallow's focus turned to the Moonwoman, as radiant and beautiful as she remembered, and her muzzle was dipped in a silent, respectful greeting.

Her escort was dismissed, and Kukutux spoke at once of Moonspear. She had not spoken of the mountain in a long time, not since her time spent among Rivenwood's claim of the faraway bypass, and she had not expected the sharpness within her breast. It brings me comfort to hear it, she answered with a smile that didn't quite reach the yellow of her irises, and I am happy to see you again, Kukutux.

kukutux tested the girl with a word and saw something beneath the burnished gold of ciri's eyes. "it is good to see your face again." she gently pulled the furs from her lap and set them aside, rising to move with gentle motions around and inside the ulaq.

"it is a beautiful time that you have chosen to come," moonwoman remarked, bringing a piece of fresh liver and fat from along a deer-stomach, placed upon a strip of bark.

this she set at ciri's feet and then resumed her own spot.

"you have traveled far?" came moonwoman's soft inquiry.

There was no more talk of Moonspear, and for that the swallow was thankful. She let herself slacken somewhat, watching with quiet curiosity as the Moonwoman rose to busy herself within the hollow. The stirring of meat released its scent into the warm air of the den and, allowing herself to settle to her haunches, still and polite as Kukutux delivered a morsel before her.

She helped herself, then licked at her lips as she lifted her vibrant eyes to seek the Alphess', glimmering with gratitude. Yes, she confirmed, content to relax for a time, and I have seen enough. I wish to make a home and, someday, a brief pause, during which the wandered glanced down at her paws with a hint of awkwardness, I hope to raise a family.

a family.

ciri had come back to put down her feet into the ground and become anaa.

kukutux smiled gently. "someday comes on swifter wings than it sounds," moonwoman said. quietly she felt that many meals of good fat and a consistent sleeping-place would brighten ciri in many ways.

"the young women and the young hunters danced together, not so many nights ago. several of my daughters will marry this year. if it is your want, ciri, i will help you in this."

She'd tried to hide it, her discomfort, but failed. To hear of how the women and hunters of Moonglow had "danced" together so recently made Ciri flush hot beneath the silken fur of her raven cheeks; she did not dare meet the Moonwoman's eye. Her heart quickened in her chest, a wild thing, and it was painful to think how such a conversation about the future should've been one shared with her mother.

The swallow inhaled a shaky breath. She found her courage once more, and blinked up past her dark lashes. How? Ciri asked, genuinely wishing to know how one could help her in choosing a mate. She and her sister had suffered in the absence of a stable family unit - she yearned to be loved, to be The One. For something raw and something real.

"first you ask yourself why you want to be mother and wife."

for her own heart? for the mountain?

"then you find peace in this choice."

kukutux watched the younger woman as she spoke.

"if it is yes, you have want for yourself, for yourself, ciri, then you come to me. you tell to my ears what sort of man you seek. i will find you names. all that is left is to make a meeting."

a pause.

"it is easier for a daughter to choose or to make no choice when the women of her village are close. it is safer for her, to make this choice, to even lie with a man if she wishes. to be a wife is a sacred thing. that is why it is wise for the older mothers to offer this guiding to those who will follow them."

She listened, her eyes wide and unblinking as the Moonwoman responded at length. It all seemed so complicated to her. Ciri had considered the possibility of motherhood fleetingly the previous year, with the arrival of her first season. Back then, it was not something she wanted. She didn't even understand what it was that sparked the desire in her that urged her to stop moving, to root herself someplace. The swallow exhaled slowly, considering her own mother and wondering if it'd been loneliness that served as the reason behind she and Elke's existence.

Ciri had been lonely, even when surrounded by many of her Ostrega family. What she craved was not just whelps with which to occupy herself, but a husband she could rely on. Someone who'd care for her, who she could love with her whole heart.

She had time, however. It was not a decision she wished to rush headfirst into, and something she hoped would come to her organically. Ciri didn't want to rely on Kukutux' matchmaking skills, though the offering of her assistance was kind. The dark Ostrega smiled again, her feathered tail swishing at the den floor in lazy gratitude.

You have always been good to me, she mustered softly, thinking back to her arrival at Moonspear's borders when she and her sister had been greeted with such warmth by the mountain's pack; I am so very grateful.

ciri did not say yes and kukutux would not offer it again, lest this become a pressure and not a blessing. "it brings my heart joy to see that you have comfort and kindness." her tones were genuine.

"stay a time with us, to the start of spring," the duck urged, pulling deerskins back to their place over her thighs. "i will teach you our trades and our hunting. and moonglow will welcome the choice that you make."

be it to leave again swiftly as she had before, or stay for a time; the village would stand.

Kukutux spoke again, and Ciri's smile grew watery. She felt suddenly emotional and a discomfort pricked behind her eyes. Recognising the threat of tears, the raven Ostrega blinked and inhaled sharply, attempting to regain control as she lifted her chin. Thank you, she said softly, and looked forward. Moonglow had opened its arms to her, with ease, just as Moonspear once had. She hoped to find herself deserving of the opportunity.

I will stay. And I'll think on your offer, she carried on, not wishing for the Alphess to think her unappreciative of her guidance in her hope for companionship. Kukutux moved to cover herself once more and Ciri, seeing it as a desire to rest, gathered to her paws. She bowed her head and sought the Moonwoman's face once again before excusing herself to find a place where she could make a hollow of her own.

kukutux would not keep her so long.

she nodded once to ciri with great pleasure in her eyes.

those same watched the younger woman as she walked away. and as kukutux went back to her work, it was not a chant of leather and good skin which touched her lips now, but a prayer for peace, sung to the very heart of the dark girl.