Honeyed Pasture ma

the seal hunter went out into the rain and looked for the eldest son and brother of his lodge.
he called quennell's name.
he descended from the high places of moonspear into a long stretch of lower land, walking alone beneath the black emptiness of a night studded with grey clouds.

Heph was wandering at night, a new challenge a way to traverse. But she had explored much of the coast and had begun going south on her ventures. She heard a call, not for her name, but curiosity got the better of her and she saw a white wolf with bright eyes and a set of scars "I'm not the one you're calling but I couldn't help but be curious about such an enticing voice." Her eyes adjusted and she could better see the wolf before her, her own gaze was curious but not penetrating.

focused as he was, chakliux was still a man. the woman's voice raised his head. "iguvak annak," he said in greeting, voice suffusing with admiration.
he saw not only a striking look but the cast of a hunter to this one.
"i am from village moonspear. what is the place you call your own, grey duck woman?" chakliux asked, translating his earlier words.

Her ears perked at his translation and at the mention of Moonspear. It was not a place she had visited but she knew of its existence. She was quick to introduce herself, "Ahh, I'm Heph from Moontide." Though his scars might have indicated a fighter the cast of his stance and the balance of his gait would have had her guess differently. Perhaps he was following herds? Her voice was warm and bright in return, but filled with a real curiosity.  "What luck brings you so far north?" While she would hardly complain of the opportunity to meet an ally and with a pleasing countenance aside she was under the impression that Moonspear was further to the south of Moonglow.

"the oldest son of my lodge has gone missing. i have gone out to find him. he is a far-walker. so i must be too, if he is to be discovered." chakliux had grown somber. he touched the earth with a contemplative forepaw. "moontide is the name of samani's village. moonspear is the name of sialuk's village. both are daughters to the moonwoman." he looked at her. "are you their kin also?"

Heph shook her head with a brief smile. While she considered herself close with Samani and Rodyn they were not related through blood. "No, just a friend and packmate." But her expression turned more serious when she considered the new words from this stranger. While it might be that his son had simply decided to disperse, a not uncommon decision for young wolves coming into their own, it was still alarming to simply have someone disappear. "I'm sorry to hear your son is missing." Her tone was honest although perhaps not fully warm as her thoughts changed gears, offering some explanation. "I often find myself traveling on behalf of Moontide, if you give me a description and name I will make sure to get word to Moonspear should I come across him." She was not sure whether he would accept her offer, but even if their packs had not been connected she would have said the same. A single wolf could only cover so much ground at a time and she was in a better position than many others to travel far and wide.

"he has red fur. yellow eyes. he has no tail, and wounds that are healing." chakliux squatted down in his path for a moment, resting. "he is not the son of my body. but he is child to my home, and brother to me. so i must find him."
the seal hunter looked to the woman again. "i am chakliux." his eyes were still interested upon her. "what is village moontide like?"

Heph nodded at the description. While there might be other wolves like it she doubted they would bear his name and history so she felt confident in her ability to recognize the wolf if they did meet. "I hope you do or he returns soon." Listening to his other questions she stifled a full-out laugh at his introduction, managing to reduce it to a brief chuckle. That name.

Her eyes glimmered as she spoke, voice light and vivacious, a bit teasing in its honesty. "Chakliux, I see. I'll confess I was warned about you. A charming bearing and a skilled hunter, I can see you live up to at least one of those things." She glanced him over as if she had not already confirmed her assessment. But she answered his question, unsure of what exactly he sought, honest nonetheless. "Moontide is well, Rodyn and Samani have gathered friends and family around them so it is a very warm place even if small in number. We don't have many warriors, but some good hunters and good hunting on our territory as well as to the west and east. The wolf that Sialuk brought us seems to be doing well." She added the last, not knowing how much Moonspear wished to know about Marina but offering nonetheless.

his teeth dazzled in a flashing smile, and his vanity wondered who it had been that spoke of him. samani — her gentle seashine face came to his mind as the woman heph shared of moontide.
she shared much. but the villages were led by sisters, and so this was not uncommon.
the place beside the sea was one of family, a culture also in moonspear and moonglow. it pleased chakliux to have so many so close. "who was brought to you?" chakliux asked of the wolf with a flattering tongue, stepping closer so that she might see the cut of his scars.

He shifted closer, but they had conversed for a short time and were from packs aligned with each other's interests so she sensed no desire to attack. His smile indicated he did not seem to take offense at the description which prompted a small stretch of her own lips upward. "A wolf named Marina, a coat of white clouded with silver and grey like a storm forming, blue eyes. She is carrying pups and seems to be busy readying for that." She offered the description in case the name did not suffice. But she could not say much more. Though she had met Marina and seen her around she felt that the wolf kept much to herself - perhaps in business about her pups, or perhaps she did not feel welcomed by the pack which Heph would be sorry to hear if that were the case. But it was difficult to discern the motives of a wolf who was elusive.

chakliux shook his head. "i do not know her." his eyes were admiring upon heph. "but with guardians such as you, she will be safe in moontide." yes, he meant flattery, but also he meant it truly.
samani too; he wondered if she would bring children into the world this year. "this part of the world is strong with new life," he murmured, eyes mirthful.

Heph laughed, though she was glad to receive compliments, especially from someone pleasing to the eye and ear she still wished to tease and use her words to push back a bit. "You'll turn my head with flattery like that." Although to be fair while she would do her utmost to protect any wolf of Moontide she knew that her skills in that department were not where her strengths lay. "I'll confess I'm more of a hunter than a fighter." A bit of lilt to her words gave them a lightness that the choice of them did not lend themselves to as much.

But having spoken on Moontide she found herself curious about the pack this wolf hailed from and wondered how he would speak of it. "It is, how is Moonspear like?" He spoke as if he knew of new life in Moonspear as well and she wondered if they too had a litter or more that they were expecting. A place with many small mouths to feed would need strong hunters and her own gaze flicked over him, in admiration as well as assessment.

"my first wife gave a son to my lodge this year," chakliux grunted, thinking fondly of the boy. "others have brought their children. the rainstar will have her own." his teeth flashed in a grin. "and you, moontide woman?"
closer still he came, to see the play of muscle along her shoulders, to see the dancing of her eyes. "i am a seal hunter first, always."

Heph listened to his description and smiled. It seemed as if Moonspear was having a good year full of new life, and a pup to his family was good news, a son as well. While Heph had little preferences where that lay she could tell that it was an exciting thing. "ahhh congratulations!" She shook her head and laughed a bit, good-natured even though she had not met much luck this season. "None for me I'm afraid, not many wolves can keep up." There was a bit of challenge in her gaze as it sparkled. Though it was, of course, more complicated than that. She had met a few wolves that had piqued her interest but none where the spark of desire seemed mutual. Besides so much of her time had been devoted to the pack that she had not gone to chase any down. Perhaps Moonwoman had someone in mind, but she was not sure.

When he mentioned he was a seal hunt her eyes sparked with another kind of interest. Rodyn had mentioned the prey but she had not had a chance to bring any down - too focused on following the herds to the west. "oh? I've only recently moved to the coast and haven't had a chance to hunt seal. What kind of prey are they?" Her voice was full of curiosity, perhaps it was rude to turn the conversation, but if he called himself such she thought that he was likely to possess more than enough knowledge for if she ever did decide to turn her efforts towards the sea.

unmarried and without children. if she were not some important face to moontide, chakliux might have made an offer of sorts to her. as it was, he must be careful with such things. the choice of another for his lodge must first be agreeable to nasamik, and the seal hunter had become spoiled with how many beautiful women of the north there were around him. it would be best to take another of such lineage.
but his interest did not wane, and he gave heph another glittering grin. 
"they live in the salt water, beneath the ice. they breathe air and have fur, but they stay far beneath the waves. to hunt one takes many bodies and strong swimming. hunters drown in this way."
but he had not.

Her appreciation of the wolf in front of her increased at the description. Heph was a fair swimmer, but had not hunted during. But it sounds like a challenge and she would not shy from that. Returning his own smile with a wolfish stretch of her own lips she voiced as much "Sounds like a worthwhile challenge. Perhaps after another summer or two by the sea." Samani had spoken of a large hunt, inviting wolves from Moonglow and Moonspear in the autumn. She was unsure if the alpha would be ready to lead such an endeavor by the fall, but she had liked the sound of it. Even if it was not new prey working alongside new faces could reveal interesting and new strategies for the hunt.

chakliux wished to stay, but he must further his search for quennell, and return soon to nasamik. "it is a great challenge. perhaps i will show you, heph of moontide."
a laugh, and then the seal hunter straightened. "i must continue. let us not be unknown to one another. come to my lodge in moonspear. i will show you hospitality."

Heph nodded, she understood well needing to continue on a journey. She hoped that this wolf was found, hopefully sooner rather than later although time was often the only way to cover distance. "I'll wish you luck and safety on your search." Grinning playfully in return she responded warmly, for she did intend to visit Moonspear and if luck served her meet some of the wolves there. "Perhaps I will, if only to see such a handsome face again." Knowing that he was wandering she added, unsure of which pathway would cross first. "And if you find yourself north and near Moontide you need only call."