Ocean's Breath Plateau cousinness

"@Ariadne, i have found a place."
chakliux returned. the scent of moonspear was in his fur, tangled with the scent of children and milk and @Simbelmyne.
he brought deer meat to feed the healing moon-girl, and his eyes danced with the pleasure of having been in wild places, alone with thoughts of samani if he wished. "it is snow and ice. i think it will be so even in the hottest sun."

Chaklux had returned, bringing news of a suitable area for Ariadne to claim. She listened, posture tall and alert, as he explained. Frankly, it sounded too good to be true, but she trusted him and did not question it.

Aya, she breathed in relief, sending a silent thanks to Sedna. It is near Moonspear? she asked, smelling the scents that hung onto his coat. That would be ideal; she wanted her home close to the other villages.

"near moonspear, moonglow, and close enough to moontide." he searched for the word in the sunshine tongue, at last surrendering and offering ariadne the seal hunter term: "simirsuaq. ice that is inside the land."
now, to be realistic; "i did not go so high. it might be only that this land cannot be lived on. but i wished to tell you, i have been looking."

I think that it is worth looking at, she decided after a pause, after considering everything. If it is meant for us, then we will know. They weren't married to the territory and had ample time to shop for something that suited them.

Then, softer, with a smile, she said, Thank you for looking—I look forward to when I can join you. There was a sadness to her voice; she longed to join him in the search. Do you think it is close enough for me to hobble to? she asked, hoping he'd be sincere. I would like to see and feel it.

chakliux considered this for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "i think the moon woman would skin me for one of her furs if i took you from here, on so long a walk." but because he did not want to see ariadne dissuaded, he crept closer; "i will ask kannoyak or kilgitsuk to walk with us, if this is what you wish. to leave now. to see it."
to be the protector of a moon woman; it filled him with pride.

Excitement pricked at her skin as he moved closer, and she watched him with a wide-eyed stare.

Yes, she answered in an excited whisper. I need to see it—now. There were many reasons for her impatience, but her sister’s looming death ulaq was her main motivation. Maybe @Kannoyak can carry me. He has done it before, and he is very strong.

her eyes lit as if they were motes of sun over the sea, and chakliux found himself moved.
when ariadne was ready to find a man of her own, suitors would pour as they had for vaire, for sialuk. she was a daughter of sun and moon, made from power.
now she sought her own.
"i will carry you," he said in a low voice, eyes holding her own. "but i agree, he should be with us. perhaps the trader @Kilgitsuk as well. i cannot stay," and his teeth shone, for he thought of tullik and marina, and the moonspear woman. "not yet," and now his stare flashed for ariadne alone.

Mature Content Warning

This thread has been marked as mature. By reading and/or participating in this thread, you acknowledge that you are of age or have permission from your parents to do so.

The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: Suggestive things!

I would like that, Ariadne replied, heat pricking at the bridge of her nose. All of it—how could I not when I have three handsome men with me? She'd thought about all three of them at length, late at night, when she was alone.

She pulled herself closer then, drawing her lips to hover at the base of his ear and whispered, But it is you I'd like to carry upon my back once this leg is healed.

Mature Content Warning

This thread has been marked as mature. By reading and/or participating in this thread, you acknowledge that you are of age or have permission from your parents to do so.

The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: heavy suggestion

the berrybright eyes danced in surprise! chakliux found himself floundering, unable to speak; he flashed her a grin that was almost shy save for the way he returned the way she had leant toward him;
"i will show you how the snow covers the moon," he said, a promise; his shoulders tensed but he did not touch her, only met her eyes in a promise.
she was the most favoured, though chakliux would never say.
"and you will show me how the moon curves up through the snow."
hot breath through his nostrils; chakliux drew away and cleared his throat.

Her mouth curled in girlish delight; talk of their moonpalace would cease for now. How she wished she had something to remedy her broken bone immediately! I will think of you when I am on top of you, she promised. Thinking, wanting, what things are to come—the joining of moon and snow.

Shivers coursed down her spine at the thought.

You know, I have never had a lover before, she said, implying more.

chakliux laughed at that, his mind spinning the images until they heated the veins. "you know i have had many," he answered. "it is important that your first has skill. a woman who never knows pleasure but bears many children becomes bitter. a man who can please no woman is often hateful in other ways."
chakliux paused, his mind alight with many sensations, not least of which was ariadne and her eyes upon him. "seal hunter women do not become wives until they have known lovers. he will not be the first, and he will not be the only. and seal hunter men know this for themselves. that is why we become good lovers, so we will also be chosen as husbands!"
the moment commanded a brief laugh. he looked at her contemplatively. "seal hunter women choose who they wish. a single man. a trader. the husband of another. seal hunter men are chosen. a marriage is made when two come together and desire to share a lodge. he will hunt for her and all children born beneath that lodge-roof. she will give her children his name. but marriages cannot be made unless you live together easily, and living together easily must mean pleasure."
yes, he thought of her in a lodge he had built. but he was married twice now, and perhaps another time before the spring came. it was not the matter of hunting, nor a bride price, as the sunshine mothers asked; it was the pedestal in her mind upon which she stood.
seal hunter men were chosen. both kannoyak and kilgitsuk had no wives. chakliux would not presume to know what came after; he was glowingly proud enough to be chosen as first.

He shared a wealth of knowledge regarding the practices of his people, and she listened with an open mind. Then it seems I have nothing to worry about, she concluded with a quirk of her brow; she felt safe with him and was confident he'd use every trick in the book to pleasure her.

But, then, a question crossed her mind, How do seal hunter women know when it is time to become a wife? How would she know when it was her time to wed?

"when she decides to have children. it is best for cubs to be born at a hearth that is constant. she will choose the man she finds most agreeable, and they will marry. if there are other wives, that is its own thing," he told her with a grin.
chakliux grew contemplative. after what had happened with samani, he was not certain that ariadne would wish to follow in such steps, at least not for a time. but this was for her to decide.

100th post for you!

She considered his words with a thoughtful look. You have given me much to think about. I will make an altar for Tootega and sing her songs of what I’ve learned today, to not only clear her mind but to think about how the next year would pan out. I will need your help collecting her offerings. She was sure he wouldn’t mind.

Her tail swept the floor behind her, and her mind wandered again as her expression grew coy. Tell me, what will you do when you take me to bed.

aww congrats! <3 alsoooo this is the last for me >> for now!

chakliux was once more caught off-guard; all concepts of worship or altar fled him. her eyes were the shade of soft sand beneath snow; she reminded him of winter beside the seal hunter village, when they had returned from their summer hunting grounds.
it had been the place of his birth. 
but chakliux always returned to the snow.
he grew still now, quiet; his eyes were fastened to her own, and the seal hunter wondered if ariadne was able to hear the caribou-gallop of his heartbeat.
in another moment he would find a way to guard her injury while waiting no longer;
he stood.
"i will make you call down the stars."
a quick quirk of his mouth, though the brightberry eyes were wildfire over a sunset sea.
the seal hunter left swiftly and walked directly into the sea thereafter, allowing the frigid touch of winter's promise to calm him.
once, he looked back.

This was an intimacy that Ariadne had never experienced. The long silence, them speaking with their bodies. She relished in it, flames lapping upon the sands of her eyes until he stood and spoke—

—"I will make you call down the stars."

He left her wanting more.

Her imagination ran rampant once she was alone and left to her own devices, and she considered what he could do to make her scream. Her day was consumed with these thoughts; he'd captivated her.