Ouroboros Spine In from the snow

They did not hold ceremony for his shedding of Kilgitsuk and taking-on of his name of Kaluktuk, except to celebrate between the two of them as lovers in the bright-eyed honeymooning stage might; and following a night of rest and connection with one-another, Kaluktuk and @Ariadne woke that morning with thoughts of Moonglow between them. The woman spoke to @Dutch and gave word of their intended visit to her mother's village, to spread that knowledge across the glacier and to keep the village protected, and work ongoing.

Thereafter, together, the two descended the mountainside and moved through first the fields, then the forest where winter had indeed touched the trees; there Ariadne could rest and together they could discuss where to go, who to speak to first, and their expectations. One night passed, then a second, and they carried on together until the Spine was underfoot — soon, Moonglow stood before them.

Kaluktuk insisted on announcing their arrival; he wished to treat Ariadne with all the respect of an Issumatar, but after some kind words it was decided they would sing together, so that @Kukutux and @Aiolos would hear the voice of their daughter, and @Kivaluk would hear the voice of his father.

"tch!" spat moonwoman when the voice of ariadne and that selfish trader rose twined and strong, asking audience of sun man and kukutux. the leather was ruined; she had torn it, and now she put it firmly aside and closed her eyes.

remember what i have said to you, daughter. you will not agree with every choice made by your children. this is the first.

lynx purred this and went away.

moonmother let breath relinquish ire. with a clucking tongue did kukutux send little @Nasamiituuq off, newly gifted a ball of soft fat and berries as a treat for helping her grandmother to work pieces of elkskin.

she did not hurry.

first, a wrap of redfox to match the pelt of aiolos. and when her sun man stood beside her, kukutux stood at the clearing of their long-loved ulaq and sang out, "we welcome your voices together."

it was to say that those summoned understood why ariadne and kigipigak had come, and to approach mother and father now for a formal discussion. kukutux felt her heart leap in anger once more! how was she to endure such a meeting?

and yet she must; for ariadne she must.

when they had come up the path, moonsong leader was given a kiss and a soft look; "leadership glows upon your forehead, shining-water-girl." because she would not so openly snub the trader, she turned an unreadable expression on him and a smile which was warmer than she thought manageable, offering a small bow and indicating that the four of them should sit.

@Vairë & @Shikoba welcome for leadership/training reasons! <3

Ariadne could not shake the feeling of foreboding; there was so much riding on this meeting! How could she not be nervous? Especially after the last meeting between Kaluktuk and Kukutux!

The journey from Moonsong to Moonglow had gone at a snail's pace, and she was thankful that he was so accommodating.

When their howls faded, moonmother's voice rose from further in the territory, and moongirl felt her heart skip a beat or two; there wasn't much longer to wait until she and sunman arrived. She looked up to her intended and smiled, trying her best to fake it until she made it.

Kukutux's greeting was kind and soft, and Ariadne was gracious for her greeting; some relief subsided as she felt her mother's kiss. Anaa, she greeted, leaning forward to kiss her chin. Thank you for coming to see us today, we have much to discuss, she said, leaving it at that until Aiolos was given the chance to speak.

Moonwoman spat and tossed the torn skin aside. Sunman grumbled under his breathe and came to his mate's side to help her adjust the red fox skin straight and smooth over her backside. They both howled, welcoming their visitors within and when finished, Aiolos barked out into Arrluk's direction to meet with them in the middle. A practice to his trade as guardian within Moonglow. 

When they came together, Arrluk did well to dismiss himself from the group after passing a silent glance and waving of his tail to his elder sister. Aiolos in turn stepped forth. A simple nod given to Kigipigak and only this. He could not expect to be "reborn" with a new name and shed the shame of all he had done (or not done) in his past. In moments like this, it was good Aiolos was already a quiet man. He could far easier get away with being displeased. 

Of course, daughter. Your always welcome here. He spoke in response to her words of thanks and came to wrap his neck around her own in embrace before taking a few steps back and settling down on the cold earth under them.

Quick cameo! Vairë is fully skippable And can be powerplayed responding to any greetings, otherwise she’s just here to observe!

Paws thumping.

Her sister, voice intwined with the trader she had met in the woods, called for audience. Vairë, as second moonwoman, was to attend, she was sure.

She arrived in a huff, panting through her smiling. Her otter fur, now much beloved, slung around her neck as she nodded to Ariadne and the trader man, greeted her father and mother warmly, then sat to the side.

Moondoe would watch quietly, and keep any unfortunate opinions to herself.

The voices of Ariadne's parents lifted and twinned towards them, and Kaluktuk saw in Ariadne a nervousness he did not share; he was proud of them, and expectant, and perhaps arrogant enough in the moment to think things would go well. Soon the moonwoman and sunman had descended to meet them — and there was another, Vaire, drifting close and observant. Kaluktuk did not speak; he ceded the moment to Ariadne as she was welcomed by her mother, then with words and an embrace from her father.

There was a pause, and Kaluktuk chose to speak. We have come to discuss a bride-price. That much would have been obvious by the scents they carried, and by the meeting Kaluktuk had with Kukutux days ago. Speaking it to life now, where others might hear, gave Kaluktuk strength. He continued, We have been courting, and as a show of commitment to Ariadne as well as village Moonsong, I have shed the trader's name I carried. She has chosen to call me Kaluktuk. It is he who greets you now. He hoped this would be one step in a direction they both approved of; but then, he did not entirely put stock in to their approval. In the ways of his own people, Ariadne had made her choice and there was finality to that. This, he did not say.

The name itself held alterior motives as well. The meaning implied that he made Ariadne very happy, and that he was happy as well, and together they might fill Moonsong with such a feeling. It was the abandonment of his grief and his pain in favor of something new and good; it was proof he chose now to settle, to be husband, to be rooted in this place.

Kaluktuk looked to Moonwoman as he said these things, implying much; he looked to Sunman too, growing stern and serious, for this was a serious matter. They could refer to him in any way they wished — but he had to make it known that this was who he chose to be, now. He would be a good husband to their daughter, and when they told him of the bride-price he would further prove it. His eye tried to discern if there was approval or revulsion from either of them, as he waited.

how grateful she was for aiolos and his support! how good it was to have vairë close, even if her moondoe would remain mostly silent through this.

not a moment passed before kigipigak spoke for both he and ariadne. frustration weltered through kukutux, as well as a heavy sense of scorn. kaluktuk. another name. he took a new one at the beginning of each new life he began, it seemed. he took so many it was a wonder the spirits found him.

or maybe they did not.

the bride price. 

"this is paid to the father and mother of a woman still living within their ulaq," she chose to say softly, maintaining whatever peace existed for ariadne alone. "you are head of your village, my daughter. have you spoken of what it is you desire?"

softly, velveteen, a washing of her hands. by sunshine tradition, she needed ask for nothing from kigipigak. the idea of him hunting for her hearth, often in moonglow, was not one she found acceptable. 

and if ariadne wished to choose a man so inappropriately close to her own kinship ties, in full knowing and against the advice of her mother, then let it now be understood in silence that this test belonged to her. 

it was clear the man expected to be heeded, perhaps even welcomed.

kukutux looked instead toward her husband, demurely offering him a flick of dark lashes to suggest that had he words to say, he should say them now.

thunder man, indeed. moonwoman felt certain now that these names were to veil who he had been and what he had done, who he wanted to be and who he pretended to be. but always would the man be kigipigak to her, kiggavik, a snow hawk forever doomed to an eternal flight.

Vairë arrived shortly after Aiolos and Kukutux had, formalities followed, and then Kaluktuk took the lead and explained their reason for coming. This was a surreal moment; she'd been dreaming of this day for as long as she could remember! She studied the faces of her family with uncertainty as he spoke, though she was unable to properly identify what they felt.

When Kukutux answered she felt dissatisfied with what they were given–especially when she knew that Argent was searching for Sialuk’s bride-price as they spoke! She wanted to bring this up, to ask why things were different for her, but she didn't; the slight tension in her shoulders betrayed her and her discontent. Still, this was a delicate situation, and she knew she needed to oblige–not only for their marriage but also for village Moonsong; things had to go smoothly despite her hurt.

Her mind was jumbled, and she tried to navigate both her nerves and hurt as she answered. I have asked Kaluktuk for a doe pelt and caribou tooth so far for my altar–to attract more women for my women’s circle, she said, careful not to refer to him as his pet name: thunder dick. When we speak, I speak of love and loyalty, and I know these are things that he has and will continue to provide. Even if they didnt believe it; she had seen his actions herself! he was not the man she’d been warned about! She wished that she could show them the man she knew and loved, but their minds were clouded by the mistakes of his past.

I also wish for him to stand as my equal in village Moongsong—as a second Head to the village. Just as you and taataa do, anaa.

300 for everybody!

To Aiolos, the name change was no such proof of loyalty and rooting. The name change only meant the attempt at being a new wolf. To shed away his previous failures and start anew. Kaluktuk kept his eyes forward, but this did not correct the damage he had done nor the hurt in others he left. When this man wandered off yet again, Aiolos wondered what would be his new name next. 

Apparently, he and his wife were thinking the same exact thing. They had been together to many moons now, they knew one anothers feelings and thoughts all to well. Something so many couples did not last long enough to gain, Aiolos came to know through the years...

The discontent from Kukutux words shown in Ariadne's shoulders. Aiolos thought to think of a bride-price to add to this. Something which would be hard to accomplish, something that would keep him away long enough that Ariadne would be able to see past the veil of newly budded attraction or something which he may easily fail. A snow leopard pelt. A tooth of a shark. Winning a fishing challenge against Aiolos himself. All these things may back-fire, for his daughter could easily scorn her father for this and draw a wedge between them. 

It only feels right, as a mated pair, to be a leading pair. To carry the weight and grow the pack together with shared views. He spoke, when she said that she would make him Head to Moonsong. He did his best to shove his feelings down deep and play civil. Although it seems sudden, Had Kigipigak been back a month? Maybe two? Already he found another young woman to seed and raise his next litter. How many had their been before? You are grown, Kigipigak very much so. And you know in your heart what you want. Even if it might not be what is right. 

For a bride price, He decided as he looked to Kaluktuk squarely, with a hope to lift his daughter's spirit. Bring back to me prey of the water: the sea, lake, river and swamp.

Kaluktuk cannot help but feel slighted by this reception. He does not know the truth of what either think of him, but he does judge the situation from past experiences with Kukutux and the chill that descends from Aiolos now. Both knew him; they knew some of his history but not all of it, but they knew he was a hard worker, a skilled hunter, and they knew he picked fine women given that they'd taken his wife as their own. They knew he seeded these women with fine children, given that they'd assimilated Kivaluk to their ways.

What harm could he do to Ariadne? What problem could there be with their marriage? And for a time Kaluktuk thinks Aiolos will remain silent. It is hard to read him. It is hard to listen to the way he speaks as if Kaluktuk has not helmed his own village before — It only feels right [...] although it seems sudden, and there it was, the nudge. The paternal tone of a man who had no right to be talking down in this way. A frustration lines Kaluktuk's jaw, and his spine, and he stands there containing his true thoughts and the many words that a younger version of himself might've spilled; what Kigipigak might have shouted. Now, he swallowed, he listened.

Then came the bride-price. They could have asked for anything; the message that Aiolos could've shown to them both by asking for impossible things, would've been clear enough; but no, in this he was almost lenient. Kaluktuk breathed finally, as he listened to this list of things to gather. It would not be difficult—he already began to think of the best way to complete these things, and who to entreat for help.

His gaze shifted to Ariadne briefly, but there was no doubt that she was worth this, and more. Kaluktuk gave a nod to her and then turned to Aiolos, and bowed his head to him. I will. You will see I am serious about this. It is a good match, and a look to Kukutux to insist this.

just a lil cameo. sorry kivaluk's like this.

kivaluk hears his fathers voice, and just this once, finally, heeds it.

he comes in late, lingering in the shadows, eyeing ariadne and his father. the words twist sourly in his gut, not because he would deny his father happiness, if he's truly found it, but because all he hears are honeyed lies.

honeyed lies told to those who have seen the exact opposite of what he's promised; sugared promises made to his sister. who was kivaluk's own age.

how long until kigipigak left her, as he left sakhmet? until he left the children she bore him as he left kivaluk?

loudly, kivaluk scoffs; not bothering to hide his distrust.

he will leave you as he left my mama and me. with that warning offered to ariadne, kivaluk turns and leaves; heart bleeding from the barbed wire wrapped tightly 'round it, unsure of what was worse: that he would be right or that he would be wrong, that he and sakhmet had not been good enough to stay for while his sister was.

there was no price moonwoman could ask that would be worthwhile. there was no price kigipigak might pay that would come close to ariadne's worth. that was the portion of bride-price that perhaps vairë might understand today: worth.

and kukutux did not think the trader had any.

there was shame when aiolos spoke, coupled with the understandable sense of hurt that now spiked along her daughter's energy. it was the first time that she had not given a want of her own, for she did not desire anything killed by kigipigak.

sudden, and her springjade eyes saw the hardness limn the winterhawk's jaw. sudden, and she felt, believed, he did not feel as if he must answer in any way to the father of the woman at his side.

kukutux almost added her own! stay a year. make him father if this is your want, ariadne, but never husband until he shows that he will stay within your village. withold power and see if his anger comes.

of course ariadne would only know love from the man! two moons, if that. she had been bound to the glacier with a healing leg; kigipigak had obviously used this time to charm her while she could not travel so easily. he spoke for them. he said nothing while she insisted he could love. insidious.

and yet she needed say nothing

sivullik came now, and moonwoman looked up toward the strong young hunter in time to see the expression upon his face. inexplicably, dread struck her belly; kivaluk was speaking, and his words damned the pair further. kukutux, again sick to think that kigipigak would try to share a wife and then a daughter with her, was coldly grateful that firsthunter had said this and that she did not need now to say anything on its matter.

ariadne would be devastated when she departed moonglow. not once had such a sharing of words been so poor.

her daughter's unhappiness was anguish to the mother, and she glanced in open reflection of this to ariadne, in love; do you not see? love this man if he speaks to your heart. do not marry him!

aiolos had set a bride price. kukutux set her eyes now upon the scarred face of kigipigak, direct. if there was truly love, he would give it all the same.

but he would blame moonwoman for this.

and she would gladly hold his blame.

"the son of our hearth is angry. the first time his father returns to his home, it is not for him. it is to say he is taking another wife and will have more children." she spoke to both kigipigak and ariadne in this. "the son of our hearth is angry. he was a boy when his father left him. now his father has returned for a sister of the hearth where he was abandoned those many hands of time ago."

it was a story to tell again and again. she needed no falling snow nor lightning voice to illustrate the controlled anger in kivaluk's words.

kukutux felt certain that kigipigak would lead ariadne to blame her as well. already he seemed to believe that kivaluk was a small boy. this hour he had learned another thing. this too she would accept.

"when his father came back, he took a different name to say he was trader. it was as if by replacing kigipigak, he would replace natigvik and all that had happened. he became kilgitsuk. why would his sons look for kilgitsuk?" moonwoman's tones remained even, soft. "now his father takes a new name and brings a new woman and surely intends to have new sons."

it was not a good match. she looked only now upon ariadne. "my daughter, your father is right in all things. you are not a child. you know what it is you desire. you are head of your own village and your husband too, should be beside you. but your taataa knew me for much time before we married. your taataa and i have raised fifteen children in the same ulaq because the thought has never come to his mind to make a path away from our hearth and leave us behind. your taataa holds his place in moonglow for what he has proven, not what he has said."

and if kigipigak had found sun man in that forest fragranced openly by the body of his daughter, calling taataa to aiolos, more scars would be upon his face. aya!

Ariadne nods in agreement at Aiolos’s sentiment. It is hard to deny my heart what it wants—even if it has not been long. I have spent much time with Kaluktuk, and I know he is the other half of my heart. Their romance had been a whirlwind, a full-on rainstorm of passion, romance, laughter, and joy. She wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Finally–a bride price was named: prey of the water: the sea, lake, river, and swamp. Ariadne’s optimism is renewed momentarily, and she glances at Kaluktuk happily. I am certain that he will get those to you, taataa, she said, turning to her father with a smile and understanding his suspicion about the timing. Thank you, she breathed, finally feeling heard by one of her parents. She looked at him and only him, unable to look at anaa now.

Kivaluk, who she hadn’t realized was lingering, interjected, and then, like a coward, left and allowed the rest of the hidden feelings to unfurl. She stood there, taking the lashings of her mother’s tongue, feeling sick to her stomach, feeling remorse for her intended. Although there was so much she wished to say, she couldn’t bring herself to do it; too much rode on this; they’d gotten their bride price and were free to go on their way. But, she knew that Kaluktuk couldn’t go without talking to that brat he called a son; her respect for him was gone. She could understand being hurt. Still, she could not understand dropping a bomb on a meaningful conversation and then leaving! It was completely disrespectful! She seethed at this, bubbling under the surface; her body grew rigid, her eyes hot with tears.

Kaluktuk will prove you all wrong, she said, voice uncharacteristically hard, stifling a shuddered breath as she tried to keep herself composed. Then, to Kaluktuk, softer, Go to him if you must, pikpaksiruk. She turns to her family next, no longer feeling like she belongs, and offers, It was ... nice to see your faces. It has been nice, she lies.

just a cameo post here! fully skippable for continuity, just wanted to place her in here to be part of it!

she watches, she listens. she remains close and yet still out of reach. the young girl's heart has become trapped within the mist of a man who talks sweetly, yet abandons onto the accounts of the trial of moonglow. once honeyed eyes are hard set on the newest skin that has been shed by the backbone. she thinks now, and when sivullik comes to heed his own warning, she can only feel pity in the refusal of his words.

she was born a girl, and perhaps now she will die at his hands as a girl. no woman could grow in conditions as her own. and she could see it then that everything has become soured. it is best that she stays silent in this matter. and so not a word is uttered, and if cued or pushed, she would move. but for now, she is still. and her heart grows icy for moonsong.

A breath in, as though held, waiting on the words of Aiolos. Sunman had been wise not to ask for impossible things from the other man and in turn, Kaluktuk was wise to hold his tongue, lest he prove to be the exact type of man Aiolos had now grown to believe him as. 

And now, Aiolos own jaw tightens in the same manner. Even now as a head is bowed to him. Of course he was serious. Serious to sweep away a young new bridge with strength, pride and a thunder dick. Ariadne did not see these subtle things in her newfound interest. She only saw stars and felt butterflies in her stomach. She was on clouds! And Aiolos knew the feeling. He knew it all too well. With other women, one, two, three... and none last. 

Now First Hunter speaks, spat words lined with malice. Aiolos turns to him, silent as he watched him go and then turned back to the pair. Aiolos had no words to say, for they all felt the same. 

Where Aiolos' words were few, Kukutux' were many. She weaved the tale in full for Ariadne, who knew now only Kaluktuk, whom he was only in these few moons and not the lives which he had been before. Aiolos ears would sweep back when Ariadne speaks. Respectful, as she was raised, to not act out against her parents, which meant to only protect her! He knew not what else to say, man of little words.

There was nothing more to say to these people; besides, Kaluktuk's focus was split between the urge to go after his son or stay with his intended bride. Either choice could be weighed against him. On one hand to go after Kivaluk he would likely be seen as abandoning Ariadne, and perhaps it would enter in to the minds of the Moonglow wolves that he was more interested in that than marriage. On the other hand, staying by Ariadne would mean sacrificing this moment with his son and, in Kaluktuk's mind, would make it appear he was choosing the young woman over his own blood. He was stuck. In this instance Kaluktuk would not make a choice - it would be Ariadne to decide, which came within moments.

It had appeared that Aiolos was at least pretending to be on the side of his daughter, but as Kaluktuk witnessed the shift in the cloudwoman, heard the pain in her voice and the way she then tried to extricate them from the conversation, it was clear. There was a bride-price but there was not acceptance; there was tradition, and resistance.

Kaluktuk stood alongside Ariadne as she spoke those last words, and tenderly murmured to her ear, ...we go? The intention to speak of bride-price was only half of things; Kaluktuk had wished to speak directly with his son about the marriage and to open himself warmly to the boy, but that hope had been shattered with Kivaluk's sudden arrival, commentary, and subsequent avoidance. Ariadne made it clear they were to go, so Kaluktuk nodded and without thinking pressed a soft kiss to her temple.

He kept his eyes averted from both moon and sun, and said, We will spend a night in the Neverwinter. But then they would be gone for their village. Kaluktuk then ushered Ariadne from the mountain with care, as she would set the pace from here on out.

The wounds left by this conversation had already begun to fester.

it was tradition and expectation, divination and hypocrisy; her own. mother's blood lay buried in a death ulaq upon a moontide shore. mother's heart cannot mend, stitched together by holding to what she knew.

ariadne's choice then felt as if it were a knife among those aching seams, another daughter lost not to breath but to what she knew. and so she grasped; she had lost; ariadne stood with tight body and tears pearled upon her cheeks, stricken and at the hands of her own mother in a way kukutux was horrified to see.

but she had said all the words inside her and knew now no more could be taken for a time. kigipigak would pay the price to their hearth. this meeting would not be mended but tradition was upheld.

"walk with sedna, daughter." her tones were hoarsened, the taut pride unfurling slowly from her small figure. there was hurt of a harsh sort, and she had been the one to inflict it. the duck would keep then from moonsong for a time.

she saw how even now ariadne retained herself in the face of kivaluk's anger.

quietly she stood.

there was no need to linger any longer.

when ariadne and the trader had turned away, she did not watch them depart; kukutux turned and in silent shame and worry of her own did she walk back along the long-worn path to the ulax and her own thoughts.

Those last few moments were a blur, and looking back to this meeting, she'd scarcely remember them. All she could do was nod in agreement to Kaluktuk's plan; the pain had begun to fester in her heart and numb her mind, and she had no word left for the conversation.

She didn't look back as they made their way towards Neverwinter Forest. Instead, given her current capacity, she could only watch her step through teary eyes. She would keep it together for now, and only would she allow herself to express herself once she was back in her ulaq in Moonsong.