Sun Mote Copse Old Year's Day

The great bison hunt of 2023 had been a smashing success. The hunters felled multiple bison and provided meat, skin, and bones for all. Though their trials were not injury-free, and some hunters had been wounded, a well-stocked camp of healers had been ready to attend to whoever needed it.

Njord said his goodbyes to his daughter, his hunters, the people of the moon villages, and his aokatti Kaluktuk, before breaking camp. He traveled Southbound toward the Hinterlands, tired but satisfied.

Across his shoulders was a great wrapping of wooly bison hide, sourced from the neck, packed full with cuts of meat and bones for craft making. He traveled slowly and felt new aches in his bones, but eventually, he arrived back home at the Copse on the eve of the new year.

Ah, home, Njord thought as he inhaled the nostalgic aroma of the lowlands. Truly, to be at the Copse was to be at peace.

Then, he howled for @Meerkat and @Reki to share the bounty he had brought.

With Njord away, Meerkat was crawling the proverbial walls. She blamed the hormones, though she wondered if she might’ve felt this way regardless. She was glad for Reki’s company, though otherwise the copse was very silent and still in her husband’s absence. It set her teeth on edge and every time she woke up to a cold and empty bed, Meerkat cursed the timing of the hunt.

Of course, the instant he returned home with a bounty, every knot inside Meerkat loosened at once. She rushed forward to greet Njord with a dozen kisses peppered to his face, eyes skirting over the load on his back. She motioned for him to help her remove the burden, lowering it carefully to the ground at their paws.

Meerkat knew Njord likely wanted to show her his wares, though she was much more interested in the man than his parcel at the moment. Once he was freed, she reared onto her hind legs and pulled him into a proper embrace, her snout nuzzling toward his good ear.

Och, I missed you! she breathed against its shell.

Hope you don’t mind that this is my last post! Gotta catch up!

One moment Njord had set down his wares and the next Meerkat had wrapped her arms around him, showering him with affection. She was the only trophy he ever needed! In return, her island-born man leaned into his wife’s embrace, practically purring like a housecat.

“An’ Ah, you,” Njord breathed back as he kissed her cheek. He took a deep draught of air and sighed. “Tis good tae be home.” Home. His eyes drifted to admire their Copse before they returned to meet his partner’s.

Njord would cite all about the great hunter-gathering to Meerkat and tell of the many camps of wolves: Moonglow, Raventhorpe, Brecheliant, Moonsong, Moontide, Moonspear, Hearthwood, and even representatives of Sapphique were there – Njord had caught a fleeting glimpse of Mireille.

He would tell her of Seal’s work in the healer camp, the hunting part he had led, the great bison they had felled, and the pact he had made with Vairë to recognize one another as kin.

Then, when they returned to their Taigh, he would work to divide the meat he had brought home to store for the cold weeks ahead. Upon the den floor, the wooly hide was placed and Njord, weary from his traveled, curled up with Meerkat to sleep.