Hoshor Plains obasan

set for yesterday 1.12.24 (lmk if timelines work for all) for @Ariadne!

upon crossing the mountains once more, the trajectory of chakliux and @Dutch carried them within nosecatch of the great gathering, now dissipated in slow portions. exclaiming over the mingled scent of every moon village with those not yet known, they turned for the plains.
there had several wolves rallied around he and dutch; chakliux had been pleased to see them all, but it was @Sialuk he wished, for the sake of dutch. it came to pass that a healing camp had been kept by moonglow; he helped the others to bring dutch there, relieved to know that his companion would be tended by more skilled people than he. (@Reverie @Reina @Amalia @Seal) 
and before he left, the seal hunter heard the moon woman telling to dutch that his mother was here, and that a sister to a man named valiant had returned. chakliux was glad to hear this, to know that he was leaving dutch in the care not only of healer but of family, and he was not so guilty to duck out from beneath the healing boughs.
his son must be here! he looked for his wives! his eyes did not yet cut @Raiyuk from among their number, but what caught at his attention now was the changing allure of many women here and there among the throng, and the good reek of the hunting which had been done.
across the river he saw her and his heart lurched, for not since kaluktuk had claimed her had he seen ariadne.
and he scarcely felt the frigid water on his ankles as he crossed, and with berrybright eyes he called out her name.

Note: Last day of heat.
Thanks for starting!

The hunt and her season were beginning to wrap up, and Ariadne had started cleaning up the Moonsong camp. There were pelts and food to pack, and she felt her to-do list kept growing. But, in the middle of her preparation, a familiar voice rose above the crowd, and she quickly turned and began to scan the crowd for Chakliux. When she spotted him, he crossed the river and was headed toward her.

It'd been a while since they'd last seen each other, and the subject matter had been—much different than it would be now. Ariadne had chosen Kigipigak as her husband and was sure they'd welcome children in the early spring. Still, her heart and stomach twisted at the sight of the seal hunter, and she approached him with bright eyes, a smile, and a waving tail.

It is good to see your face! she exclaimed, looking him up and down, searching for any new injuries he may have gained, and then looking around for his hunting companion. Where is Dutch? she asked in rapid succession to her greeting, voice concerned. Is he okay?

ofc!

the seal hunter had told himself he bore no jealousy for the man kaluktuk, and in truth he did not.
but when ariadne stood to greet him, when he smelled the heavy musk of kaluktuk upon her mingled with the grasping heady scent of her woman's-fire — he seared with a frustration that he refused to show.
"cloudwoman," chakliux greeted, halting a distance from ariadne as not to upset her husband. his berrybright eyes drank her in as if she were freshwater; he could not help this 
"dutch was hurt, enough to bleed but not to kill. bear. i made us stop and come home. he is in the healing camp with your mother, and perhaps his own."
this choosing, this thing he had not been able to explain to ciri, it was connection. and it thrummed hard in chakliux as he pulled the thread of black fur and skin from his withers, dangling it before ariadne. "the monster escaped but not before he was wounded."

There was a noticeable distance between them, one which she would keep. Although most men during this week had sent her on edge, there were a select few she felt she could tolerate, and Chakliux was one of them. He was a familiar face with a complicated history; the children within her could have been his if things had been different. But she did not grieve this alternative reality. She was happy with the way that things had turned out.

Dutch was injured but was in Kukutux's care. She breathed a sigh of relief. I will make sure to go and visit him, she said, mostly to herself. I am glad you both are back—my mind rests easier now knowing you are here.

Although the monster wasn't slain, based on his prize, it seemed they'd done a number on him, and she nodded approvingly. Good work, she praised, focusing briefly on the pelt he held. Do you plan to hunt him again? Perhaps in the spring when I have more wolves to offer you? Ariadne wanted to see this evil out of their home as much as he did.

"ah! yes, i want this, but —" chakliux exhaled. "i have been gone a long time. and now i must take raiyuk to the sea. i do not think my wives will want me to run after this man again for a time."
he would leave this to marina.
the space between them was maintained, and to the seal hunter it felt almost as if it were a chasm.
but he did not know if this was the fault of her scent and his inability to respond, or if it was she herself. was it hurt? the seal hunter would explore this another time.
"perhaps it is better if our moonhunters stayed close in spring," a time of vulnerability and high alert while babies were born. chakliux did not think he would leave his lodge if both tullik and marina fell pregnant, and he turned his head in the direction of the sea without thinking, consumed by an ache to see their faces even with the lovely cloudwoman so close!
"was it a very great hunt?" he asked next, eager for any talk of this accomplishment even as he nursed that seed of sensitivity deep within himself.

She nodded, understanding his reasons for not wanting to hunt the man again. They had been gone for a while, and it was time for him to take Raiyuk to the sea. She'd also want him home if she were one of his wives. You know, you are always welcome to practice and prepare upon the glacier before you leave, she offered, her word still standing. Unless you are leaving very soon?

She followed his gaze briefly, considering what was going through his mind: the hunt, his wives, her? There was something there, something between them, and it was something she could no longer consider. She was happily with Kigipigak; the days of teasing and foreplay were behind them.

It was! Very few injuries. Kigipigak led a group, as did Njord, Rodyn, and Heph. I have been helping prepare the furs and meat and dividing them between the packs. We will all be well-fed and warm this winter.

had he known ariadne's heart was closed henceforth to him, chakliux would have let her go in these moments. but among his people it was not uncommon to pair, to keep away with one or another, and then when time had touched the first glow, to seek another. or to bring one among them.
the constant flux of bodies between lodges was then natural.
chakliux did not regret who he was, only that it squandered such connections between the sunshine daughters, or between ciri and himself.
"i am sorry to have missed it! and yes, i will leave soon. maybe we will do this again in the winter to come."
kigipigak. had he changed his name? and why? but these were not questions for his wife.
"you have my deepest good wishes for your hearth, ariadne," the seal hunter said at last, for he recognized this chapter was closed to them, and he did not intend to visit moonsong for some time.
but he meant this, in all ways.

Ariadne frowned, feeling like he had only just returned. Will you be gone for a while? she asked. You are welcome to rest in Moonsong and gather whatever supplies you need before you leave. You both have helped my village on multiple occasions, and it is only fair that we repay you before you go.

When he spoke again, her expression turned tender, and she could feel tears prick in her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away. I wish the same for you and your wives. I will pray that their seasons are fruitful and that their births are easy. She hesitated, wanting to push a step or two forward, but remained in place. My anaa has teas, too, that may help with conception. I am taking some now, and I think it is working. It'd only be a matter of time until she knew whether or not all of the tea-drinking was worth it or not.

was it insistence that he heard in her voice? why did she want him back upon the ice mountain so quickly? against all the unspoken things did his heart cinch with a hope that sickened him. "i will ask raiyuk what he wishes to do. and we will be gone for seven days. it is a sacred number, like the nine of your sunshine people."
ariadne spoke now of a tea for his wives, and chakliux flushed beneath his pale fur. this power was only for women to know, but he was touched beneath his surprise that she had offered him such knowledge. "i will ask for this from the moon woman then. thank you." why was she telling him this? "may oil father bless you with many strong children, cloudwoman."
a weaker moment; his eyes shone and his mouth worked as if he might say something further, but then only cleared his throat. "i must find raiyuk," hoarsely, a smile, and then he was turning into a proud lope, head upheld and the stricken expression on his scarred face carefully smoothed behind a white expanse that was only the long stare of the hunter.

There were still many things that Ariadne did not know about the seal hunters, which included the husband's knowledge regarding child-rearing.

There was a moment in which he looked like he was about to say something, and when he did, it was to announce his sudden departure to find his son. I understand, she said. I will see your face again. And then, slightly off tandem with him, she turned from him to return to the heart of Moonsong's camp.