Cedar Sweep umniratki

Kigipigak led @Stratos close to where the claim for his new village sat, but not all the way to the place where @Asivaq made her ulaq, or even across the heart of the sweep; he found a small field where the trees were thin and the snow plentiful so that there would be much light, and it was here that Kigipigak laid out the deer meat which the two men had hunted.

He raised his head up afterwards to call to his wife, and he told her in that quick message, we have a visitor! And deer meat! He could have said more but chose not to. The sound of his call was an invitation.

Then, he settled to cleaning some of the skin from the meat and prepare it for when Asivaq arrived, and he was not as skilled at this as his wife or another woman. He looked to the hunter man a few times while waiting and working, knowing it would not be long before they would dine and share stories as part of their agreement.

Although the deer meat was already enticing, Asivaq couldn't help but wonder who Kigipigak brought to their home. Be right there! she howled back from the ulaq. She slowly rose onto all fours and shook any debris off her coat; she had to be somewhat presentable for their guest, after all!

She took her time, waddling through their territory with curiosity tugging at her mind. Asivaq knew that Kigipigak wouldn't bring just anybody home, which quieted any concerns she may have had, but she was intrigued nevertheless.

When she eventually arrived, her heart skipped a beat, and she froze in place as she looked at their guest; she would've never guessed that Stratos was the one that Kigipigak brought with him. Her eyes grew watery, and she ran for her brother and pulled him into a hug.

Braataa! I cannot believe I am seeing your face! she said, her voice thick with emotion.

Though man enough to lead himself, Stratos followed Kigipigak to where he led - the tundra man was master of this village, after all, and he but a guest! Yet how strange to follow again, after going so long as his own sole company and provider. How good, all the same.

And he busied himself alongside the man,  small on talk, since there was much work to do and not much time to do it. He nipped and pulled and separated hide from flesh, and considered the gift the man's wife might take home with him, the plush trophy of their kill. Here, anaa's teachings came useful - through he wished he would have payed a little more attention to how she had done her finer, detailed work...

He startled at a woman's call - Asivaq, this must be! - but before he could put two and two together, of why she looked so startlingly familiar, and why her eyes seemed to think the same for him - she had wrapped herself about him and drawn him in! Stratos struggled against the sudden contact.

Aya, slow down! he threw a wild glance at Kigi. Apologetic. Pleading innocence. The wrath of a man against a man who held his wife -- he did not wish to know. Braataa? he coughed aloud, pushing back so he could see her -

No... a squint, Ariadne?

His wife came and at first froze in place, which earned a small look from Kigipigak; then she raced forth and grasped the man in a hug, and the man pulled away with surprise. Kigipigak was also somewhat surprised and a little defensive, stiffening and taking a quick step closer as if to separate them, but he wasn't sure what to do. Over the course of a few confusing moments the pair appeared to recognize one-another; but the man called her by her old name, and beyond that Kigipigak was too flustered by the sudden collision of the two of them together, he hadn't yet registered that they were siblings.

That should've been obvious, though. They both resembled their father to different extremes; and only when Kigipigak calmed himself and took an emotional step back from the situation did he see it. He quickly corrected this lost brother — Asivaq. We have left behind the moon people to start anew.

He could have explained in greater detail but it was not his story to tell, and beyond that Asivaq might've had a different, more compassionate, way to do it. So he left it with that and settled to working on the deer meat a little longer while the pair had their reunion. Kigipigak kept an ear turned to them though in case things went sour.

Both Stratos and Kigipigak were confused by her show of affection, and it took her a moment to realize why they'd reacted how they had. When it hit her, she looked at them apologetically and explained, My excitement got the best of me. It is not every day that a reunion like this happens!

She nodded as Kigipigak explained their situation, but Asivaq knew there was much more that she needed to elaborate on—especially her estrangement from their family.

This is our Napatuqvik—our tree village, she began. It is just the two of us, but we will be adding some new members soon. she glanced down at her abdomen and gently rubbed the curve her pregnancy had created. Though I still walk with Sedna, I am a wolf of Tartok, thanks to Kigipigak. We are one of their many branches and hope to grow as we become more established. She paused there momentarily, wondering what he made of what she said so far.

Not Ariadne. Asivaq. His surprise spilled out before he could give his words a second thought.

Left them behind? something in Kigipigak's words left the impression this was more than what Stratos himself had done in dispersing for his shot at the world, and he looked between them, Why?

His sister was quick to explain, and she soothed his worries - but only just. It all didn't quite add up. Ariadne, leaving the moonwolves behind? Taking on a different name, a different life. He tried to remember if anyone from the family had ever done that before, and his gaze dropped to her swollen belly. Pregnant, too. And with only her mate! Surely anaa wouldn't have let her leave so close to bearing children to start a family of her own! Surely tataa wouldn't have, either.

But she hadn't left Sedna.

I don't understand, came the sum of his thoughts, more confusion and curiosity than judgment, who is Tartok? They are different than the moon people? Why not stay with anaa and tataa until the children are born? For sure it is much safer that way. You are much safer. No offense to Kigipigak, but in the village, there were many more men who could protect her and the pups. Out here, she only had one.

While it was a surprise that this was the brother of his wife, it did not surprise Kigipigak in the slightest to learn that the name Tartok was meaningless to this boy born of the moonpeople. His confusion was frustrating; his insinuations offensive; the way he prattled on about the strength of the united villages only served to irritate Kigipigak, and the man did his best to temper his response rather than let his usual bravado get in the way. He was older now, and he did not need to prove anything to this boy when he'd already gotten all that he'd wanted.

Tartok is a people, and a place. Much like the many moon villages of these wilds, there are families in the far north that live upon the ice, and they are my people. They are warriors and hunters. Perhaps it was more offensive to think that Kukutux had not shared these things with her own children, but why would she? The woman did not understand much outside of her own realm of influence—and Kigipigak could fill in those blanks.

As for the rest, he did not feel it was his place. He gave a look to Asivaq, softening as he looked upon her, and wondered what she might say to fix her brother's confusion. While he was listening Kigipigak also wondered if Stratos would stay with them; with the way he praised his mother and father it appeared he was much closer to the moonpeople than his (apparently) wayward sister.

His curiosity was understandable, and she remained silent as her husband explained what Tartok was. She nodded occasionally as he spoke and stole glances at her brother to see what he made of it; would he accept them? She wasn't sure. It'd been a while since she'd last seen him, and she wasn't sure what his viewpoints were.

When there were questions she could answer, Asivaq took her turn to address all his concerns. They judged our relationship—anaa didn't even ask for a bride price. That still hurt; she would never forget how her mother had made her feel that day. There was a bison hunt and a women's circle a few moons back. I could feel the judgment, and I was tired of being questioned about making a decision that made me genuinely happy. She could feel tears but tried to hold them in with a shake of her head.

I am much safer with Kigigipigak in our Napatuqvik, trust me.

Well. The way Kigipigak explained things seemed simple enough. Ariadne had left home, as they all had, and had found a husband in the north, not so unlike the moon people themselves, if his sister could follow Sedna and devote herself to the ways of Tartok at the same time. In fact, they even sounded like his kind of guys. Warriors and hunters. Kigipigak certainly looked the part.

If they had stopped at that, Stratos would have given his sister a good ole "well, good on you!" for finding her way in the world - starting a family, and a village, to boot! And so far Kigipigak seemed like a pretty solid guy, considering he'd agreed to a hunt and meal together even while being total strangers.

But Ariadne continued.

She didn't ask for a bride price! he said, louder than he'd meant - and as she continued, the only thing that kept him from speaking his mind was the fact he was a guest here... okay, moreso his sister's hunter warrior husband bedside them.

Hey, hey, come here, he said when he saw her tears, and reached out to pull her into his embrace, if she'd let him.

All the while, his mind worked churned on double time. 

Anaa, refuse a bride price? Allow the moon people to spurn her own daughter at a women's circle? He remembered how happy anaa had been when he brought her new of Ani and Dee, but perhaps she was stricter on her daughters...

Or maybe, there was good reason she hadn't celebrated at the news of Ariadne's betrothed.

That sounds like... a lot.

In a different place and with different company, Stratos would have confronted her. He didn't trust her, because clearly anaa and tataa didn't trust Kigipigak. But she was here, pregnant, with her husband, and who knew how many new mouths they'd soon have to feed?

But I trust you.

He didn't; he trusted anaa and tataa. Stratos didn't think they would force Ariadne away. This must have been a choice of her own. And he knew what they would want him to offer her, if they knew he was standing here right now. 

I have no village of my own, he glanced to Kigipigak, then to his sister, but if you let me, I can help build yours.

When his wife became overwhelmed by emotion, he began to react in the way he was used to—shifting so he may comfort her—but, the red-coated man reached out more emphatically and took the role for himself. Kigipigak was left feeling slighted, which he knew was unfair, and so he swallowed the sudden possessiveness he felt and let the moment unfold. They were family—and while Kigipigak was not close with his own siblings, he knew the moon villages were so entwined with one-another that such displays were commonplace.

The man, Stratos, appeared overwhelmed by the idea of the bride price; Kigipigak idly wished that Asivaq had not mentioned this, as it had no doubt colored the way her brother saw the pair of them. If he was as ingrained in the culture as Asivaq had been, and if he was as brainwashed by his mother as Kigipigak suspected them all to be within the moon villages, such news of the refusal would only sour things.

There was no avoiding it, though. What was said had been said.

Stratos sounded eager to be of use, at any rate. Kigipigak was pleased enough with the concept of having help—although he did not like the implication planted in his own mind, by his own bias, that the man only offered because he now did not trust Kigipigak, or thought him less of a man, or somehow incapable of being a good husband. There was only a moment of hesitation from Kigipigak as he considered; and he knew how important Asivaq's family had been to her.

Having an extra set of teeth for hunting would be appreciated, and you are quite skilled. He intoned as an answer, but would leave the final decision to the issumatar.

Stratos was quick to comfort Asivaq, and she fell into his embrace, noting how nice it was to receive comfort from a family member. She didn't—but taataa did, thankfully. She pulled back to look at her brother with wet eyes; she knew she wasn't entirely faultless. It was a lot, but it wasn't all them, she elaborated, feeling the need to explain this. I could have stood my ground at the women's circle—but I didn't. I ran away from them—like some scared little girl, and I am ashamed of myself for that. There were very few individuals she'd openly admit this to.

Her brother then elaborated, offering his services in building their village, and Kigipigak offered his opinion. She nodded in agreement, wiping away her tears and stepping back towards her husband.

I would be honored if you helped, she admitted. Thank you, braataa, and she pulled him into another hug.

With an agreement in place, the trio moved from where they’d conversed to deeper into the territory, giving Stratos the 4-1-1 regarding the lay of the land and their neighbors. Stratos was their first official member, and with more on the way, their village was starting to grow.