Neverwinter Forest kiiksiugun ⊎

for panuk, aiolos, and callyope! aw tho if another searcher wants to join! no posting order!  set for the 21st

while @Tautukpik and akmaaksi rested in her den, joined by @Panuk for now, kukutux went in search of @Aiolos and @Vairë.

consumed by pain, halting, she told them what the boys had relayed of ariadne; that callyope had asked for her and that the message had been urgent; her spirit name in the mouth of her son; this child of samani who had spoken of these shades upon the water and that one had called him spirit-talker.

and all who looked upon the face of kukutux would already see the frightened dread which had taken root there.

ariadne had been gone for some time, and of higher order was finding nutuyikruk, but her heart dreaded.

two evenings ago, she had set out from the village, leaving it entirely in the care of her doe-daughter, knowing sivullik would return to be beside his wife as well. she kissed akmaaksi and tautupik, saying once more that she would be back.

and now she stood with panuk and aiolos at the quietly beautiful bordering to the forest her sister had once so loved, and called for @Callyope in a strained voice as they crossed over into the weald.

Aiolos thought a visit to the neighboring forest might be in order soon. It was a place he had not been in years, though had lived within for a number of weeks long ago. 

I stayed here for a time. He spoke to Panuk, keeping his voice steady, despite the tension (and ache with it) in his bones. A few weeks, really...to train the young fighters to become warriors. He did his best to hold his grandson's attention, so that he might not see the growing worry in Kukutux' face. 

He had hoped to come on better circumstances, to see the budding of another extension of the Moon tribes. One which he hoped would stick this time with his wayward daughter. The news Panuk had shared was, unsettling. At the forefront, Aiolos mind shielded him, for surely a second daughter dead in a second summer might break him.

He went as far north as the glacier, but not so far as to climb it. When the forest thinned to an emptiness but still there was no scent of either mother or daughter, Kigipigak turned back as he had told Callyope he would; and he traced his way through the Neverwinter again, shouting for some time these names, and only stopped when he caught sight of a white figure among the trees. White, red; his heart leapt to his throat, or maybe had taken up residence there as he hunted. He could taste copper as he picked up the pace.

It was not one body as he'd hoped — it was three. Kukutux, the Sunman, and a boy. They looked like a happy family moving throughout the trees, no doubt hunting for Ariadne as well; and Kigipigak drew close. His breath was heavy and irregular as he tried to gather himself, looking between the two he knew.

I have looked everywhere. I — she is not here. Neither of them. He did not say this to wound them. If they were here to hunt among the trees, he could save them time and energy by conveying what he'd failed to find. To Kukutux went Kigipigak's hard, cold eyes — resisting the hurt he felt as the doubt was creeping in.

I am going east, next. Perhaps they joined one-another and... I don't know. I just need to keep looking. Already he was moving, looking to the trees around them, trying to keep himself calm as he used his full compliment of ranger skills to track down his family.

This should not be happening, he thought; and perhaps that sentiment caught in his eyes, and perhaps the two of them could see it.

They journeyed back to the forest with the Sunman. Pan did his best to lead the way, knowing that they should start near the edge of the lake and see if Callyope was still there. He imagined that she would have had better luck figuring out how Ariadne had gotten so far out on the water. In his heart, he hoped that everything would be alright when they arrived. It would be a small meeting of family members and then everyone would part ways to go home.

A rugged man approached them in the trees. His eyes were intense and his features were marred, brutalized by his past and left with reminders. It captivated the young wolf. He stared with wide jade eyes, unable to speak to this man.

He said he would go east.

Did you check the lake? Pan inquired calmly. I saw her there. On the water with the man. They did not seem hurt- I don’t know why everyone is so-

Upset.

Panuk gazed to his grandmother. His brow knotted with concern.

She had not gone into the water.

She could not brave the lake and she feared asking someone else to go within. Callyope had become undone in the time it took between Panuk leaving and her mother's call. Her nights were spent sleepless and hoping that White @Elk would not mind if she stayed near. He wanted to court her, but they were not yet married.

She thought of how he had only just seen her sister.

They had yet to take the news to her mother but she could not declare it when once more tragedy slung along their shoulders. Yet Callyope carried ramskin along her shoulders too. It was not meant to be a flaunt, but to bring her comfort. To carry White Elk's presence with her when she had to walk the forests.

Forests that were meant to be her sister's.

A sister who still had not returned — nor had the pale hunter.

The Nuiruk daughter looked as if she had not slept in the two nights when she arrived.

It was hard enough to look at her mother knowing what the boy had sent word of. It was near world shattering to have to face her father too. She had tried to reason with herself, to say that perhaps the boy meant a...prank! Only he seemed too kind to joke about such a thing unprompted. She also struggled with some sense of self importance — why would her sister leave with the hunter but not tell her? Even if she asked her to keep it a secret!

She found she had no words she could say to anyone present.

A tired, weary and thin-lipped smile was the only thing she could provide those who gathered.

no posting order!

aiolos spoke as they walked, the party halted by 
the arrival of kigipigak. in this moment, unguarded in the grief she sought to hold at bay, riddled with fear at what her grandsons had said, the icy look he gave her was answered with one of knowing pain. 

to his words the duck gave a nod, but approached him on silent feet, glancing back to see that panuk remained with his grandfather. her eyes found those of the winterhawk, and she almost said then the truth she felt was true.

but it was panuk who mentioned the lake, and kukutux wished she had not brought the boy, that she had left him with vairë. or even sent him back to his father! 

he is meant to be here, tooteega grunted.

callyope arrived then, wretchedly exhausted, and the sight of her tore at kukutux' heart.

arms went around the tired young woman. "kigipigak, we must go to the lake." her mouth worked for a moment. "panuk has told us he saw — he saw ariadne in the water there, as if it were part of her now."

and tautukpik! but she did not speak of the boy now, wondering if his knowing of of the spirit name might only awaken the barely resting enmity between sunshine and tartok ways.

"callyope," and she touched the fine pelt which was fragranced with white elk, and smiled wanly, "will you show us this lake? we will see if she is there."

kukutux did not think she had ever wished for ariadne to be elsewhere in her entire life as hard as she prayed for it now.

sedna, please. sedna, please, and she felt the resistance of her own step as the wolves moved toward the lake. and at last she decided she would walk no further, and fell back beside panuk. "why do we not stay here for now? let them look at the lake. i must rest."

she did not think panuk would leave her behind, and did not want to command him to stay from the fringe of forest which circled the lake. yet she would order him to stay if she needed, she dreaded that look upon callyope's face and did not want to walk another step.

Their worry could be felt on the air. It clouded the young wolf’s mind, casting him in a deep and contemplative silence. All of them stressed over Ariadne. All of them had been searching for her, desperate to find where she had gone. Pan wished to assure them! He wanted them to know that all was well. Aunt Ariadne danced upon the surface of the water with her friend. She had become part of the magic of the natural world.

Yet he was not given the opportunity to ease their worries. The group of them plodded on for a short time before Kukutux paused and spoke to Pan, asking if he might hang back for a bit and wait with her. She insisted that the others could look at the lake and she could rest. Though his initial instinct was to insist that they press on - the lake was not far - he recalled that he had made a promise to the other boy.

Keep gramma safe and bring her home.

Okay, gramma. We can stay here for a little bit. You want me to catch you some food?

The earthy brown boy smiled up at the Moonwoman, eager to please. Eager to remove the horrible sadness from her bright green eyes.

Kigipigak joined them. Then daughter Callyope. Aiolos fell silent again. 

In step with the group, he felt the weight the tension heavier snd heavier on him. Kukutux found nervousness, unwanting to believe what she knew to be true. She looked to be a part of the water. Aiolos thoughts moved to his sea-side daughter. A lump in his throat formed. He thought he might throw up. Instead he spoke, trying to be strong for his wife.  

Callyope, you should stay here too. Rest. I know the land and the lake you speak, Kigipigak and I can go. We won't be long. 

At least, he was pretty certain he could remember the way. With his age, it was his muscles which strained, not his mind. Whatever doubt he had he would not have shared anyway, determined to not let them come, should the worst be at the end of this journey.

She was held.

Her eyes closed and she wondered if she might fall asleep. Safe, embraced, surrounded by the familiar. Only she knew her dreams would be haunted until she had an answer. So she forced her lids open around amber eyes and only looked absent-mindedly at her mother's fur.

Memorizing each tuft, the scents and the feel.

She should have hugged Ariadne tighter that last time, shouldn't she?

Of course, She whispered softly to her mother. Reluctant to leave her hold so that she could walk, but this must be done.

She would lead them all to the lake where her dear nephew had said such things. The boy seemed nearly unbothered by the grim feeling that had slid along the spines of the adults. She loved him deeply for it and wished to shelter him from it all.

Callyope did not speak her relief to have Panuk and her mother remain behind.

That same relief did not exist when her father tried to offer her the same. She shook her head. No. Firm but not intended to be rude. I must be there. She would not be denied the peace in knowing what was there. If nothing was wrong within or around the lake, then perhaps she might sleep finally.

If they found anything troublesome...well, perhaps she could cry herself to sleep instead.

She turned to kiss both her mother's cheek and Panuk's own too before the rest of them walked forward.

The lake?

Kigipigak had scented water as he had run the forest, but he had never seen a lake in this place, and felt immediate guilt for having overlooked a space such as this. But why would Ariadne go there? Perhaps Nutuyikruk was there also; but the boy had said less about his little girl and more about a man?

He looked to Aiolos and as the Sunman moved, Kigipigak moved with him. They would seek this lake and find whatever truth lay there, if any may be found.

The man was silent as he marched, but kept his focus on any trail he might find. While it was beginning to wane, there was the unmistakable scent of his ex-wife and that man again, twinning through the forest. His glance to Aiolos was one of restrained hope, and hurt, and cold determination.

tag for ref! <3 still no posting order!

so relieved that panuk had not fought her request for him to stay. the sound of her sun man's voice was so reassuring that she fought also her need to cling to him, as if she were no more than that broken young woman he had found after the falling star and its destruction.

sedna, please. let her have run away with kannoyak. let them even now be speaking of their future. they will not come back, and the little ones will cry for her. but kigipigak is here. they have him.

kukutux kissed aiolos gently, and nodded in understanding at callyope. ariadne was her birth-sister, given first breath alongside her in that warm ulaq. of course she must know.

kigipigak received her last look before she turned back to panuk. as the sounds of the others' trail died away, she mustered a fond, playful look for her grandson. "here in this place, a woman once lived. but first she had made moonglow village her home, and was loved by a man of ice."

she told him the story of adrastus and lótë. how the man had been strong and wise, and killed a white cat for his mate. how he had courted the elven one and at last won her favor. 

and how he had rejected their children, thrown they and lótë aside. destroyed their home and disappeared. "your pappóus aiolos married her after that, and gave she and her children our last name of nuiruk. but it was a place of her own she wanted always, and so she came here, to this place, and she breathed new golden life into it, and brought forth a new son named @Fjall."

Cally- He hesitates, his words cutting off and his fiery attention shifts from his daughter to mother. Was there any way she might convince her?? She would not answer kissed the cheek of her mate before they three departed. 

The trio found the lake and Aiolos gives pause, his features grim, his brow knitting. He began to walk along the edges of the lake bed. Pausing again, head high, he sniffs the warm air. Head down, he looks to see marks in the ground by his feet. Looking in a way as though someone were kicking up dirt when charging forward. The Sunman paws at it, his eyes casting back to the lake. 

Wait here. It was all which was said and this time he did not wait for his daughter's retort. He trotted into the shallows of the water, until only his head could be seen while kicking out towards the deep. He was a strong swimmer. A fast swimmer. Even now, swimming the lake waters was effortless when comparing it to the strong tide of Sea. 

And then he drove. 

When he rose, he was panting heavy, a gasping for breath- frantic! Yet it was not tiredness which caused this. Whatever calls out to him were ignored and he could be seen swimming further and out to the left, as though swimming after something. Someone. He dived again. 

This time, when Aiolos head broke the water's surface, it was with a loud cry. His scream shaking the quiet of the forest. And he screamed again and again, his limbs now flailing as he struggled to stay afloat, unable to the hold back the agony of what he had seen. 

They had lost another daughter.

Aiolos brought them to the lake and then began to swim, with Kigipigak striding in to the shallows and becoming a bit of a wall between the lake and Callyope, who followed. When Aiolos dropped through the water Kigipigak became more tense; would they find anything? Was it good or bad to wish one way or the other?

Time stood still. The red of Aiolos diminished, then rose up again fiercely. His shout was one of anguish which pierced his heart as well as the woods surrounding them.

Kigipigak plunged in immediately.

He felt the pulse of the water around him, the warmth of the topmost layers, the taste; and he swam for Aiolos, to buoy the man in his grief. The emotional side of himself - once alive because of Ariadne, once so wounded - was shut off utterly now as he helped keep his father-in-law afloat.

In his mind was the storming, no no no regardless.

And then when he could trust Aiolos would not suffer drowning himself, Kigipigak went down as far as he could. Water rushed his nostrils. Lake grit caught in his lashes, water burning his eyes. Cold, cold, cold, dark — he saw Kannoyak first.

Then, the flame of Ariadne in an eternal sleep. No. Please no.

To who did he pray?

The boy was respectful, remaining close to his grandmother so that she did not worry about the others. His eyes were wide as she spoke her story to him, of a woman who had loved a man of ice. In the swirling power of his young imagination, he saw the man - cut from a glacier with piercing eyes. The sharpness of his muscles, the frigidity of his stare. He was ice itself.

The story shifted and so did Pan, moving his paws in a nervous way. Grandfather had married this woman after the ice man? He did not understand. Love to him was eternal. It did not shift or fade or fall away from the hearts it possessed. The woman in the story seemed to have found joy. This was all that mattered. For a time, Pan wondered about Fjall and where the child was, if they were happy, if they knew the love of their mother. He thought of his own mother, too. Sadness crept in to his young heart. He wished that he could hear Samani’s stories the way Moonwoman shared hers.

When his mouth parted to ask about the puppy, he was cut short.

A cry from the forest. Grandfather’s voice howling out in agony. It did not end. The scream of pain so white hot that he could feel it against his flesh, driving into his heart.

Pan’s ears fell flat to his head. The jade green of his eyes shifted to Kukutux. They couldn’t sit and wait any longer, could they?

Grandpa… he whispered, looking through the trees with a faraway stare.

Perhaps she had known, the moment Panuk had come to her.

Maybe there had always been a little red line tied between her and her littermates. Had she felt that snap when Ariadne had left this world? She had been so keen to ignore the ache and panic, she had imagined a million other outcomes but none seemed to be so fitting such suddenness.

The men went to the water.

She did not allow herself to be touched by it.

Not in the moments of silence — not in the wailing grief that came when her father resurfaced. She knew. She knew, she knew, she knew.

She did not wail alongside her grieving father — not ready to sing such songs — but she could not move. Her limbs had become rooted like an old tree. Her mother must know — Your mother will hear — and she must tell White Elk — He will hear too.

Her sister meant to make a village and now it was her grave.

Callyope yearned for a task to fill her mind in the blank spots that grief created, but she could not move.

aiolos had never made such a sound like that in all his life, and kukutux was upon her feet before she comprehended, a spike of pain cutting along her hip. a step, hurried, and another; she forced herself to a jerky stop, and then she — she could not.

the duck fair flew to the lakeshore, where aiolos streamed with water and shuddered; kukutux went to him at once, wending her arms tightly around his neck. heedless of how quickly her own pelt would take the drink of the lake, she looked now with a quiet sound for panuk, motioning him close.

"stay with your pappóus."

her voice was desperate.

perhaps now, ear flicking as kigipigak broke the surface of the lake a second time, numbly reaching to touch callyope with a hand that felt nothing;

so quickly the world narrowed, and her legs tangled with one another, almost forcing a stumble as she approached the shallows of the glowing water.

she knew.

she knew.

she knew.

and yet her mind could not understand.

They could not wait any longer.

Kukutux pushed on through the woods and to the lake. Panuk was sure to keep his large body close, supportive of her. His eyes fixed worriedly to her face. The lines of grief that had been etched into her features were difficult to swallow.

And when they arrived at the water and the boy saw his grandfather, his heart sunk. Warmth seeped through his blood and filled him with a deeply uncomfortable feeling. There, on the water, he could see the white man standing. This time Ariadne was not with him. It was just the white man and his watery, flowing eyes.

Kukutux instructed the boy to stay with his grandfather. Panuk would not disappoint her.

The dark earthy boy waded out, soaking his belly and chest in lake water. He pressed his thick frame to Aiolos before tucking his snout in the fur at his grandpa’s chest.

It’s okay, grandpa…

Beneath the surface Kigipigak stared at his dead wife and the man, presumably her new lover; he hurt in ways he could not identify, and felt himself begin to choke. He knew he needed to surface - and he knew he could not go away empty. So in this frozen, mechanical, dissociative way, he grabbed for the nearest body and dragged. Kicked. Fought the water and made himself go towards the light above.

Kigipigak pulled the body of the man to the shore and that was where he collapsed, heaving breaths. His legs no longer kept him upright. The earth collided with him and he gasped, and he coughed, and maybe he cried, but the lake had saturated him enough to hide it.

There in the lake sat Ariadne. The red glow grew, if only because Aiolos was doing what needed to be done. Kigipigak could not help the hope that sprouted as he stared blankly across the lake - that she might take a breath and live, that this was not happening. Whatever solidity he had found in his beliefs of self-power were utterly shaken; and so too were his doubts about those spirits of the Moon tribes.

He watched the water for father and daughter, and prayed, and wished someone could fix this, because he was powerless to do it himself. The man's body stagnated beside him; warmed by the sun now, but solid, and cold, and empty in a way that Kigipigak somehow could identify with.

Aiolos flopped around like a newborn seal pup, finally finding purchase via the shoulders and nape of Kigipigak, where his front limbs slug over and his head lay, panting heavily between streams of tears. 

When he had gathered himself into at least a fragment of sanity once more, he kept himself afloat as Kigipigak dived under. Moments later, Aiolos did again. 

His daughter swayed within the tangled reeds of the lake bed. Her fur stirring as though in the wind atop the Moonsong Glacier. Then, to Kannoyak, when he could finally tear his eyes from Ariadne. They looked, peaceful, even... 

Jaws were then finding purchase, tearing at the reeds, kicking at them even, as they reached like tentacles, hungry still for another pound of flesh. Both firey coated wolves rose to the surface. Both slowly floating their way to the lake side. 

He didnt know if it was enough and hoped Kigipigak might pull her the rest of the way if not. Nothing would ever be enough...! And his world became furry and disoriented. But he could not swim nor hold his breath any longer and by the time he was dragging himself back into the shallows, hacking and shaking, crying and panting, it was his wife's limbs which flung around him now. For once, he could not support her and so fell before her, his heart lurching as his panic attack settled deep. 

When Panuk came to his side in turn, Aiolos burrowed his face in the thick of his rich earth fur.

The world continued.

Everyone living and breathing and grieving. It all served to prove that the world marched on while her sister (and the pale hunter) were frozen within time. Never to move on, never to grow. She ached to think of how children might age beyond their mother one day.

She realized that the task she was given was to bring forth these bodies.

Her father was a mess and her mother or Panuk might comfort him. Kigipigak was here too, but she had half a mind to send him after his children. No, something whispered like a hand smoothing down hairs. He has a task here too.

If her father had not fully brought her sister back earthside, Callyope moved to finish his work.

And she knew that the pale hunter must be given this same respect too.

Her task was to keep living when her sister could not.

all kukutux could think was that she had been so wrong, that the limpness of the pathmaker's arms was her fault.

aiolos turned to panuk and kukutux forced herself into the water with callyope, drawing one pained breath before she dove beneath the surface.
 
ariadne's body was borne back to shore, and for an endless time kukutux stared down at the sodden frame, the streaming eyes, the way the body reflected the sudden horror of a drowning death.

tears fell in silence until there were no more tears to give.

the world continued.

in stricken quiet they bore back to moonglow the dead.

and death too lived in kukutux.