Firefly Glen [PHE] tunusisak ⧫

master post for all the healers, single replies welcome <3 lmk if i tagged anyone wrongly or didnt tag someone! <3

kukutux had not expected the arrival of the grand lady who had the name of @Toula. but she received the woman and her daughters with a greeting and a soft smile. three tasks were set before pharaoh, @Satakhetem, and @Neith to divide: the sorting of honeycomb pieces into wax and piles of honey, the arrangement of gathered cobwebs into usable portions, and divvying a pile of walnuts into whole and broken pieces.

@Nasmiituuq was asked to create three of the medicinal teas, and to her aid would be placed @Meadow and @Phobos, to gather or crush what was needed. a thought, and she sent @Rhonen with them as well, letting him carry a fine skin bag made from the bladder of an old stag.

@Alaric, @Lightfoot, and @Akmaaksi were given pieces of old hide from which they could peel long strips of sinew. kukutux explained that these would be used for binding, and to make three equal heaps from which the healers might take.

@Tavina, marina, and @Ajei; she bid these women begin the more arduous, slow work of separating rosehips from their thorny stems. again, three portions. from amalia and @Yuralria did the duck ask the task of bringing as much soaked moss from the nearby streams as was possible. a healing camp needed a consistent supply of water, and this would be all their task to share, they, the healers of the great hunt.

she kept @Etienne nearby; they two would move among these working-groups, offering their aid where it was needed, ensuring that peace was taken from the jobs as well. 

a song! kukutux offered the words first in sunshine, then in common:

aya, aya aya!

the handsome boy there, he is staring at your face!

do not look, do not look

i will say the words loud so he will hear them:

'"what did your father ask in trade?'"

aya, aya, aya!

now he believes you will be married!

see how he runs to find his own furs!

he will bring them to your father,

he will run to ask you first

and she felt, for a moment, the glow of samani's laughter, the wind of ariadne's spinning dance as the spirits of her daughters descended over the hunt, drawn by the singing of their mother.

ALaric did as bade and even joined in the singing that Moonwoman offered. Perhaps it was not the best song for a man, But he did not care. He had prove many a time that he was not a normal man by any conventional standards.

He pulled the strips, long thin pieces and dropped them in piles nearby. An expert at this for he did it on his own in the spear. It was beautiful here. He missed his daughter and wished that Pie could have come, but he understood.

Her face was dried. her eyes no longer watery. She had sought out Solace and Sobeille had found her.. She had shared her sadness and her words, even the cruel ones to Kukutux and now she waited, quietly. When she was giving her task, she stepped into it full heartedly. This task was an arduous one, one that cost her mind power and as such her sadness for the days was lost in the chaos of work.

Etienne was swift to attend to teh call of Kukutux. Tucking @Caliste next to him. He promised her he would take her to visit more wolves after the work was done. He hoped she would try her paw at some of the jobs, even if it was just a little nibble or tear here or there.

There was a hum under his breath. A sea shanty that he matched to teh cadence of the song that Kukutux sang. And he offered his services to the different groups. A smile on his face for each one. And a song in his heart. At peace since a long time coming.

Tags are optional invitations for a separate thread! Is it okay if we assume @Waawaashkeshi has been invited too?

Her instructions to @Meadow and @Phobos had been soft, void of any urgency or command, but even so Nasamiituuq had worked quickly and diligently. In her time away from Moonglow she had learned many things — foremost, a practiced grace in the art of medicine.

When her work was finished and the teas all steeping, the moongirl's eyes quickly caught on the fragility in @Ajei's expression and posture. They did not know one another well, but Nasamiituuq's heart ached nonetheless. She went to the girl with a gentle nudge, eyes flitting away only briefly to search for Keshi's gilded presence. Then her attention was only for Ajei, her own expression a gentle offering of companionship.

too much.

too many.

too loud!

akmaaksi was overwhelmed; it showed in every set of her being, and she focused entirely on shredding the sinew.

her first attempts lay in shreds at her nervous feet, but little by little she gathered a tiny pile of long-dried muscle cut into strips.

when she at last lifted her head to stretch aching neck, she met a stranger's eyes across the small camp and burned, yanking her gaze away and directing it down.

tavina brought @Tiye in polite steps after pharaoh and her daughters. while the sesh would join the other physicians, tiye would be there to serve the specific needs and wants of royalty. it was her role, after all, tavina commented; their kingdom was successful due to their strict hierarchy.

her paws were stung before long; she flicked her eyes up at the others. "you'd think being poked all the time by cacti would make me better at this, but alas," tavina murmured self-deprecatingly.

quietly she made note of how many lovely women had come to the gathering, shyly considering —

she turned her mind back to the rosehips.

some slight pp here but lmk if you’re not cool with it @Neith !

I know it might be your wish, to hunt with your father and your brothers. and so you shall—but not this day. in respect to the villages in which we are the guests of, we heed this invitation. and we shall be in the presence of the Wilds most important mortal, whom they call moonwoman. a shame, that your brothers will miss precious time with her—time you two shall have, to ask the wise woman all that you wish. her eyes were bright as she spoke to her little girls. perhaps they were too youngblooded to understand the opportunity that was present here! she spoke not to one, but to both—both daughters and their desires were important to her!
but they must learn patience, and decorum, and to honor traditions when in an environment outside of Akashingo. they could share their own, but should they come to stay with any of their alliances as Toula herself once had, they must know how to behave. 
when work was provided to them, Toula looked gratefully upon the elder for the task. her daughters could accomplish this easily, and perhaps Toula’s own love for honeycomb had been relayed as far as this! 
she looked to Tavina, brows furrowing with concern—but heard there also her playfulness, in the self-deprecation. you do well! she commended warmly. kindly, she did not express how so many others would be pricked a dozen times more than her expert Sesh, practiced teeth and paws ones Toula looked to with warm admiration. Tavina represented them well, she thought. she was proud! 
the song, in both iterations, was lovely. and it brought to mind one of the moonwoman’s roles! tale has reached Akashingo that you are an accomplished matchmaker, Moonwoman, the Pharaoh regarded her and her title with respect, and open curiosity! how had this come to be? the unspoken question lingered politely in the air, and Toula’s lips curled upward in a warm smile. was this not a time of learning, of sharing?

the girl followed closely behind the royals. her eyes scrutinize the young princess when she wasn't looking. how nice of a life an amiraad must be. but for once tiye holds her tongue; god forbid shes sent to clean mud in the prison.

many women gather round, and though tiye may not be one of them, large ears stand perked. even if she's to feed grapes to a royal brat, she could probably remember what is taught, no? and whatever she doesn't remember, she will ask tavina.

perhaps racharra shouldn't be here. she was no healer, nor did she have a keen eye for herbs. only whatever disturbs the foliage. despite her upbringing, she probably would've been more suited to the hunt.

but would it not be polite to express interest in a potential mother-in-law's craft? especially if she must live with her? racharra enters after toula and the royal daughters, careful to not get in tavina and the fellahin's way. she smiles towards the moonwoman; hello again. racharra speaks with a bow before settling. she keeps quiet as toula speaks, watching the royal girls play with their honey. she would take the task of the cobwebs. 
the confidence she had entered the room must've been caught by the cobwebs. when the nebet's paws attempt to sort them, she had realized this was much harder than the noble had ever imagined as delicate threads clung to her with a ferocity stronger than her ogress blood.

always cool with it <3

“Yes, momma.” 

Because scowling is unbecoming of a lady, the princess Neith made her face blank. She ought to smile back at the gathering healers, but her cheeks won’t obey. She sits side by side with her mother and sister, grateful at least for something to do besides avoiding momma’s eyes. Her shoulder brushes the delicate flaxen arm as she reaches for the honeycomb, feeling ashamed, of course.

The amiirad had wanted to watch power rippling through the hunters with her brothers! But momma was smart to her and Khaem’s plan. It was one of the girl’s greatest frustrations, to be divided from her brothers. Now she would succumb to this intensely dull meeting, stuck doing servants’ work.

“Thank you for the invitation, Lady Kukutux,” the princess expressed her gratitude all the same. Momma had said this was an important circle, an opportunity to expand her learning.

But Neith did not truly perk up until the sunshine woman began to sing– the language hauntingly beautiful and telling the story of two lovers!

“What happens next?” The amiirad gasps, her heart a puddle of helpless warmth!

Initially, Meadow had worried at such a large gathering. Yet she was placed under the direction of a maiden by the name of Nasamiituuq, and with @Rhonen with her as well, she worked with the other wolf, Phobos, with the directions set before her.

It was refreshing to learn new things—the grind of herbs for delicate teas, and the soft whispered every so often.

Rhonen held much of her attention, though curiosity would get the best of her—glimpses stolen of whom she assumed was now reigning Pharaoh, and those who accompanied her. Still, she hoped she remained discrete in her glances, and looking down to see her son, she lifted a silver paw, brushing some of the herbs from the youthful man’s brow—despite the fact he towered over her.

Moonwoman and another called Etienne moved around them—and before she could coax her not-so-little boy to go with her and make a friend, the beautiful voice of Moonwoman broke into a song, and she found a small smile slipping to her lips as she settled down once more. "I wish I could sing like that," she murmured to Rhonen.

Rhonen felt like a bull in a China shop. All the healers were leagues smaller than him and built like delicate flowers. Not gargantuan beasts. And yet he found a calmness there while he worked n3xt to his mother. Even giving a soft laugh qhen she brushed at his brow. Tickling.

He tilted his ears upwards. And then back to his mom at the song.Iii huhuheard thththat prprpractice ananand anananyone cacacan sisising.

girls and husbands and domesticity.

hiding a frown, tavina nodded at the boy who spoke. "that's right. anyone can have a beautiful voice."

but there would be no more heard of hers for a time; she went to her task singlemindedly, attempting not to snag her paws upon the thorny stems.

"i am, pharaoh," kukutux said softly. "i am atsak. this year, i make matching for the daughters of my daughters," she explained, and smiled brightly at the one called princess, starting in another cadence;

"boy brings furs to father's home,

mother welcomes with marrow bone,

girl is quiet until she is asked,

will she stay or leave at last?

girl must choose ulaq or boy,

leave in sorrow or in joy.

her bride-price is mother's hope,

her own heart hopes to elope!"

a laugh, and she was speaking again, moving among the gathered healers now.

She listens in awe and with a thudding heart. Only when the melody comes to an end does the joy spill out from her little golden body’s confinement.

“What is oo-luck, momma?” Neith asks, then spins to Satakh to declare, “I am going to learn to sing like Lady Kukutux!”

She surprises herself with how much there is to learn here, about romance and princes and love.