Qeya River dawn country

pack meeting! future-dated just a bit for the 12th! rounds can last a week or until every posts; no posting order <3

he called @Sulukinak to him first in; "you will say my words to them. i do not have time to make them understand."

at the riverflat he called to them, to @Ksura and @Senka, @Anselm, @Ilse, @Gideon, and @Kekoa, if he still found himself among the qeya. here the dragonflies played in the late sunlight, and summer still could be felt in the touch of the water.

but they were here for one purpose. sun eater scarcely noticed the beauty glowing about him as he waited for these wolves of his to arrive — or to choose this last moment of defection before blood stained the soil for it again.

sulukinak was nearby when her uncle called for everyone, and when given the order to translate she only nodded.

now would be a good time for her to study those that remained; to see who, and how injured, and to learn of the river people. she did not know what cen would speak about but she was attentive, standing alongside him.

to get this in her log!

she arrived not long behind sulukinak, quick to heed sun eater’s call. she situated herself so that she could be somewhere in the middle of whatever gathering arrived, and waited anxiously for command. she thought she knew what this would be about, but he always found a way to surprise her.

The sound of a call peaked Kekoa's interest, and he soon arrived to get a look. He knew very well that he did not yet have a place here however and sat off to the side.

He would leave if asked, and if not he would remain to observe and listen out of curiosity.

Being summoned caused him some amount of distress. Ksura followed the lead of Wren and Silvertongue and Ash Star; his obedience was given without a thought, worry or care to Senka. 

But it was not for Ksura that Sun Eater called; he summoned Sheep Killer. It was the only name the one-eyed man knew. It was the only name Ksura could answer to, unless he wanted to put Senka’s life at risk- so when it was called, he bristled, circled anxiously until he could calm his nervous tics, and then went to the meeting. 

He would seek out Senka on his route- keen to have her within his sight and grasp, if necessary, during the meeting.

the steady stream of pain relieving medicine and movement showed promise. if she was not in the frigid caverns then she was in the river just beyond it. there she found the cold water and swimming built muscle easier than on land. yet still for the longer walks she needed someone near.

sun eater called.

ksura came to collect her.

she was prepared to do the slow walk to where the others gathered. she knew she would not be first among those present, but she would settle for not being last.

As much as Gideon wanted to go home now that Sun Eater had reunited him with Anselm, it became clear to him early on that Anselm could not go far at all without dizzy spells. To return him to the land Amadeo claimed as his own would only cause further problems. Thus did Gideon remain with Saatsine, feeling the weight of heartache for Heda and Ezra and all he had known, but glad for the stalwart presence of his father always at his back.

Each morning he prayed for God to keep his family safe and to one day bring them together again.

When the Chieftain summoned the pack, Gideon heeded it with no shortage of curiosity. His eyes were drawn upon first arrival to dragonflies dipping and swooping over the lazy stream. As always, the childish urge to chase welled up in him, but he sensed this was not the sort of place where that behaviour would be welcomed. Instead, he shuffled in amongst the others and took a seat, his tails flip-flopping behind him in a fidgeting motion.

pping @Anselm w permission! <3 round two! @Sulukinak next, then no posting order <3

his blood-kin was quick beside him, her face unreadable as usual. yet many things lived beneath the quiet planes of the young woman's features, he knew, and did not underestimate her. 

now he must trust in sulukinak to translate properly, to say his words as he had said them. he would hardly know otherwise.

ash was next, prompting a steady look from sun eater. the healer-man kekoa arrived next, which pleased the chieftain. it signalled the boy wished to stay, at least in this moment. sheep killer and stone crier arrived next, her gait unsteady, his support clear.

another look lingered there on the expressionless and scarred mask. 

the boy gideon came then, and lastly his father. sun eater had idly taken to calling that one 'grey man,' as shallow a name as the things he knew about them.

peering hard at that golden-eyed trio in saatsine's midst, he rolled hard shoulders. "i will speak now." only sulukinak might see that beneath his harsh light, nerves flickered their endless points.

through her, he said: "i am sun eater, chieftain of saatsine. you are hunters of caribou and i will teach you to how to run them, how to bleed them. but it will require us to leave this land. you are saatsine. sun clan, included now among the other lanzadoii caribou hunter bands. and the lanzadoii, we march."

behind him the water spoke in calm rushing, its voice speaking of the ice soon to come. "we do not keep one land. all the world belongs to us. we follow the caribou from forest, to taiga," and now he began a slow pacing before their eyes, "to sea, to mountain, and back. in twelve circles of the moon they return to the woodlands of bracken, and we will follow."

he paused beside stone crier, the single eye moving over the woman's strong, injured form, and then sheep killer's own face. their scents tangled, spiked; they had fought as one and were here now, together. sun eater regarded them now in this union, no matter what true form it held. "already the leaves fall. the mornings are cold before the sun rises. this year, we cannot go so far." he walked on. "and so, we will meet the caribou as they run over the mountains and back into the valley. they mean to come here, to our good grazing and fertile trees. the males are fierce now. they have begun their fighting."

sun eater regarded ash with expression smoothed of all emotion. "we will kill them in the mountains. we will eat their hearts in the valley. and we will flesh them here, for winter stock, then let them go on to the forests. in spring, we march again." again he went on, enjoying his great words.

that smile was a feral, glittering thing once more. "now is a good time to learn, hunters of the sun clan." there was much, much more to be said of caribou, but sun eater knew it was the moment for mention of how he meant to mold them for a new day.

now he stopped alongside kekoa, watching him for a moment. "here are the rules now for the saatsine, to be heard. to be observed: do not marry those who are not caribou or will not become part of us. since i have been chieftain, all of you are caribou hunters." sun eater stalked slowly away. "marry among one another. lanzadoii deliver their children as the caribou birth theirs. it is the only time we stop to build shelters."

"keep these ways. speak in our words as you learn them. i have learned to trust no wolf beyond those who are known to me. learn to give me trust and i will give it back. kill many caribou. become bloodhunters. i will make you warriors, saatsine."

onward he went, a lazy circling. "my son is in a place beside the sea. his mother betrayed me. i was punished. my eye was taken. my son does not know my face." his stride onward was colder now. "i want him here, and so this is what we must do."

he stood now before grey man and gideon, his eye somehow lighter on the boy before he set his attention on the man. "i want him here. so he must be brought to the river. sheep killer and grey man. when the healer has said it is time, i want you both to travel there. find him and bring him back. i will show the rest of you where we will make our first camp outside this land."

stone crier and gideon would remain here, sun eater binding them to this earth with a final tether that surely obligated sheep killer and the charcoal father to return. and this was how he intended it to be, a reminder of what he had done to gain their head.

it was anyone's turn to argue, and sun eater signalled the end of his words with a lashing sweep of his tail. "speak if you have words to say." he wanted agreement. he had told them of the caribou. he had given them his edicts. he had opened a familial future for those who desired it. now they would repay his power by at last reuniting @Ghelan with the father who had never forgotten him.

her uncle spoke of many things. there was much to explain, much to translate and make palatable to those ears who did not know their language.

first, an introduction. a name, a role; she relayed this as best she could.

then, the hunter's plan. —he says to kill them in the mountains. to make use of every part. in spring, we go again. hunt together, learn together. be a village. here it was sun eater's grin, which beget his rules, and these were things sulukinak was careful to repeat.

the law of marriage within the clan. shelters for the mothers. to be birthing alongside the caribou; to be learning the language of the lanzadoii, which sulukinak found to be appropriate and useful, as so few spoke it and to learn would be an act of unifying the clan beneath sun eater.

the giving of trust.

then, and last, the story of ghelan; not in such detail as to turn the people away from what he aimed for, but enough to explain parts of himself. sulukinak was careful in this telling too, in this translation. she did not like to hear the words spoken by sun eater — knowing he would not let the boy go, and would now involve others; but she did her duty, and she explained what he wanted.

sheep killer and gray man, who she only vaguely knew of, although sulukinak could by now recognize one of the two, when able, he desires that you go there to the seaside place and find the boy, and to bring him home to us here.

eventually there is a lull in sun eater's words and sulukinak looks out across those gathered, and then to her uncle, waiting for more to say. but he opens the floor now for the clan to speak, and sulukinak prepares to be the voice between again.

He felt unsteady as the man circled, speaking in a language that he did not understand. The translation came only a moment later, relayed by the young, dark-furred woman who he assumed was of the same culture- a culture, it would be declared, that he was now a part of. 

Caribou people, hunters of the Sun Clan.

Sun Eater described what would become their lifestyle- following the caribou as they migrated. It was a lifestyle that otherwise, would have suited his interests perfectly. He preferred to be in motion, and felt he could easily transfer his obsession with sheep over to caribou. They might be as delicious, though he suspected they would be nowhere as easy to kill.

Maybe it was what he needed, a challenge. 

They were to be exclusive in matrimony. Caribou people only; and among them, few women. He thought Sun Eater paused before where he stood alongside Senka, and he had to force himself not to bristle. The talk of marriage forced him to consider an idea that had lingered in his mind for some time now. 

He was singled out, as was Grey Man. He showed no reaction to learning the man’s caribou name once Sulukinak spoke it out loud. He might laugh to himself, later- once more childishly skeptical of Sun Eater’s naming strategies, grateful he had nearly chosen his own. 

It pained him to be separated from Senka, but he could understand why Sun Eater might do such a thing- to ensure that Ksura returned, task completed. He trusted that no harm would come to her in his absence…Almost.

He looked to Anselm and nodded quietly. Journeying with a complete stranger on a mission to potentially kidnap Sun Eater’s own son rattled him- but it would be done. 

So long as-

Time to speak-

I was promised that my children would have a welcome place among us, when I bring your son to you. Let the entire pack hear the agreement he’d made. His voice was even and calm. It sounded a bit more hopeful when he spoke again. Is this still true? He asked.

it is a long list of things to commit to memory.

truthfully she felt like she was not of the mind to hold all of this at once. there are points being made that would serve like messy notes left behind in her brain. the talk of the hunting, the caribou. none of it bothered her. an agreeable nod here or there.

the talk of marriage.

it is like ice water poured over a fire. her lungs expanded with smoke. she did not exhale despite this. she held it all in like the wellspring of thoughts that poured over everything else. if she was to marry one caribou hunter among them, she knew who it might be.

she knew who she would bind herself to for his safety, for her safety.

the chieftain had words translated about his son. she knew who he meant to send and her belly rocked like waves for it. only crashing further as sheep killer spoke of bringing his own children back into this.

so sorry for the hold up <33

Now more than ever, Anselm wrestled with the true meaning of what it was to be father. He followed Gideon as the boy answered the summons, and he listened -- expression carefully neutral -- as Sun Eater spoke from the mouth of the dark-faced, solemn woman.

It was much to digest. Anselm was beginning to fear for his son's safety. Not that he believed Sun Eater capable of such evil (what did he know?) but for how painfully aware he was of his own failing body. Winter would soon gather snow in its icy arms, and if he and Gideon were caught in the wilderness, their survival was unlikely.

His gaze lifted to Sun Eater in surprise as he learned the expectation to retrieve his son. Anselm had his own thoughts, but he remained silent -- instead glancing to the two that spoke first. Silently, his gaze slid to Sun Eater to measure the man's reaction to Ksura.

"yes. i give word," sun eater said himself as sheep killer finished his words. through his niece; "bring ghelan and. your children, those now and any to come." more young made a band stronger; only a fool turned away the youth.

but here he had his assurances, his promise. a boarish grunt signalled the end of their meeting. through sulukinak, the chieftain added, "keep these ways."

glancing around, he paused to see if more inquiry would be made. otherwise, his edict fell to sheep killer and grey man. "i will tell you when to leave."

doubt had not yet entered sulukinak, but it made its attempt now, as she relayed the information and processed what her tongue was translating.

she refused to dwell on the darkness of uncle's wishes, or the fear that brewed there with it; would he bring the saatsine danger while hunting for his blood?

she thought of her mother suddenly.

she thought of the harvest; more focused on this now, as sun eater spoke of children beyond his own. she felt it necessary now, to ward away the attention of forces she did not understand.

but sulukinak would only speak what was said to her; the rest, harbored deep and secret.