Ocean's Breath Plateau walking smoke

set after the depature! <3

in a daze chakliux moved back toward the lodges, now glaringly absent of tullik or kilalurak. as if he did not see anyone, his eyes moved over the shelters, over the somber faces among them.
but present now was another: @Nantahala. her arrival here had spoken of moon woman's power, and chakliux resented his perception that kukutux had only ignored him.
but he would not place that negativity upon the young woman. instead he called for her, waiting beside the main lodge where marina quietly rested within. 
"my wife tullik has gone," the seal hunter said without preamble. "if your grandmother means you to be one of us, then you will live here. marina will teach you, and you will help her with the rest of the work and the sea-fishing."
he was not unkind, but his face telegraphed a powerful, eating sadness, one which deadened his voice from its usual joviality.

<3!!!

Nantahala arrived to where Chakliux was not long after he’d called, and he was quick to state his reason for summoning her. She listened, surprised at how quickly he’d come to accept it all, and nodded once he had finished. While he was not unkind, there was a sternness to him that she couldn’t ignore; she knew his words were not to be taken lightly.

But, first, there was something else to address—I’m sorry to hear about your wife, she said earnestly. She wasn’t here to make his life harder, and could only imagine what he was feeling. And I’ll will do whatever needs to be done, she promised as she dipped her head. Where can I start?

"tullik hunted the cliffs for birds'-eggs and nesting mothers," chakliux said slowly, not comprehending yet that she was gone from him, gone across the world. "kilalurak fished for oysters and gathered lichen from the boulders beside the sea. i taught her to dig ugyuun root."
slowly he sank down before the entrance, trying to remain stoic as pain lanced through his spirit. 
a pair of skin bags hung from a lodgepole. "one is for shellfish. the other is for eggs. puffin will hunt with you."
he shut his eyes. "i do not know what your sunshine ways are, but here seal hunter women and girls have many choices. join the deer chases or fish the sea. nothing is closed to you."

He spoke of how the coastal wolves hunted, and she listened with rapt interest. She’d never heard of most of the methods, and her ambition mounted; she wished to learn them all. 

She looked up to the skin bags as they were motioned to, and she committed them to memory—one for eggs, one for shellfish. Got it, she said with a stiff nod, as determined as ever. But where she shone, he dimmed, weighed down with the reality of his wife’s sudden departure. While she wanted to say something to make him feel better, she came up short. She didn’t know what to say to make him feel better or if her attempts would even work. 

I want to learn it all, she said eventually. Where would you like me to start?

last for me here if yall wanna continue <3

helpful. golden. eager. chakliux could not tolerate it any longer, not with his own sense of failure hard in his craw. "@Marina is inside. ask her first. she is — she must rest often. be her companion."
but before the seal hunter closed his eyes and lay down outside the lodge for an exhausted sleep, he looked in full regard toward her. "i am glad you are here. i am sorry you must see us like this."
with that, he was silent, gone into the rest necessary for his body's strength to return.

Nantahala would heed Chakliux’s advice, and seek @Marina in the lodge. But, before ducking into the shelter, she would regard him one last time. Thank you, she said, leaving the rest unsaid regarding his unnecessary apology; she felt that he had no reason to be sorry.

When she entered the lodge, she looked around as her eyes adjusted to the dim light, and dared a few steps forward. Marina? she asked in a whisper, not wanting to disturb anyone who might’ve been asleep or resting. Are you there?