Fox's Glade My past has tasted bitter

Tupilaq's wandering feet lead her beyond the others, her mind so scattered with thoughts that Uki did not notice if the others saw her depart. A throbbing pain lingered under her skin where the badger's teeth had pierced her but the tundrian moves with little trouble through the spare trees. Her head seems to hang as she moves along the edges of the territory they've taken up for the night though whether this is mere weariness or the weight of a morose heart is unclear. 

Tapeesa leaves small claw marks in the trunch of a crooked tree - a habit learned at Takiyok's side. As she sits back, having reared up to place them, the wind shifts. It ruffles her pale fur playfully, bringing with it the unmistakable scent of nanuk nearby. Taqiqq's stsa' shifts on indecisive feet, a grimace of guilt tugging her lips down. Takiyok wants her to leave nanuk alone but part of her longs to seek him out again, if only for some form of companionship. 

Tapeesa usually follows her own laws; she's accustomed to her own company and her own wild nature dictates that Takiyok has no right to govern her. Still, she has followed nanuk; his rule dictates her actions and to some extent, his relatives hold sway over her decisions. In this, tapeesa finds conflict, and chooses to follow nanuk's words over Takiyok's - she's free to come and go as she pleases. 

With halting steps, as if nanuk's fierce orange-eyed sister will descend from the trees or might be hiding under a nearby stone, Uki follows the bear's scent. It's she who appears suddenly and silently this time, seemingly from nowhere as she finds Siarut patrolling too. 

The spearwife chuffs lowly to draw his attention, her ears flattening with submission as she draws near. She seems suddenly unsure about approaching him, worried she's disturbed him.