Duck Lake aanniqtuq ☀

he spoke again, not in greeting, but in request. kukutux stiffened; in spite of herself, the girl raised her spring-green eyes to the man, studying him carefully. her gaze went to the water then, the hazy reflections of them both there in the ice. what could he want with the fur?

she wanted to say no. it was all she had from her island; what if he did not return it? what if he ruined it? kukutux had taken care to tan it gently; she could not bear if some stranger killed its spirit. but there was some urging within her that she not deny him what he asked. behind the gentle words of the wolf could come swift retribution.

and so kukutux pulled it from her shoulders, and held it out to him, trembling somewhat as she turned her gaze back to the earth.