Phantom Hollow saviguk ❄

who was this snowpierced woman? kukutux wondered after her, andraste, wondered after the language of stars that seemed to cling to the other's mouth. was this a ghost after all? but no; ghosts did not falter. a gentle smile touched the girl's somber mouth; she dropped her gaze with a shy nod upon her crown. "yes."

not her spirit-name, mind, not the secret title that her husband had once called her. a burst of heartache, the whisper of the voice that she must not remember the name under which he had been born. let him rest, and kukutux agreed. "do i speak to someone who is living?" came the trembling cadence of her young voice, held in thrall and curiosity and a deep wariness.