Ouroboros Spine katjanik ⋖

kukutux bowed her head beneath his praise. she was not her mother, nor her aunts, nor her grandmother. she was not the many women who had come before her. she was not even her blood-sisters or her marriage-sister. she was only a wary snow duck onto which the heavy mantle of leadership had been placed, and she struggled to claim her footing beneath it even now. but adrastus saw in her the makings of that.

kukutux was not immune to his strong features and the striking set of his jaw. moreover he was known to her by his pale fur, the heavy musculature that bunched beneath his white parka with each movement. a glacier who might kill for moonglow if a time demanded it. and yet it was matched evenly by his caution, his thoughtfulness.

she was reminded of the blackfox. her breath was stolen. this snow-giant shared similar care. 

but she could not and would not compare the two. the man who had been father to sialuk was gone now; the young moon-hunter was with him. kukutux forced the thoughts away, focused her mind upon what it was he had asked. "i do not like skin of the one called coyote. it is not well known to me. but he seems a close relative to wolf, and so he is our brother. i do not use his fur." she meant to honor such bones where she found them, but not as decorations for her sleeping place.

upon his own merit, kukutux had warmed swiftly to this thirdhunter; he meant to observe her laws. and she remembered how he had said the name of the cloudberry tea woman. "i look forward to this sight." beneath her paw, the muskrat held more securely. he had hunted for her, brought a pelt. respected her. and yet she wished greatly for him to speak with the pretty, helpful lótë, believing her skill and beauty would be of interest to the man who had already seated himself so powerfully within moonglow.