Ouroboros Spine Behind every tree is a cutting machine

her eyes widened. "no. no. it is not disappointment," she assured him, though the sound of it might have been lightly lost beneath the rest of what the snowhunter spoke. she turned helplessly away from him, seeking the evasive ends of words that skipped like stray caribou away from her grasp. 

"you are sivullik," kukutux said with more steadiness that before, recognizing him and the great thing that he had done. "it is only that i had not expected that you would want —" me "— the role of first. i," voice trailing away; she hated to struggle so, and beneath his eyes, and beneath the truth of his words. that chafed her, that adrastus should see so transparently what she meant to hide.

so do not hide this, sister.

"i had a vision for what moonglow must be. i meant to bring you and lótë together," kukutux admitted, though as she gathered the words so she weakened, and so, eventually she came closer to the hunter, warmed the tips of his chestfur with her breath as slender muzzle moved to lip away the largest dried drop of blood. "this path is not closed to you as sivullik." folded here beneath the palestone pillars of his forelegs, the duck caught her breath and was silent, working with the practiced nature that had been trained into her.

"i put my thought of what this land should be above what i could not decide." something not unlike peace here, and she shut her eyes, breathing with head bowed, the nape of her neck unguarded to the jaws of the one who had brought lynx to her. "you bring me a sacred offering. the spirits have chosen the hunter who will be the one to lead them all."

moving to another wound, bathing coppertaste and burgundy, not daring yet to look at him, lest he see the way that his word, his knowledge, his sacrifice had finally unlocked some quiet place that dared to desire a second time. "the only thing that causes me to stop is that i am only now learning this new path. the change that i accept."

something half-formed in her mind; at long last kukutux brought her gaze toward adrastus, tipping the line of her jaw sideways in a semi-cant. "yes. this world you say has breath. we say ikupiak. we say 'this is what it means to be given an equal share of something we both desire." raimo must learn to be second. adrastus must learn to accept.  "now i will tell you two things, sivullik." she set her cheek wonderingly against the roundness of his shoulder, if he had not already sought to break away from her healing and the words set against them as if they were a row of sharp flint teeth.

"the first is a thing that can only be decided by a woman. i am widow and moon. i may ask any to share my ulaq. that is the right of one who has lost her mate. the hunters bring to her meat. she chooses among them." greenstone eyes gleaming in the gentle tones of morning as she searched behind his eyes again, stare drifting to the proud tilt of his ears, the set of his mouth. yes, the earth had chosen wisely for moonglow, and set its choice into the fine and beautiful form of adrastus.

"yet you are not only a hunter. you are first among them. and so the second is a choice only men may make, and that is to become brothers. to put aside their struggling, to work as one. we are all bound by kinship ties in moonglow. and those who say brother between them might also be part of ikupiak."

but that is not your decision to make.

"but that must be your choice. you will decide if you will seek this in him, or if you will ask for the full honor of sivullik. this is your first right." alabastrine ears falling back; kukutux swallowed softly but kept the gaze that wished to fall away — she held such as it was. "only firsthunter dances with me when the earth has prepared me again. this is a true thing no matter what you choose for now, adrastus, and i will honour this also when the time has come."