Ouroboros Spine pharmaka

the duck had become sure-footed upon the guardian slopes of moonglow.

her face these days was rarely turned toward the ruined mountain. the blackfox and their young moon-hunter walked in her day-visions, but less often now, and the remembrance of their faces did not hold the same sting.

her village prepared quietly for a marriage ceremony. her thoughts turned to the redsun. he must choose her formally before the eyes of sivullik.

kukutux, shoulders swaddled in the dark pelt of a goat, turned her path up and up and up — her small pale paws flashed against the earth, drawing to a staggered halt as a stone-made shape appeared before her. 

the trader!

dread choked her lips. how had he returned? a sweeping blink, and she saw it was not the angry man buried upon the glacier, only the large hungry boy she had once fed. "hello, nuak," kukutux said softly, not approaching again, for she recalled how he had drawn back in fear. her own heart thudded dully as she took up the reins of herself, seeking control. "have you come to this village to hear another story?"