Qeya River arjuni-akt-i

Kigipigak agreed, and Lane detected something heavy shifting behind his countenance. Something new. Was it just frustration, or was something darker woven into the seams? Kukutux's words came back to her: "he was alone and his heart was empty."  At the time, Lane couldn't imagine any words more divergent of her impression of Kigipigak. The man she new was vibrant and full of joy for life. His lively energy and booming voice filled the surrounding air and quickened the heart. He was magnetic. How could he ever find himself alone or empty, for even a second? 

And yet, there was a wanting there that Lane could sense. He heaved the caribou from the shallows with a deftness that surprised Lane, but when she moved to join him she realized that the carcass was not as heavy as it looked. In fact, the heaviest part about it was the water logged in the matted fur. The wasting sickness had eaten away much of the flesh that should have hugged its ribcage. 

When the carcass was settled upon the bank, Lane looked up at Kigipigak with a strange emotion moving behind her eyes. "I looked for you. At the Plateau. I was so..." She paused, and her brow furrowed. "..I'm glad our paths have crossed again," she said instead, abandoning her first thought unfinished.

Lane set to removing the hide, beginning her work around the delicate sections of the face and neck. Her smaller muzzle would be more deft with these parts that required the most precision.