Kildeer Rest only the beginning

Ugi. Of course it would be Sialuk's first thought for Kigipigak, she was her mother's daughter.

It stunned the man at first; he had not thought of Lane in that way, and the idea did not sit well with him. He could not see Lane as his own wife or the mother of his own children, but he was not ready for such a thing, so perhaps that was why.

If I was to make the choice, perhaps, yes. He spoke the truth, but there came a pregnant pause and a subtle tension as he tried to put his thoughts in to words, which was not something Kigipigak had practice doing.

My people are different from Moonglow, from you, from your mother. He wondered if she'd taken notice. It is the matriarch of the village who makes the decision for herself, each year. The men fight for her attention, and to prove their worth to her, so that the strong are rewarded with children.

Kigipigak watched her.

If Lane were issumatar of her village, and I one of the hunters there, perhaps I would fight for her. His face felt warm. These were things men did not talk about except to gloat among fellow men of conquests. It felt wrong somehow to talk of this with Sialuk.