Totoka River When the lights go up

The first thing she did after he returned with the kill, was tell him of a pack. Kigipigak knew vaguely of this pack on the coast but it felt good to have it confirmed, and to be given a direction so that he might find his way. Perhaps this was where Njord did reside — but before he could plot out what to do next, there was more the woman said.

He was not so arrogant as to think himself immune from fate, but to hear this stranger speak of things she did not know and could not know, and with such conviction, was rattling to the man with no faith. The woman sounded more and more like Kukutux; her words were just vague enough to make him think, but also somehow accurate.

Everyone has something they are looking for.

Kigipigak did not think the return of this shell was so important that this applied, and began to think of all the other aspects of his life where such a statement might be true. He sought for himself a place, yes, a person also; someone to guide him, someone to protect and serve, the way he had been meant to.

There was a death in your past.

How could she know if this? He is stunned.

You are keeping secrets.

At this remark he scoffs, bristles a little, and shifts his weight uncomfortably, all signs that she strikes true with her words. How could she know of this? How could she know about Auktuk's demise or of Tartok, without Kigipigak speaking openly about either thing? She was a powerful creature, this woman. More than Kukutux perhaps, which was an unsettling thought by itself.

He listened as she spoke of finding what he sought, and began to detach from the conversation. Her smile made him uncomfortable; it was now that he saw her gleaming eyes, their misted white. Had they always been that way? Perhaps as she recounted her premonition the power of it changed her — but he was uncertain, incredibly unnerved by it all, and would not look her in the eye.

I see love in your future.

Love? He scoffed again, more audibly. No, this woman was nothing like Kukutux. She was something malevolent, preying upon bits and pieces pulled from the aether. What Fennec would see as optimistic Kigipigak would find intrusive and above all, impossible.

Thank-you for the knowledge of the pack, he tersely replied, and looked briefly to the thing he had killed, licking the taste of it out of his mouth and swallowing thickly. Your half of the bargain was in good health when I caught it, unlike much of these wilds. There is sickness in the bigger creatures, so be wary of them. It seemed only fair to share this with her, as she had done the work of a mystic, and perhaps in treating her with care the woman would not curse him on his departure.

No; he would refuse to become the superstitious fool after one conversation. It was still disturbing to Kigipigak, though. He did not say another word, turning to grab the shell he had dropped, and began to disperse.