Bearclaw Valley parasitic

The child was quiet. Taktuq understood. She tried not to think on the day she lost her mother, nor the day Ursus drove her from her home, but she had been young, and these things had shaped her.

If not for Valette, if not for Takiyok, perhaps these things would be shaping her, still.

The child was odd. Deformed. But a child still, and in clear need of comfort and care. Taktuq welcomed the child as she sought these things in her, and wrapped around the girl with great gentleness to ensure her that she was alright, she was safe, and she would be okay.

 She listened to the one soft word the child offered. Considered how empty the valley seemed, how devoid of noise and scents.

“Would you like us to look for your mother together?”