Ouroboros Spine Hearts balanced on a razor blade.

She woke every morning with the sun, like clockwork. Vairë had always been a girl who enjoyed the silence of morning, and now she was a woman who understood that the earlier you rose, the more you could get done before bed. 

But, however, she found she was more inclined to sit and daydream these days. Her every thought consumed by her intended, was he okay, was he still coming for her or had he been charmed by someone else? These questions she could not answer formed a buzzing cloud of gnats in her mind. They drove her to distraction, much like they would if this were summer.

The doe took to combing the borders every morning before dawn, eyes always watching the horizon for the chocolate covered figure to emerge. But he did not. And so, she worried. Had her price been too high?

She didnt think it so. Kukutux had told her to stick to what she wished for, and thats what she wanted.

Vairë was coming back that morning from yet another lonely hour of standing in the snow, staring into the distance. Her red fox pelt was a splash of color across her shoulders, as she trudged back into the village.

It was a dark pelt that caught her eye. For a moment, she was excited, this could be her sea salt stag! But, the color was wrong. And this was a woman she did not know, holding a fox. So, off the doe went with a chuff of greeting.

I do not know your face. She opened with a friendly smile on her features.

I am Vairë Nuiruk.