Moonspear mamiji

To adjust from mountain woman to wife was to reintroduce parts of her life she had forgotten. The knowing of another, the mingling of their coats to create a mismatch that she considered quite pleasing to her eyes. She cured the hides that needed curing in those days of bliss, kept the den clean and neat, and welcomed Chakliux home every night with a smile. She sang, she reminisced, she told him of the people she had loved and lost and with every word she spoke, she felt the pain lift.

Pattangaititsik was my father. He told us many stories, and always used the funniest voices for every character he played. He was lost to the mountain with the rest of my people, a night of terrible snowfall.

Tusannituk was my mother. She sang as beautiful as any bird, it was her who taught me everything I know now. She fell ill, and the sickness took her from us.

Tuavi and Kinnualâk were my brothers. They never got the chance to be more than boys. They disobeyed our father and went onto a cliff side that was unstable, and it broke beneath them. They were gone within seconds.

Ingiullik, my sister. We were close after our brothers died. On the night of terrible snowfall, we tried to escape together. I lost her, and I never found her. The next day, I thought I saw her. It was nothing more than a mound of snow. She is gone from my side, I know this better than I know myself.

The ninth night, Chakliux spoke into her shoulder, and Tullik smiled at the wall, sad but understanding. She moved just enough to kiss between the man’s eyes, sighing gently.

I know.

The next morning, he was gone. Tullik only lasted minutes before she was ascending into the mountains, but not to hide. She found a vantage point, hearing the distant call of her husband, and settled there.

She would watch him until his white coat vanished into the distant horizon. Then, she would descend, a sour taste in her mouth, but resigned all the same.

Tullik prayed for the safety of the white seal hunter, and would continue to do so until he returned.