Sequoia Coast seal mother

What exhaustion he had felt during the bison hunt paled in comparison to the aching fatigue he experienced at their second camp. He was keen to show off the skill his father had taught him, but come dinner his eyes felt heavy and his legs like powdered snow. They gorged themselves on eggs and fowl and before long, Matteo was a puddle of charcoal fur beside his brother. The words of Chakliux spun dreams of singing seals as he drifted asleep, and he was reminded fondly of Dutch.

Day by day he could feel his muscles becoming stronger, his lungs a little more forgiving as they hunted and trekked and slept again. As the sea faded to a grey smudge on the horizon and they entered the snow-covered plains, his mind wandered to the girl Sobeille. The thought of her disapproving scowl as they hunted her water cousins brought a faint smile to his face. 

The ocean was a welcome sound as they arrived finally at the sea ice. It was as intimidating as it was beautiful; the boy spent perhaps longer than he should gazing transfixed as it undulated like the flank of a great big sea creature. 

That night, sleep evaded him as much as the others. In the end, he came to rest his chin upon his brother's shoulder as he dozed in and out of consciousness, soft puffs of air ruffling the fur there in a steady rhythm.