Cedar Sweep [m] suqłiuġun

He wanted to take the lost boy and be rid of him. There was no attachment between himself and the boy; he was not living, he was not part of their family any longer. He had not been strong enough.

Asivaq's question earns a brief silence. Kigipigak has never thought about what happens to those of his people after death—but in this moment he is reminded of his own father, his death, and what came after.

No, he murmurs as a response.

We value life. One less mouth means more food for the others. It was a cold way to look at things compared to the moon villages of Asivaq's birth; Kigipigak knew they sang their songs, and would expect some measure of that would comfort the new mother.