Ouroboros Spine taimmalikii

A sighting had been made of a particularly dangerous creature along the edge of the village, and a call had gone to able-bodies; so Kigipigak saw this as a chance to show his worth to those of Moonglow, and he went. The mentioned threat turned out to be a pair of obnoxious foxes and nothing all that threatening. He had been left to his own devices as soon as the pair was spotted, and then spent the early afternoon hunting them.

When he returned to the village and sought the ulax, he carried the tod. His hope was to gift it to Asivaq or one of the children—but as he neared the sleeping places and turned towards home, he saw Asivaq standing before their ulaq and felt that something was different. As he got closer Kigipigak noted the quiet; the sound of their children playing was a near constant by now on a typical day, and yet in this moment there was silence.

He places the fox down upon the path and licks the taste from his mouth. Perhaps they are with their grandmother, he reasoned. Kigipigak watches his wife for a moment and while he feels there is tension between them, he does not suspect what is to come.

Wife. I wonder if this might be salvaged, he motions then to the fox, with its bloodied pelt.