Ocean's Breath Plateau moon spiral

His father was quiet as he constructed the lodge's walls with material he'd brought. This unnerved Sea Hunter, who'd come to expect the pale-furred warrior to speak openly and freely of other things - not just the task he worked on. The boy did not attempt to fill those silent voids with his own chit-chat, for he felt as though something might be very wrong.

He'd noticed a shift within the lodge in recent weeks, a tension among its adult occupants that he could not explain. The children were not privy to the more serious discussions among parents, so he did not understand how Marina suffered and how it pained his mother to witness.

Chakliux settled to rest for a time, which served as Sea Hunter's signal to stop. He blinked up at the seal hunter, stormy eyes quietly concerned.