Ouroboros Spine ice

he grips the pelt in his teeth. it is only a small bolt of red fur, almost a scarf; he draws it close and with a shake of his head it finds a place across his shoulders.

there were no more words. he had said this often enough for akmaaksi by now, this promise.

tautukpik wasn't big enough to have any impact on the world as he knew it, not yet anyway. if their father had not found their sister yet, what hope was there that tautukpik would manage? but he knew he would. it wasn't trust, or faith, or anything more than a deeply held certainty.

one day. one day they'd be together again; they'd be a family, and tautukpik would not let them go.