Redtail Rise Ugjuk

One wolf, then two; they watched her and she appraised them from a distance.

The younger approached and carried themselves as a man might. Sulukinak recognized something predatory in the vexation that he displayed, from his posture to his tone. He reminded her of Nunakiaq.

The second wolf was further away and while they came to flank the first, they did not speak.

Sulukinak felt the familiar prickling of her nape. I look for help, she explained — I live by the river, there; my uncle is there too, and I don't know how to help him. Her motion east, towards the glacier and the far-off mountains.

A pause, considering the look of these two — and considering if she should simply run. As the pause grows long she calls out again, If you can help, I can trade. I am a caribou hunter.

It felt wrong to say aloud, almost boastful, despite her training having concluded.