Ouroboros Spine in the dark, we laugh together

The children had fled from him in that instant, and Kigipigak could hardly fault them for doing so. When he had gathered what remained of his dignity (which did not take long given how little he had left) he sought their path, and found they were faster than he expected, and they knew paths he did not recognize; and when he quickly noticed that they'd gone from his reach he gave an exasperated sigh, unsure of what to do.

Calling out for them seemed pertinent, but they had spooked like deer at the sight of him, and Kigipigak did not trust his voice to remain strong if he were to call their names. Would they answer to them? Had they shed their Tartok names for something Sunshine? A bitter thought; again, he would not fault them. He began to carefully wander the village, not wanting to disrupt anyone or be seen as some sort of malcontent (as unhappy as he was); but he found no trace of their trail in the end.

Standing eventually before firemother, and seeing there the whole of Neverwinter in her boughs, and the coming of the winter in the piles of red beneath her, Kigipigak felt the weight of his mourning so acutely that he could have perished there and then.