Shadowwyn Moor addir melek

The way he looked at her was familiar and unsettling, although she gave no indication that she was bothered by it, because the girl's proprioception had yet to catch up to the rest of her recent growth; but he looked, and she stared back dully, and she thought she saw something like her mother's madness in the sheen of his eye, which redoubled the sense of urgency in her pulse.

He spoke of what he wanted and she was only keen to hear it because she could not close-off her ears in that moment. If he wanted to know of the Saatsine, he would be better off running to her uncle for a crash course; or to chase the caribou alongside them. But he concluded with the truth: that he sought connections. A conclave. The words tumbled from her lips before she could help herself, believing she understood—and maybe not so distant from her mother's memory after all.

She began to walk again, stiffly at first. There was room upon the solid ground for him if he so chose to follow, although there also carried a predatory edge to the arc of Sulukinak's body; welcoming him, to a point. Watching him, too.

Questions? Now was his chance to ask, although it was unlikely she could answer in a suitable way for him. Maybe the questions would be too dull for her, or maybe she would be called away to hunt—for now, she was showing signs of patience which were rare to her.