Ocean's Breath Plateau sivisutaaġniq — the long dark

They would stay? Is that the trade that his father had made—himself, his wife—and in exchange Moontide could stand? He should have been thankful for the reprieve; to be here tending to the lodge and whoever remained of his siblings, rather than being sent far afield. He should have been happy they could all stay together. Intellectually he knew what feelings he should have about this news and the losses and the pivot of his life, and yet the longer Raiyuk tried to grasp at understanding the emptier he felt.

It was difficult to focus on the words coming from the chieftain. Do you wish—...warrior or beta—Chakliux, The name of his father was like a spear through his heart. We lose our wolves in droves...

I will be what you need. That had been his pledge. I am no warrior like—like he was, remembering how proudly his father carried his scars, how involved he became in his stories; how difficult it had been to go against the man Cen when the time came. Raiyuk felt his tired eyes prickle again with emotion.

Doubt festered in the wound left by his loss. Raiyuk could not pretend he was stoic in the face of it. He could not stand proudly before his father's lodge because he felt no pride in himself now, only a bitterness that he might fail in the protection of his family—brothers, sisters, Moontide; however far it extended.

He looked now upon Rodyn like a lost child, begging without words, 'What do I do? Tell me what to do.'