Larksong Grotto sleeping dog beside you

word vomit

She knew bison, had seen their kind in lands farther inland, but muskox… the idea of such creatures stirred a flicker of interest. “Big, brown, and ferocious,” she growled, the faintest edge of approval coloring her tone. “Wolves who hunt them must be strong—or dead.”

Her gaze swept over Nanuralaaq again, tracing the lines of muscle beneath her pale pelt. Small, compact.

“Sivaak does not hunt ox. She hunts sea. Caribou. Coyotes, sometimes, because annoy Sivaak.” A cruel smirk played at her lips, her teeth flashing briefly as her gaze lingered on the smaller wolf. “Whatever bleeds, Sivaak hunts.”

The question Nanuralaaq posed drew a snort from Sivaak, her expression sharpening. “Not safe because alone,” she said bluntly, as if it were obvious. When inquired about her own culture, the tip of Sivaak's tail twitches. As if she is eager to share but doesn't wish to revel in it. She draws herself to her thick haunches, reaching a nose to inhale a greedy inhale of Rala's scent. Memorizing it.

“Three kinds of caribou hunters,” Sivaak says. “Sharadoii, Lanzadoii, Muradoii. Each follows the caribou in their way. Each speaks their own tongue, but we share one to trade, to speak when we must. It is weak. No soul in it. Just words.”

“Sivaak is Muradoii. Muradoii are sea hunters. We wait where caribou cross the black sands and come to the sea. We take what we want. Meat, blood, life. Caribou feed us. So do wolves, sometimes. Sharadoii know this. Lanzadoii know this. They fear us.”

“Muradoii do not trade. We raid. We take wolves who cross our lands. Slaves. Meat. Whatever pleases Muradoii.”

Her lips curled slightly, baring teeth in something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Sivaak led Cragblood. My pack. My blood. We lived by the sea, where waves are black and sands colder than snow. Strongest hunters, hardest winters. But Muradoii do not stay together forever. Not always.” Her voice grew quieter, but no less sharp. “Muradoii fight. To lead, to take. That is our way.”

She spoke as if she were still not bitter, raving, about Rhyak's betrayal. "It seem cruel, but it is way. All Sivaak know."