Whitebark Stream look, this comes as no surprise.

a few times now sobeille had attended the moonwolves' camp. she had stayed with sialuk a month in her first year; learned of their tradition from kukutux -- and had even absorbed some of their custom in her own small ways.

she had been hungry to learn; it surprised her to see a girl born of such rich tradition would not cherish it. often, sobeille longed for the unknowable history of her family's origins: nearly all of them dead now, and no women's circle in which to weave rich stories and pass on vibrant oral traditions.

what dry remark she might impress upon the girl was lost as she asked a question sobeille had never been confronted with before. and though the short-lived smile on her lips twinkled still in her eyes, there was a meanness there sobeille could not hide.

someday. i be looking to make my legacy first - and you only get dat from children. it was not that she wished the male appendage for such things - it was that she wished to be without all of it. why? you be lookin' for a wife? not enough women for you back 'ome?