Moonspear uuliutik ◯

After seeing Periane preparing the fox’s pelt, it inspired Pie to wash the worn skins lining the ulaq that once belonged to Sialuk. She carried them one by one to the nearest stream, holding each down in the current with one paw and using the other to scrape dirt from from the fur. She laid them out in the dooryard to dry.

All but one. She’d left the biggest, softest skin untouched. It still smelled like her anaa. Tiuttuk didn’t care that it was filthy. This was her ulaq now, yet she refused to clear away her mother’s scent. No, she would cling to it as long as it lasted…

She stood in the doorway, idly inspecting her handiwork and easing the crick from her neck, when a familiar voice rose up the mountain. Treepie bounded over the drying pelts, racing partway down Moonspear’s flank to meet her climbing grandmother.

Greetings! she said breathlessly, romping up to Kukutux more like a puppy than a yearling—and Emprex!