Larksong Grotto ☾ tléix'

her pace beside him almost felt natural. the way she kept step upon the slopes was an ease he had missed. it was the presence he missed. of a woman at his side.
her voice broke the peace, causing his head to swivel and ears perked forward. call-name. name. his.
when his voice was lost upon him, she filled the silence with her own. dísal'eix̲— brushed against him like a feathered thing. delicate. moonlit. foreign to the hard-cut consonants of tartok.
moondancer. not snowangel. he found himself cold with disappointment.
he accepted it all the same.
uktark, he answered, the word a low grind of glacier and chest. tartok.
green eyes that once shone bright, now dim with the tragedy of loss. of the burden of being sangilak.
calloused foot met ground where the caribou carcass lay ripped open. streaks of heat plumed in the air. he flicked his muzzle, tail splayed straight in dominance (or pride).