Shadow Mountain taqqiq ☾

wolf she had scented, wolf she had seen, but kukutux had kept her distance and spoken to no inhabitant of this strange new land. it was not the taiga, though she sensed in the distance there would be something similar, only an endless expanse of snowy mountains.

to the woman came a new fragrance, one bristling with masculinity. she pulled herself from the day-wanderings that spirits led one into; her grass-green eyes came to rest on the tall figure of a man, one rapidly approaching. for a long moment, kukutux merely shook where she had stopped, wondering what it was he would want of her.

had her mother taught her nothing? the dove swallowed, fixed her gaze upon the earth, and waited for him to enter hearing distance. and then, in a small voice she did not recognize, kukutux spoke in the manner of her people, addressing the stranger politely though she did not look at him.

"this woman would ask, what is the name of this land? this woman is lost."