Shadow Mountain taqqiq ☾

kukutux kept her face downcast, but listened carefully to how he spoke. there was no formality to his words, but he answered her question. however, the man asked her one in return. it was not done among her kind. there, he would have addressed her father or grandfather.

you have no father or grandfather now, the spirit whispered, and kukutux felt the pain of that truth cut through her like a tusk. you do not have a people.

realizing she had not yet answered the stranger, the woman pulled the skin from her shoulders and lay it open the ground. there, kukutux nosed it open, revealing the four long strips of dark, dried meat. 

”this woman has no people, and comes from a place of death. this woman would thank this man for helping her.” gesturing to the seal flesh, kukutux stepped back. 

sunspire mountains. she fixed the name in her mind.