Moonspear kaunaksriruk ⦿

In a few weeks her son and daughter would be two months old. Oh how time flew by. But she had been there for every minute of it. She marveled each day at their progression. How their features changed, their ears and paws growing. How they learned new words and phrases, sharply picking up on Sialuk's native tongue. Their personalities were shining through. Maggak and Acrux, a blessing in of themselves.

But they were not alone. In a twist, and bitter one at that, the grieving father and husband, Rodyn, brought to the ulaq, two precious young lives. Rolayne and Panuk. Dark furred sons, their mother so tragically lost. It pained her to think of what would happen if she or Sialuk could not in their children's lives. Of how such loss would impact these boys, but their extended family as well. Brothers and sisters, cousins and a mother and father, mourned. 

They were not her own by blood. But the bond between her and Sialuk was stronger than that. They were the Star woman's kin, after all. That made them hers, too. So it was only natural that she never once hesitated or faltered in caring for them. Playing her role, feeding and bathing them when her lover needed a break. Rodyn was close by, she knew. She assured the heart shattered father that they were being well looked after.

With the weather turning cooler, especially at night, she was extra doting on the brood. She had not been inside when Moonwoman came to visit. Instead, she was returning from a quick trip to her personal ulaq. There, she had retrieved her most prized pelt of black, silver speckled fox skin. A plush, luxurious gift for the children. To burrow into on crisp nights, or enveloped in warm, silky blackness. They would want for nothing.

Elentari had never felt happier until she was a mother.

Then there, outside the ulaq, was Kukutux. Maggak too, greeting her excitedly. But the Moonwoman was worn, tired. Weighed down by grief, with the telltale prickle of tears at her eyes. Elentari rushed to her, whining softly. Dropping the fox pelt at their feet, she pressed in close, welcoming her into a comforting hug. She had no words. Not for such a loss that cut so deep into one's spirit.