Blackfoot Forest Watch carefully the magic that occurs

@Siarut

Silently, as if she wished to help but didn't wish to be seen, the waif settled into a corner of their lives. Her loyalty lay with nanuk for it was he who brought her back, hovering at his heels to meet the mentioned family. They were important to Sia and became important to her, though she avoided the mother, Shivali. The scent of milk and young ones clung to her and the berserker sensed that she would not be welcome near the child for some time. Her words remained locked behind scarred lips, despite the kindness found in Siarut.

Tapeesa, worried she'd be seen as a burden, often returned only at sunrise with some prey clasped in her dire jaws or weary from exploring nearby territories - as she'd seen Sia do. It was a late dusk that she woke, eyes glassy with the horrors that had danced in her dreams. Angakkuq rose on silent paws, attempting to shake off the last sensations of her skin crawling with terror. With a sideways glance to assure she hasn't awoken any of the others, tiqqaq's stsa' moved away on graceful steps. 

She tips her nose to the air, for the night air always seems to smell fresher to tupilaq. Slender legs trace a path from where nanuk's family has camped, into the surrounding forest - the trees' tangled shadows growing gloomy and menacing as the night approaches. Within the confines of the deciduous forest, beneath the dark canopy where the first stars can be seen winking through the lattice of branches, the waif seems to set aside a heavy weight. There's a light behind her silver eyes and her head seems to raise a fraction. With no eyes to witness this transformation, tapeesa comes to life in the night.

A stray scent leads her to the Forest's idyllic meadows, dotted with varieties of flowers she'd not been able to see in the north. The sun, the fiercest of her gods, Siqiqniq was just beginning to sink beyond the horizon as Uki found a spot in the grass, curling in on herself protectively as tupilaq settles in to watch the sun set as eerie fox calls rise from the forest.

His subtle gaze frequently fell on the new woman as she roamed, coming and going. She lingered in the background, seemingly unsure of where she now stood. He understood the woman's avoidance of the pups and his mothering sister, it was a boundary he was glad she respected. Siarut hadn't found much time to sleep, the days found him watching everyone. Tomkin and Takiyok came and went, patrolling or hunting as necessary, while Tahani and Shivali cared for the pups. It was on one such occasion, right before he would have to wake his family for the nights journey that he caught sight of Uki escaping into the dusk. 

He took a moment to nudge @Takiyok(for visibility), as she slept beside him, so that someone was keeping watch over the slumbering family. Following silently behind the woman, he watched her with fasination. The elegant woman picked her way through the local flora, sniffing as she went. Her frame was relaxed, and she seemed to be a different person all together. As she settled down to watch the setting sun, he approached slowly, standing up wind so she might scent him on the air. The nanuk had no desire to break the silence she had foudn comfort in.

She had not been accustomed to travelling at night but soon found the benefits in it for these lands were warmer than she liked and Siqiqniq was ruthless in daylight. In the dark, beneath the stars, there is little to be seen as they travel and tupilaq finds her moonlight gaze habitually wandering to nanuk at the head of their group. The empath senses much responsibility weighing on the patriarch's shoulders and so tries not to be a distraction. Still, she feels his olive gaze on her as they travel. It's new and strange to tiqaqq's stsa' and often in the times between day and night, she wanders away for a taste of this freedom - for the familiarity of solitude. 

It's one of these such moments, as she basks in Siqiqniq's glory as he sinks over the horizon, that nanuk appears to her. He's as silent as ever, reminiscent of the ocean's jaws. Uki, seemingly sheepish, rises though there's a curl to her shoulders like the frail pages of a worn book. She gives a small twitch, as if she were about to reach out to him again but stopped herself.

"I was coming back. I just," she stops suddenly for how can tapeesa explain that she merely wanted to watch before they moved on? It sounds silly in her own ears and she falls silent.

Upon his approach that woman rises, and takes a submissive posture. This doesn't surprise Sia, however her explanation did. He gave her a curious look, before settling on an understanding, kind gaze. "Uki, you do not have to explain. I have not come to bring you back. I was simply seeking your company." He added a soft smile at the end, as he drew closer.

"You are free to come and go as you please." Sia had no desire to confine her, same as before he wanted her to stay of her own free will. He sat nearby, and turned to watch the sunset with her. "May I join you?" Perhaps she wished to be alone, something he could respect.

It is strange this autonomy he has offered. 

Tupilaq had always wandered, even as a young child and though her wanderings found her in these strange lands - she's never had freedom to stay. Stranger still that she wants to stay.

It seems odd that nanuk should crave her company but she stays silent in this, allowing him closer with a strangely vulnerable gleam in her pale gaze. There's a connection between them, palpable in particular to the empath, that seems out of place and somehow, fitting. Angakkuq can do little else but allow him closer.

"Yes," she murmurs, for though her words are shy, nunak has a way of bringing them about. Selfishly, her voice seems to long for release in his presence. Ivory coat lit with an orange hue, Siarut sits near her and Uki finds her silver eyes turning to Siqiqniq - unable to keep them on the bear.

"Do you know the story of Siqiqniq?" Her voice breaks the silence, the question breathed to life in her wavering tones for lack of anything to say.

She didn't turn him away, allowing him to stay and watch the beauty of nature by her side. It had been a long time since he had simply enjoyed the offerings from the wilderness, the earth was a wonderful this to observe. The trees and the grass swayed in the gentle breeze, the flowers reached for the setting sun and gave life to the insects that still fluttered about. 

He was surprised by the her words. Siarut knew she was prone to silence, and he tried to respect that. But she, herself, offered him a story, and he was struck with the idea that she wished to speak with him. Returning his green gaze to her face, he shook his head softly, no. "Will you tell me?" He remembered the stories shared around Aningan, and realized he missed the comradery the tellings brought to the pack. His desire to hear grew stronger as the silence drew between them.

[size=11.6667px%%%%%%%]When the tundrian's gaze finally finds Siarut, he too seems immersed in the quiet peace that such natural beauty offers - the same peace that soothes her ragged nerves as she journeys beyond their encampments to see that his family is safe. Tupilaq regrets disturbing him but she can see the desire for knowledge light up his verdant gaze before he answers and a small smile tugs at the corners of her lips.  

"Siqiqniq and Tiqaaq were said to be siblings who had a great argument. Tiqaaq fled for her feelings were wounded. Siqiqniq followed, seeking to right his wrongs." Angakkuq turns to Siqiqniq watching as the odd bat eclipsed a fraction of his rays with the silhouette of a leathery wing.[/size]

 

Tupilaq stays silent but she cannot help but glance at Sia, for the tale reminds her of nanuk.

"No matter how he tried, he could not reach his sister. They are forever doomed to chase each other across the skies with no chance to reconcile." Siqiqniq dissapears from sight, the only echo that he was there a sudden flash of green light as his sister, Tiqaaq, would soon be seen  taking over the sky.

He listens calmly, with bated breath, not wanting to miss a single word. It was not a happy story, although most stories worth telling were not of a pleasant descent. His gaze returned to the setting sun, getting lost in the telling of its history. As the sun finally fell, and the moon began her ascent, Sia gained a haunted look.

He could feel the tickle of understanding, and turned his head back toward his family. He felt as though he were the sun and Shivali the moon, how he longed to be the brother she had once though him to be. They hadn't spoken much, Sia wished to give her the space she needed, they were not as estranged, but things had definietly changed.

Once more his eyes fell on the moon, "He never meant to hurt her." The brute whispered sometime after the woman had concluded. "Is there any salvation for the Siqiqniq? How is he to forgive himself, if the Tiqaaq will not." He could feel the pain, and knew the Sun felt the same. The story had struck close to the heart, Siarut held his sisters nearest and now he felt as though he had would chase them for an eternity, without any hope of redemption.

Her words have wrought a change in nanuk, she feels a stab of guilt seeing the hollow ache in his eyes - not an easily swallowed emotion for the wild girl. There's an apologetic gleam to be found in her silver eyes, if he cares to find it. Her ears tip back and she swallows thickly - knowing she must fix it. 

"I think not, for he wouldn't have tried so hard then," and though her eyes are turned to the night sky, where Siqiqniq has just finished his fiery descent, the words are soft - meant for nanuk.

"I think that Siqiqniq had much on his shoulders, he carried a great burden. Sometimes these things bring us hardship, for we can snap under such strain. I also think that Siqiqniq has accomplished much and deserves to be recognized for it." The tundrian dares not meet his gaze, suddenly frightened she has overstepped. Angakkuq knows not of the conflict that brought the Ateneq family to these wilds, but she is keen and catches much in her moonstone gaze. 

"I believe if I had a brother that was at all like Siqiqniq then I would not be as I am today," she murmurs without thinking, her tongue loosened by Siarut's presence. 

Tupilaq rises, eyes trained carefully on her small feet. "We will have to leave soon." She's reluctant to leave his company behind, here in this meadow. But Tiqaaq's rise meant their own and soon, nanuk's siblings will be searching for him.

The Siqiqniq would forever be stuck in his endless revolution, chasing a dream that he might one day be reunited in harmony with his sister. He was chasing a dream that everyone, except the Sun, knew was actually a nightmare. Siarut wonder if his life was turning into the same. Looking over to the pale woman, Sia listened to her reassuring words. He wasn't sure he truely believed them, but he wouldn't let her know that, it was easier to deal with these emotions on his own.

"Perhaps not." He spoke, "But now you have us. You have me. There is always more time to evolve." His smile found itself on his lips once more. There was more time for her to rediscover herself, to become the wolf she should have had the opportunity to be. 

He slowly nodded his head, "I suppose we should keep moving." They were all still tired from the journey over the mountains, but he hoped the rest of their travels would be less tiresome.

The empath can sense disbelief at her words but remains silent. Despite the connection they've found, she does not know nanuk. In time perhaps he would come to realize the tasks he was undertaking were not that of a relative who cared little for his family. 

"Perhaps," she agrees though secretly she thinks that if she were to lose herself as she is now, there would be nothing left of her. Angakkuq can feel nothing of herself that wasn't formed by pain; she tries not to be disturbed by this thought though she doesn't entirely succeed at ridding herself of the worrisome crease between her eyes. 

She nods, though the words seem rhetorical. Tupilaq waits, falling in step behind him should he depart - silently brooding over scattered thoughts of sunlight and flowers, evolution and hope.

With one final glance toward the beautiful Tiqaaq, Siarut stood and headed toward back toward the group. He paused before re-entering the wood area, looking at the moons that settled on Uki's face. She followed close behind him, offering her presence. It was time for them to leave. The glacier was bekoning them home, and Sia felt the pull to listen.