Moonspear kunikkaa ❇

backdated to april 9th <3

she caught a bead of sweat along her temple with her shoulder, returned to her task of chewing hide strips into softer leather for hydra's pups. kukutux wished to be useful, but found that the odd, draining illness kept her close to the ulaq she shared with @Jarilo. hopefully he had not noticed her weakness.

the duck put aside her work. the taste of salt was upon her tongue, and dizziness swam in her slight figure. again she was sick, and again kukutux sank to the earth in a pool of soft light and tried to plead with the spirit to let hold of her body. there was work to be done, but all the young healer could do was crouch in place, staring dismally toward the edge of the forest with her fur askew.

The duty-bound Ostrega felt reasonably whip-lashed in light of recent events on the slopes, but, knowing all must go on (and that it would with or without him), it was not difficult for him to keep busy here, there, or somewhere in between. Too absorbed in making his rounds in some way or another, the afternoon threatened to get away from him entirely. But, he reined it back, and turned towards the heart.

He had done his share of regrouping, however, and went jogging on towards the ulaq after passing by Dacio's gravesite--having gone by to see to it that it remained undisturbed; Opalia had recently departed to search after the longer-missing Praimfaya, and he still believed they would be back before too much longer. He would help watch over that in the meantime, but since all was well enough in that regard..

Threading through the trees, he closed in and soon enough, found Kukutux--though not without a curious tilt to his head that once his nose got a better sense of the picture here, bled right into concern. Hey, ah.. feeling alright..? he said, finishing his approach with careful paws and outreached muzzle. As soon as the words left his mouth, he was pretty sure he didn't need to ask, so his ears splayed--worry remaining, however, as he might hope to understand.

when jarilo materialized, kukutux was surprised to discover she was at all astounded. even before their short marriage, he had revealed an uncanny knowledge of where to be, of when his presence was needed. it would have been so easy, then, to fold beneath the worried greengleam of his kind eyes and confess her fears.

"i am all right, jarilo," kukutux gasped instead, lurching to her feet and turning away in shame. a new wife! she could not be seen so bedraggled. but there was no time to groom. approaching the neat larder she had dug outside the entrance when the ulaq had first been found, she nosed through the cool dirt, plucking out a pheasant leg for her husband's meal.

the pale girl returned to him, glanced shyly into his face as she lay down the once-cached kill, but said nothing more. settling herself some feet nearby, kukutux hoped he would not worry himself further with whatever woman's malady plagued her now. he had more important things to consider.

This was a realm in which he was still trying to find his normal, and how it related to hers too--let alone precisely what that was, but he was suspicious that this was not, somehow. Though.. she replied to divert the concerns, and he followed her doings carefully as they continued to brush aside the notion that anything was out of the ordinary at all. Not to mention, she was very good to him, even now beneath his pry, she tended to him. Alright.. but tell me if I can get anything? Or.. do? he offered, tail switching hopefully, like where to even begin. He didn't want her to stress.. though he knew that was not easy, and he felt like a hypocrite for even thinking that right. Times were tense.. healing (he liked to think), but.. there was so much to prepare for otherwise.

He still barely knew what to do with this sort of treatment, giving and receiving alike, so he reminded his ears not to splay once the scent of the meat spoke to the senses; he could eat, no surprise.. but he still couldn't look away from her quite yet. He didn't have the right kinds of acuity to exactly know why, beyond that she had seemed fatigued, which he chalked up to just feeling rough--it happened, so did meals that didn't quite agree or whatever else, but he still wanted to fret a bit. Thanks, he chuffed, eventually. When she found her spot, he accepted that much, and made to get more settled in himself--edged a good bit  closer, angled towards her, the meat between his paws for now before he would have his bite.

jarilo's eyes had followed her, and their verdant glow rested on her now even as she began to groom. men did not often take an interest in the goings-on of women. but he was not a man of the isle. jarilo was an ostrega, and despite the cold and wild nature of his family, he found much to observe. much to see. 

the duck, then, did not believe she had been convincing, and left off attempting to arrange her fur into some semblance of kept. "i think," and there the words stopped, lodging against her tongue. kukutux blinked, looked first at the earth, then the pheasant meat, and finally lifted her hesitant muzzle toward him, searching the greenery of his eyes for any sign she would not be safe.

there was none there, of course; jarilo's affection wore itself in the form of caution, and so warmed, kukutux inched closer and cleared her throat. "i have felt ... odd. sick. like i ate a bad thing. but i did not." was she rambling? sedna. help. "but i do not believe i am sick." a breath. " i th -- i ..." 

through the somber tilt of her features swam a pale smile, one that enlivened her weak countenance. "i think you will be father, jarilo." there was no way to know for certain. perhaps it was an illness all the same. but it was odd, this thing the girl had not before felt. breath held, she awaited his response.

Jarilo's ears tipped up, over the meat his measured over carefully as he would not step in the way of any detail she might have for him. Silently, he hoped to encourage her for more--or at least a true start, because he didn't intend to judge, or worse, not in wanting to help somehow, distant or not. Something was.. not one-hundred and he wasn't sure if he should just get his nose out of it or keep it there, but, more of the picture slowly became clear.. clear as mud, at first as he digested her symptoms.

Odd, sick. But not sick sick, maybe? Attempting to piece this together as he peeled pheasant meat, he felt the furrow creeping onto his brow as he worked his teeth--how to tiptoe around wheedling information from Lyra to help, if Kukutux did not already have the remedy like she probably did, or maybe how he might procure that fix--but, wait. He did not think he was seeing wrong, a hint of an upturn to her lips, making him just tilt his head at her vaguely confused.

Until she spelled it out for him--a father. He was quick with the rest and suddenly sitting very upright, meal aside. You do? he didn't mean for the question to come rushing forward, more urged by surprise than doubt. So soon, it seemed, with everything he'd been busy, admittedly. Not that he knew anything about it except that it was all guided by mysterious women time and to never cross a gravid one; Moonspear's litters were few, his mother hideously private over her last and his closeness to Hydra didn't always extend into those realms.. especially not during last year.

But, Jarilo beat his tail on the earth and reached to nuzzle his snout against hers, light with the touch though he lingered with it. That's.. really? I mean, I hope so, because he'd take some good news, no matter how daunting the implication: them, parents, and more pups on Moonspear alongside Dirge and Hydra's a very real possibility. So not to get overwhelmed, he'd seek to understand from her, his greatest source of guidance in this--this theirs. Is that a normal thing to feel.. off, because of it? I don't mean to be too happy about you feeling bad, really.. he ended in a soft laugh, letting the oh shit of it all get comfortable with a big exhale after.

jarilo's reaction was swift and provoked a laugh from tired kukutux, who nodded eagerly at her mate and leant into his touch. "all the women i have known that gave children were sick in the beginning." but it ended with the blossoming of the little ones within. the duck hoped she was not mistaken, so great was the joy beginning to glimmer in his expression.

your children will never be anything here

the thought sharply entered her mind, pulling at the corners of her own delight. it sprang to her tongue to ask jarilo what revui had meant, to seek reassurance from her husband. a torrent of guilt followed; hydra had been only kind, supportive of their union. she would welcome their offspring, for they too would be her blood.

and kukutux wanted nothing to dull the proud glow of jarilo's impending fatherhood. least of all a murmur of his wayward brothers or the strife they had brought to moonspear.

so she did not mention revui, but smiled in wonder at her mate. "i am glad you are happy." i am glad you are a man who is content to show his happiness. "the sickness will end and then i must have kaunak from plump beasts to help them grow. i will be fat too," came a soft joke, teasing up at him with a grin that demanded to be unhidden.

His exposure to these matters was minimal, and glaringly, he felt this more than ever before when she cited what she knew. I see.. I guess I never really put it fully together like that, he mentioned, without the knowledge of the mothers instilled onto their daughters at his disposal, he was learning though--since it was involving her thanks to him, for their pups--cue new headrush every time he thought that still. Before my siblings, I remember that my mother made herself scarce and not much beyond that. She wanted nothing to do with pesky yearlings like I was.. and Hydra, last year, can't say I was that close to know very much so soon, he supposed aloud, since it had all always been outside of his realms, especially in those early stages when very reasonably they could have ailed all the same and he would've never known to be sensitive to the matter at all.

But now was very different where he did not need to keep at bay, and remarkably new to him as such, as his to consider. He wondered if his father had fretted like this once too before all of them had come, or if his mother had even humored it in the first place. Perhaps in a rare moment she might have, he wanted to believe--because that would have been well before everything, beginnings and ends alike.

Nevertheless, he settled back in place a bit, his expression just as bright though. I hope you are too, and all, despite the sickness for the time being, how he knew it wore on her. If she was right, it shouldn't last for long and good things should come of it--towards which, again, he only wanted to help. Plump beasts, got it, he smirked, his own thoughts meandering back to his momentarily abandoned meal soon after. Any manner of beast she wanted, so long as he could get it within these wilds, he wanted to try. Jarilo trusted that the greener spring became, the easier that would be--which, above all, he could appreciate the hope he felt then towards the timing. There should be no shortages now, and if the internal strife could settle, all should be well, moving on.

plump beasts, and kukutux watched the roguish smile transform jarilo's features into something wholesome and boyish. "i am ... i have relief that i have done my part as wife," the girl admitted. happiness, but perhaps not in the sort of form he might expect. "i —" from where did all these words pour? " — i am proud to bring children to your hearth."

she was not sure how to comment upon his mother, a woman she had never known but whose spirit still haunted the woodlands. "sometimes the women became irritable before they knew they were full of new life," she offered weakly, hoping jarilo would not take offense. 

did he know how children were made? she suspected her mate knew no more than her on the intimations of the way the gods chose. she had been taught a woman swallowed a spirit, and that spirit fought with her own. if subdued, she would become pregnant. and it seemed every woman around kukutux had been so tested, for year after year before she had been born, children arrived suddenly where there had been none before. and after she had come to the island, she still saw the round bellies and maternal figures many times.

but now kukutux was not so sure, and her face began to pink up again at the memory of what they had done. had that been part of it? the duck wondered, realizing only then she had gone quiet for a long while. "i am sorry, kuluk. lately i have walked alone in my head." thinking of what this might mean, and if she was incorrect, and now what would happen if she was not right, if she had misunderstood the signals of her body. would he put her aside? a man was allowed to do so if his wife was barren. would he take another? did he know he certainly must if she could not bear children?

Relief, then, was something and though it still felt like a confusing feeling, Jarilo was coming into his own pride too.. though surely in a way markedly different from hers. Again his tail took to motion, and he thought to reach for her more, and carefully stilled as he looked for his own right words to answer with--beyond a stilted murmur of Thank you.. before an exhale that would bring more to come. That doesn't feel like enough, but.. I am proud too. To protect you, and them and hope that I can do my part as husband and.. father, for you all. His face may as well be on fire, this considered. Gods, whatever they may actually be that watched over this nature, he'd have to try. They will have a good future here, I will make sure, his voice had dropped, remembering with a hidden lick of ire how his brother had already slung his cruel words against them.

He would not have imagined this, so whole and very real, a season ago. Maybe in a distant possibility, but never so clear and concise had he considered a wife, a branching family of his own here where he remained comfortable, and yet.. hopefully, he was not wrong in helping bring this moment to be, and believing her security was best with him out of his brothers who had hurt her already--though the eldest of Charon's mountain-born sons wondered too if they truly realized. A year ago, he might not have been able to view it as so.

Moonspear sees few mothers on its slopes, I know that I know little of the finer details past.. the start, he mentioned with a smirk he tried to build upon, but she knew this. Last year, distraction had run rampant, and grief had ruled him in the end until it was all said and done and Hydra's pups had come earthside. I will learn what I can, he chuffed, lighter, trying to be frank about his newness to such thoughts and that once more, she would be his best guide.

Nevertheless, his ears turned up and he was not one to fault her for silence. No worries. I want to walk with you.. where I can, he murmured, unsure if this was the right way to phrase himself, but had hung upon the word in the meantime. Kuluk, what does it mean? he asked, subject veered momentarily. Context gave him its clues, but that was just that.

"it is what ... it is like 'heart sweet,'" kukutux explained softly, glowing beneath his regard. she was assured by jarilo's words, and relaxed into softer lines as he continued to speak. this man will be a good father, the inner spirit whispered, and she knew it for the truth that it was. she had seen how fierce he could be toward an enemy

and arcturus

for the creed of the mountain wolves ran deeply in his blood despite his natural caution. and now the children she carried, their children, would become ostregas in their own right and time. beneath the wild banner flown by hydra, how could they not? secretly she wondered if the blackbear would elevate her mate, now that arcturus had made his own choice. and what of any cubs he sired outside the mountain? would they arrive to displace her own and lay claim to the line to moonspear's throne?

an inhale; she reddened beneath her pale fur, a light giggle of shock escaping her in reaction to his vague mention of their time among the darkened trees. "you are a man who enjoys learning. that is good. it is how you become a good teacher." had he not taught her of the way they were, of the way moonspear was? her eyes glimmered with a sudden affection, followed by a hint of mischief. "i will teach you another word. "anuxtalulu," kukutux whispered in a shy fashion, though she moved closer then, to sit alongside him with their furs just at a brush.

A soft grin, then, and he kept the meaning and its word for later now that it was fresh on his tongue. Much like many of the other tidbits of the language she sprinkled for him, he was slowly starting to absorb them--even before the notion occurred to him that his offspring may come to know it one day too, a thought that came now with a strange thrill as once he could recall picking up the pieces of his own mother's language and cherishing every bit she shared with him. Would they be the same, whoever they might grow to become? Which, he knew was him getting ahead.. but it was an easy, fond thought to entertain.

Her noted observation segued him into further consideration, then--a teacher, a role he had started to grow more comfortable with thanks to Hydra's quartet of cubs. First as a distraction from his grief, but he had used it to an advantage far greater than he had known. Of course, his ears gave a sheepish little splay then, though he kept his warm countenance. I always have had very good teachers, he replied, believing to have learned from some of the best--and with no interest in stopping this, now eager to hear more from Kukutux of her language, knowledge, skills, and all else..

When her voice hushed away to the whisper, his ears pressed eagerly after it, not having missed the glint in her eyes. Oh? But, he had not a single clue what that might mean. He leaned back against her just enough to further press their furs together, and hesitated a moment to licks his lips, trying to muster an attempt: Ah.. an...anux talu lu, he tried to repeat. Utterly without grace, and cue the squint that followed once he heard himself. Awkward. It's much nicer when you say it. What is that one?

her husband's unstilted acceptance of her ways had done much to quell kukutux' feeling of otherness. she was different, and that was something the duck accepted. but jarilo had taught her she was not so foreign. her way of duty before love was reflected in hydra's own morals, and this settled her into a feeling of hearth-bound domesticity.

kukutux then was happy to touch him when he returned from his patrols, rising from one fur or another to greet him; now she felt the inviting warmth of his figure, felt the strength of the hardened muscles built by the mountain's hard stone shelves and green paths. she felt she had been a good wife; she could only trust that jarilo would tell her otherwise.

playfully she rose her muzzle to trace her teeth through the dark fur of his shoulder, a plucky flush of want and affection wending its way through her gravid body. "anuxtalulu," kukutux repeated, swallowing back a spate of nervousness clenching in her throat and offering: "it means 'i have desire for you.''" pale ears followed the track of his own; kukutux let the greenglimmer of her gaze seek his own, heart quickening its beat for a strong moment of wordless sensation.

A busied mind, and a contentment could soon follow through the rest of him. His nearness not unwelcome, and he certainly could not fathom not wanting her proximity either, he was learning.. and growing more comfortable within it. Bit by tiny bit, he could settle in--said the constant reminder. He just had to learn how, and he was. She guided him right, and he was an eager study when he set his reservation aside. See, much nicer.. he smirked, and toyed with another clunky attempt of his own after his soft note of a laugh died away. Perhaps a bit steadier than his first, but now knowing the meaning it carried too, a warmth in his face stalled him instead of only the strange syllables, heavy and foreign on his tongue.

Affection came roughly among his family, so he reined in the playful nip he punctuated with before he asked to hear more--to show him more of her language, its nuances, and above all, her, too.