Snowforest Taiga From a fortune of fisher king

The man had tread from one camp to the other. He had found the pale boy and made himself known to him. There was little else to do except insert himself within the hunts of these snow-people; but Tulimaq was not interested in hunting with them. He awaited his savaktuk; should they fail to find him here in a timely manner, he would seek them out instead.

To pass the time, he watched the herd. He studied the way the wolves loyal to snow-woman worked together. His mind was focused upon many different things, among which was @Shikoba, though he did not know which wolf was the sivullik — he only knew it was a woman named by Kukutux, and so his investigation took him closer to the herd, to suss her out.

there had been whispers of a man with a quiet backstory who had found refuge within the camp to hunt with the wolves of Moonglow. shikoba thinks little of it at first, though as her position as the sivullik of the tribe, she must also remain on guard and suspicious of those who do not carry the scent nor ways of the spine. this man, although he is trusted by kukutux, remains off-putting to the native. he does not give her the warm feeling that inutsuk did when they met and spent time together. of course, this may all change after a hunt is shared with him, but until then, the woman remains vigilant.

she had kept eyes on the same herd as well, and while she intended to search for a hunting party as she noticed a lame caribou, her eyes lock onto the lumbering male. his scent is different and she must fight off the desire to pick up her lip in a growl. strangely enough, after spending time with the inutsuk, shikoba has felt more defensive about herself. it is as if she wants to chase off untrusted males who get too close to her in fear of losing her time with the man that grows fond of her.

either way, she must swallow these feelings and simply let the man intercept her if he wishes. kukutux did not make her sivullik because she lacked the teeth and willpower. hopefully, this man is only here to join her and nothing more.

Among the milling bodies of the caribou there is the scarred woman, burly compared to the sagging skin of the ill creatures, and when Tulimaq spots her he bellows a bark through the herd. The younger ones and the healthier ones scatter as soon as they see him; the elder ones, nearly dead on their feet from their sickness, do not so much as bat an ear.

Tulimaq is bristling as he rounds upon where the woman lingers.

Shikoba, sivullik to Moonglow — a dangerous flash in his eyes as his head begins to lower, his pace increasing as he moves towards her like a bull. —fight with me! It was not a request. The snap of his teeth is clue enough to that.

Feel free to skip around Olo!

The red man trots along, out at a distance from the first hunter, awaiting direction when needed. The strangers arrival, and his words, most unexpected. Who was this stranger?

As all and any Aiolos were aware, sivullik was chosen by the people, by the Leaders which watched over them all- it was not challenged. Though Aiolos did not know this to be certain. Many of the ways of the northerners were still unknown to the tropical, seafaring Greek.

So for now, Aiolos would be upon the side lines, pacing at a good distance as he watched, woofing Shikoba on and snarling into the stranger's direction.

me, a pacifist, having to write about any situation that includes conflict LOL 

like a stallion trying to snake another off his herd, the man comes barreling towards her with speed and ferocity that strengthens the woman's suspicions of this man. normally, many would try and escape out of fear, or perhaps try and find a solution to the problem through communication. but shikoba is unlike the pacifistic and toothless wolves who stray from a fight. she would not have her scars if she had not chosen the path of war and conflict that was given to her as her birthright.

so, the man will get what he wants. she did not think her position could be challenged and taken, but she'll be damned if some riff-raff comes and steals away something she has put her blood into. 

a challenging snarl rips through her and echoes through the space, challenging the man with all her strength and heart. she will not lose, not today, and not to this man. his advantage may lay within his size, so shikoba must be witty with this fight. she stands her ground for a moment, just enough for the man to get close before she throws herself off to the side in hopes of avoiding his rush. should she be successful, she will turn to launch her teeth towards his neck. but if not, the woman would find herself colliding with the ground and a nose full of dirt.

just a cameo!

kukutux did not approve. it showed in the lash of her tail as she came to stand beside aiolos.

"this man says he is of tartok. he is sivullik of his own hunting party. but he does not wish to live in moonglow. his teeth turn for another reason."

to begin a challenge during the time of calm; it was untenable. shikoba had the respect of her village. this man had only his jaws.

it would not do to intervene, not now. shikoba might only be humiliated by this.

The woman roared in response and turned from the herd to intercept him. Tulimaq was gladdened by the sight of the woman cresting the snow, lunging for him; she was wise enough to hold firm and wait for his advance and then sought to grab for his neck, utilizing the spray of snow to her advantage.

She was mostly successful: the wave of snow caused Tulimaq to duck and weave a bit sooner than he'd have liked, and by the time he righted himself the woman was seeking to grab at him, launching for his neck. He was low enough to veer away in time to avoid a direct blow, and watched as she stumbled partway against the dirt.

Tulimaq held the familiar sensation of fresh bruises close, using it as fuel for his own retaliation. She had managed to throw herself in to him and grapple for a moment, and yet she was on the ground now, and the Tartok man lunged to grab for whatever he could of her: neck, shoulder, tail, even.

The point was to overpower her and prove his superiority. It was a contest of might between sivullik and Tulimaq was thus far, unmatched.

if there's one thing that a warrior should never do in battle, it is to assume that they land every hit they send. shikoba knows this all too well, and although she feels pride swell in her heart with the ability to dodge, it does not stop the later repercussions of her actions. now, she's lost her footing and the man reaches for her.

teeth meet the flesh of her shoulder as vermillion blood flows into the man of tartok. yet the woman does not crumble beneath his weight. her throat only rumbles like reckless thunder as she does her best to support the weight of not just herself, but the man digging into her side. she finds herself grounded for a moment, but thankfully, with her heavier weight than most of her size and stature, she is able to push back against him in an attempt to find her footing.

she may not be able to have enough force to push his head off of her bleeding body, but shikoba has a full set of teeth that have sought blood many times. now it is her turn to reach and grab ahold of whatever may land in her mouth first, be it his muzzle or cheek or even his ear. perhaps shikoba's signature will be the maiming of ears, as a subtle thought of nuak crosses her mind. though, with the desire to clear her head, shikoba begins to thrash around with whatever she has grasped, hoping that she may tear something.

she may not understand the traditions of sivullik and the culture that the duck has enriched her with, but shikoba knows that the eyes of the village look upon her now. if she cannot defend her status, her village, then what kind of sivullik is she?

Tulimaq tastes blood. It is not the first time his sparring has been too rough, and hardly the last. It was not his intent to maim the woman warrior. He was testing her, and often in the heat of battle would lose himself to the joy of such a test — but he did not balk at the taste of it either. If anything, he was more animate because of it.

He could not overpower her as easily as he had thought, either. She was heavier set beneath her winter coat, not all plush like many wolves in this region. She took the hit and rolled with it, reaching to grasp for Tulimaq and thrash, defending herself as if this were a fight to the death.

She managed to grab at his chest with her teeth and rake across it, through the thinner fur along his breast bone. The skin punctured with the inital smack of the tooth and then tore as she withdrew, likely to aim another strike.

Tulimaq was briefly winded and backed off from her, stalking and moving endlessly, trailing warm blood that seeped from this wound.

He was smiling.

You fight like you are afraid! Tulimaq taunted the woman. He breathed heavily, finding that his chest pinched with each breath because of the slice she had torn from him. Are your people all this soft? His voice carried for Kukutux to hear, although he never let his eyes stray from his sparring partner.

Before he could hear an answer, he drove himself across the snow and made to feint towards her, aiming first to the wound that he had made by mistake, and then for whatever ended up nearest to him, as Tulimaq expected more defensive posturing from the woman.

her teeth scrape his chest and now the man finds himself bleeding with shikoba. he pulls away and words are sprayed from his black lips, though they fall upon deaf ears. his smile is a loud enough message to shikoba that he intends to find a way beneath her skin; she doesn't say a word. 

perhaps she really was afraid, for she had a foreign man attacking her and drawing her blood, whether it was done with purpose or not. she has faced death too many times in her life to take these threats to her safety lightly. the hellcat had done enough maiming to make shikoba wary of her body and the bodies of others. this man is no different than the spineless outcasts who sought her family during her years in the desert.

she watches him closely, moving her own feet to ensure he cannot surprise her. with his thundering charge to her once again, the woman lowers her head to protect the windpipe that keeps her alive. her hackles remain flagged as the man searches for something else to grace his teeth. this time, she does not intend to sidestep. lowering her body, she sees him reach for her shoulder, but the woman instead body slams against him with her barrel, as if she was a bronc throwing a buck off to the side. 

she hopes this is enough to stop his oncoming force, and while she feels teeth on her side, it is thankfully a few inches behind her shoulder. now she must be quick; the woman soon reaches for a leg to trip him up and off of her body, he was starting to feel like a leech.

Things moved quickly, as battles often did.

Tulimaq had hoped there was more to the woman than girth, though she came to throw that weight around and slammed sharply in to him, sending him back a step and giving her an opening to reach for a leg.

He had become a touch too complacent during this spar; the woman's reach was not drastic, she was a squat creature, but because Tulimaq had drawn himself so close for a strike of his own, she could attack his legs, and was successful.

Teeth scraped at his forelimbs. He endured it, to his own detriment, and realized the mistake as soon as the blood began to flow. Nothing was broken except for the skin, but there was now a network of tears oozing blood in to the snow.

With a snarl Tulimaq threw himself in to the woman. He was injured but the cold of the season kept him grounded, and the pain that had begun to surface within these new wounds was held at bay by an influx of adrenaline. This would be his final push for victory over the sivullik — there had been too many wounds exchanged already for a simple spar, and if Tulimaq could now bowl the woman over in this final effort, he would disengage.

while shikoba does not belong to the size category of large, she makes up for it in mass. and often enough, it'll surprise just about anyone who's willing to find out what she's really capable of despite her smaller frame. with enough weight behind her to hit back at him and cause a pause on the fight, shikoba's quick thinking is beneficial as she's able to trip up the man a bit. however, his roar and attempt to crush her against his weight showed her that this needed to end, or else she may actually end up curling beneath him.

the snow looked fluffy, welcoming even, for her body to keel over in. but she couldn't, not after staying up for this long. with whatever strength she has left, despite feeling her legs beginning to shake underneath the combined weight, the woman surges with adrenaline and gives one final shove to rid her body of the tartok. not enough to send him flying, but enough to send a clear message that she cannot fall as easily.

taunt her as he may, such as before, his words mean nothing more than the worms that crawl below her and feast on the flesh of the dead. the sivullik has proved herself worthy of protecting Moonglow. now, she pants now, waiting, growling, bleeding.

He attempted to sweep her off her feet, eager to see her fall and to stand astride her body in triumph, but that was not to be. She had more fight in her than Tulimaq thought possible for the soft-hearted Moonfolk; but he was pleased as well, seeing someone with the will to stand despite the damage.

The woman fought back and refused to falter. Tulimaq saw no point in continuing when it was clear they were evenly matched in wills, and now they were both bloodied by the passion of it. She glared his way, and he ducked his head in a rare signal of submission - the cue that he was finished, drawing back to a safe distance.

Tulimaq would have offered this one the chance to join with Tartok, had he been alone with her. With the red man and his wife attending, he knew better than to speak. Perhaps one day he would meet this woman again and they could fight again.

Without a word to Shikoba, and only a quick glance to Kukutux, the man departed from their company. His trail was marred with red every few steps, not that any would follow his path.

Exit Tulimaq!

last for me!

they clashed.

sivullik proved herself.

the man tulimaq left them. kukutux called to her sister, offering solace and a salve for her cuts.

in her heart there was much pride.

Another reason? Perhaps this man only wished to test himself as firsthunter by fighting one of another village. Though Kukutux was still angry, this made to calm Olo a bit.

As the fight ended, showing their matched skills, the man dipped his head into submission and quickly made way off. Kukutux would be quick to take their firsthunter off to be mended.

For a time Aiolos slowly walked the stranger's blood trail before returning to their camp.

submission.

something she did not expect from him. but when offered, she only stands there, breathless. out of anger, she would have chased after him in hopes of sending him off with his tail between his legs. but shikoba has done enough to prove herself. now, she may rest and heal.

the duck calls to her, and shikoba cab only lope to her in hopes of comfort. 

this is one of the many tests that came with being sivullik. but shikoba had passed, perhaps not with flying colors, but she was successful. to her, that is what matters most.

exit shikoba <3