Duskfire Glacier nutrition facts

i don't think anybody else is still here, but i (and seq) would love to be proven otherwise, hehe.

When she arrived at the glacier, there was nothing there, just as Druid had said. Not nothing exactly, but there were only faint scents of wolves that were once here. The borders had gone stale, and it seemed empty. Gingerly, she stepped across the faint markings and into what was once their ally's home. Some ally! They had not come to tell Rivenwood when they were leaving. Either that, or they had told Mahler, and he had not relayed the message. It seemed far more likely that the latter was true, and a sour taste grew in her mouth for the man who had pretended to be kind to her and her children.

Sequoia lashed her tail and turned west, away from the glacier's icy tundra. She would find help elsewhere.

Kigipigak had not expected to find anyone near the glacier village; or what was left of it, given the recent exodus of its inhabitants. He thought that someone might have changed their mind or forgotten something for the journey, so when he caught sight of a figure along the edge of the lupine meadow he boofed a greeting.

It could have been anybody - even a danger to himself - but Kigipigak was not afraid. He approached with a sway to his tail and a confident aura radiating from his every inch, despite the poor hunting of late, and was surprised to see Sequoia. He remembered her well from his time at Rivenwood.

I did not expect to see you here. The man goes on to comment, allowing his smile to falter a little bit. If you are seeking the ice village... they have moved on already. Perhaps I can be of help instead?

A figure approached, and Sequoia thought she might have some help in Duskfire after all... but no. It was only the man who had been uninterested in her last year. Another in the long list of men who had scorned her. Sequoia couldn't help but scowl at him.

Can you tell me exactly where they went?

Perhaps if he had stayed with them instead of... running off to do whatever, Laurel would still have her children, and Sequoia wouldn't be out here recruiting, looking for their one allied pack. Were they even allies? Druid had said Heda was with them, but it had been so long since Sequoia had seen the girl.

The woman was quick to accept his aid but quicker with the barbed lash of her tongue, wanting information. It was unfortunate that Kigipigak knew very little about the goings-on of the village; they were friends, but they were not his people.

They moved west. I do not know how far they plan to travel or what their destination is. Kigipigak relays what little he does know, which does not clarify the matter. So in effect his answer to her question was a strong no. He tried, though.

I know of the attack on Rivenwood. When this village sent aid I went with them, as a friend to both. How do you fare? He only hoped that things had settled within Rivenwood, but given what Mahler had said about children being taken, Kigipigak doubted that would be the case.

Maybe she should have been nicer to the one person who was trying to help her out here, but she couldn’t bring herself to trust another man. All they had ever done was screw things up.

I don’t have time to chat and catch up. I’ve got to find them. It’s unwise for you to go to Rivenwood. Mahler and his bride have gone without a goodbye, and the few of us left aren’t interested in men running our lives anymore. It was a not so subtle way of asking Kigipigak to kindly stay away.

skippable unless directly interacted with!

She had, selfishly, been trying to pluck anything left over from the glacier village.

It wasn’t long before she spotted both her husband and an unfamiliar figure. The latter seemed to be in motion before her husband had stopped them. Warily she looked upon them, uncertain of the stranger’s intentions and too far away to hear the words they exchanged.

And although it may have been unwise, she waddled her way over. Slowly, no thanks to the thick curves of her sides now.

She was uncertain if she’d even arrive before their exchange was over, but she surely was visible all the same.

Maybe he was expecting too much from a woman he didn't know all that well, but her answer to his query almost gave him whiplash. Sequoia was quick to shoot down any attempts at friendship and Kigipigak frowned a little bit, perplexed by this sudden attitude.

Had he said the wrong thing?

But she told him a lot also, in that short span. That Mahler had left the bypass without word; that the remaining wolves of Rivenwood did not need any more help.

You will not find them without a great journey, he said. Kigipigak's uplifted mood had been suitably crushed by Sequoia's abrasive attitude towards him. Now he looked upon her in a new light. I do not know specifically where they have gone, but their leader Lane said something about hinterlands.

Kigipigak had never been that far west and did not know where the glacier wolves were going, only what he'd heard from Sakhmet prior to their departure.

last one from me!

Lane was not the one Laurel had mentioned, at least. That in itself seemed promising, if only because Sequoia did not want Abel and Indra’s father to become involved too intimately. Thank you, she said. She meant it, even if she lacked patience and grace in the moment.

Her eyes settled on the silent, round figure who appeared at his side, and Sequoia was reminded that men were awful and only cared about what they wanted. He could have his bride and leave them alone. Seq would find better candidates to help them.

Goodbye, Kigi-pack. He had been useful, that much she could say, but she had to get a move on.

She was too slow.

Too late.

The woman disappeared with a disjointed speaking of Kigipigak’s name. Sakhmet watched her with moon eyes, despite her husband being her true focus of attention.

Who was she?

He gave a wan smile to Sequoia as she passed, and watched her go until his wife's approach drew his attention. Kigipigak wasn't on high alert or anything but he was put-off a bit by Sequoia's attitude, which showed in the way he followed her with his eyes, the tension in his jawline.

Her name is Sequoia. We lived together very briefly when I was helping Rivenwood, a few winters ago. He explained, watching as the forest's shadows swallowed up the pale vestige of the woman's distant figure.

Reaching for his wife, Kigipigak noses her cheek affectionately. She says that Rivenwood's leaders have abandoned their village; she came to find Lane, I think, and did not know where Duskfire's village has gone.

Another thought came to him — one he did not want to express right then. If Rivenwood had fallen, then Ursus had won after all. Did that also mean the bypass was no longer a target? It might make the river safer for them as a result.

There was a blip of gratefulness in her heart that they had not gone to Rivnewood then, if the leaders would depart so soon after tragedy. How worse would it have been to find a home and lose it so soon?

To be without was better, she assured herself.

But this meant nobody was here, most likely. Duskfire gone and Rivenwood seemingly scattered.

There is no one to contend with for land and food if both villages are gone, A bleak observation as much as it is a relief.

He can't help the feeling of relief that floods him as he listens to his wife speak; she says what is on his mind also, and together they may languish over the loss of friends, but they would celebrate the triumph of knowing that they could and would survive.

We are alone here, he mentions in a tone more soft than usual, careful with his phrasing, which means we can thrive. We'll be easy targets if those raiders return and see us as a target but, I will keep us safe. He will have to.

And we have Njord coming. The man thinks of this suddenly, remembering the deal. He will help us hunt and I will teach him to fight, so if we are targeted, or we are found by threats, you will be kept safe.

Kigipigak looked from Sakhmet's petite face to her rounded sides, and brushed at her belly softly, lingering there as if to listen. All of you.

Relief.

Heavier than any grief or strife. Relief, it washed over her, it trembled her lips and watered her eyes. Gods she was so prone to dramatic shows of emotions these days. A rollercoaster because — because of them, she thinks as his nose touches her side.

They're moving, she thinks.

An alien experience that she only now realizes is them.

Moving!

Perhaps that felt more like a sign of life within than any other symptom she had experienced so far. Her moon gaze fluttered between her own sides to Kigipigak's face at her stomach.

They trust you, Perhaps it goes without saying but she is not certain if he could feel them move too with his nose brushing so close.

We will all be okay. We can...settle roots now. No more questioning needed.

And perhaps for the best as she grew wearier with each day.