Ouroboros Spine naungat ⥈

home arrival thread! no posting order; optional!

the trees were scarlet and gold upon the face of anik lake when moonglow returned. and with them was natigvik, the seeds of what @Kigipigak and sakhmet had built. if allowed, kukutux moved to brush @Kivaluk's shoulder with her muzzle. "i am your atsak," she reminded him softly. he could come to her for any wisdom. "@Stratos," kukutux said of the boy. "please show to your kantagutik the hunting-places beside the lake."

he too would need something to carry. he worked as his father did.

to @Callyope she looked now. "put your things here, beside the ulax," she said to her daughter. "show @Lestan and @Amalia where they might rest." until they had chosen a sleeping-place, or that of their own.

her breath let out. her eyes were warm toward @Shikoba and @Aiolos. "sun man," she whispered to her husband, "bring the winterhawk with you when you walk." of which she meant kigipigak, who must have a role inside their home as he had held before. "he is a fine secondhunter," she said to their sivullik, but ultimately shikoba would decide this.

she looked at @Tulukiri. "please walk with first hunter. we will do two journeys around moonglow. we must know if others have tried to make this place their own."

her jadestone eyes moved now to @Rodyn and to @Samani.  he had brought many fine things, and she would help him store them in a shallow den beside her main sleeping-place, to be protected until he was ready to declare. "i ask that you go to mamattuk," she said of the coppice across the lake, "and bring me the kuaktak." it was trout buried deep in the shade at the end of summer, aged below the ground and soft-dried. she would split it among their new wolves.

and it would give them time for aloneness, which kukutux felt the pair might welcome.

she herself took ariadne close and welcomed the movement of moonglow, stacking hides and answering questions, moving to and fro along the lake-path with a comfortable grace.

in the end, natigvik decided to disband. lestan would miss the river and the herd of which he had become quite fond.
he traveled close to amalia as the taiga faded behind them. the path seemed sure enough, walked by their counterparts, but he was tired enough when they came to the spine.
its beauty perked lestan somewhat, and he smiled gratefully at the young girl assigned to help them. "thank you." he bumped amalia gently, a show of solidarity.

On the march again.

The inconsistencies of her life were becoming a weight that Tulukiri wished she could throw aside.

The river was behind them. Tulukiri thought of the blackberry boy, then the red-faced girl and her guardian. She imagined what it might be like to strike off on her own terms - back to the Maplewood, maybe.

The village loomed too soon. She was asked to walk a patrol and learn the village limits, and so she nodded and stalked off.

this trip to moonglow did not hold the excitement for him that the first did. keenly, he feels his mother and brother's absence. though the support of moonglow felt like a solid arm against his back, he cannot help but be despondent, wondering how many major upheavals his small ( immediate ) family could withstand.

this time, there is the knowledge that he would not return to the qeya river.

smarting in his sorrow and hurt ( jealousy, even ) he dutifully trudges along, trying and struggling to find comfort in kukutux's touch. he appreciates her and he wants to draw comfort from her but his wounds are too fresh, his sorrow still too high.

he follows stratos when the other boy is instructed to show him prime hunting grounds but soon retires after, finding the first comfortable place he can find to rest from the journey.

Amalia followed the path meant for her. She tried to keep the spirits up of her pack mates and friends. But there was a sorrow that hung upon them, greater than she ever thought there could be. There was a hole in their hearts that could not be filled.

Kigipigak had left, it was destined. He was a warrior, sometimes they were called from their home fires to lend their bodies and their souls, but now the heart of their tiny pack was gone, and it beat less than it had.

She took the touch from Lestan. If he woud allow, she too would sleep next to him this evening until she found her own place to lay her head. Perhaps she wouldn't. Only time would tell.

Weariness pressed upon Rodyn from all sides, but he moved in tandem with his packmates and his friends regardless. There was a heaviness to the air, but also an air of hopefulness. Perhaps this would be one of the best things to happen.

When Moonwoman offered him a brief reprieve with only Samani, he would take it. He had been alone on the road for so long, except brief intervals. The amount of bodies pressed all around him, was almost painful to touch.

He would press his nose to Kukutux, lay his bundles where she willed and then be on his way with Samani.

Come along,

She whispered warmly. A somber smile offered to the both of them.

Moonglow would be their home now, as much as it had been hers. Yet she knew they may carry sadness with them. She was not a stranger to that either. So she would take them to a lovely place, whatever one they desired.

In the morning she would provide them with comforts for the new space.

they returned to the spine, though mojag was not in tow still.

her heart aches, but despite the feelings, she swallows her heart and decides to let it burn from within quietly. today was meant to be of quiet celebration, the combining of 2 families once again. shikoba would have more stomachs to feed, more fangs to sharpen, and more hides to protect.

she would be busy. but she would still miss mojag. kukutux breaks shikoba's attention for a moment, and the sivullik returns a solemn nod. she would hope that kigipigak would be happy to become her second hunter.

The river was left behind. Kigipigak walked with Kukutux and Aiolos for a time, and throughout the journey he would lag back to watch his remaining son, or check in with Amalia with a look, or see to it that Lestan and Tulukiri kept watch for dangers as they traveled together; all these things, wordless, and all these glances orders without weight. He was no sangilak now.

The loss of his rank was nothing compared to the loss of his wife and son. They were alive and they were safe, he had to remind himself; he saw Shikoba and wondered if they both held the same hollowed, gutted look as one-another. He knew he was fortunate in that Akkuma was merely soul-sick; he felt powerless to help, and frustrated by his inability, but kept these things tightly contained.

When they reached the village he knew he should have been glad. Kigipigak had many good memories of this place. He listened - approaching where Kukutux was organizing people - as the moonwoman allocated jobs for people. He moved to grab a bundle of furs to help with their transport to the ulax or wherever. Anything to keep his mind off of things.

Every path within Moonglow, every sleeping place, scent, sight, reminded him of Sakhmet and he further withdrew to himself as a result. Kivaluk would go off with Stratos; the others dispersed, and once Kigipigak had put away some of the pelts, he was approached by Aiolos. The sunman's invitation to walk the grounds was met with a firm expression and a nod, but no words.

Away he would go.