Altar of Twilight wife

the journey would be slow. by afternoon they had come to the place where tulukiri had been killed.
chakliux did not wish to stop here but his strength was waning again. the pain was great. his shoulder had opened and leaked blood along his pelt.
he fell to his haunches. @Nasamik and @Kannoyak must hunt now. he could go no further. chakliux hated this weakness in himself. but he would not die here.

Their journey was put on hold. Chakliux could not walk the whole way without rest.

Nasamik pressed against his flank, doing her best to ease his fall without shrinking to the ground herself. Now, looking upon him, she thought to herself.

You must rest here, As was evident. I will go alone to Moonspear, to speak with Sialuk. Tonight, we will know what to expect of her hospitality. I will not have you travel all that way just to be turned away with scorn. She had decided this for herself without waiting for input from either hunter.

Their journey had been difficult. Chakliux suffered from his wounds. They had moved at a difficultly slow pace, only crossing into a new territory after painstaking steps.

When the pale man had grown tired, it was felt by all of them. Kannoyak drew his tongue along his whiskers, thinking that he should hunt for them to keep their strength. The plum-eyed wolf would do well in this. If they wished to wait in each other’s company, he would bring them food and they would regain some strength before attempting to move further.

It was Nasamik that spoke out and said she would journey to Moonspear alone.

Eat before you go. I will hunt for you and so you have something to bring to the raindrop woman.

Kannoyak believed that showing up with a gift would give them more favor than merely showing up with the word of Chakliux’ wounds.

chakliux snorted but he did not have the energy to argue with nasamik as he might have. the edges of moonspear still held their wintertime snowing. it would be hard to climb.
the seal hunter sank to his belly, gritting his teeth against any sound. his eyes moved between them, wondering if nasamik would listen to his brother-hunter or seek her own way despite this good advice.
"i will have much meat to repay you, kannoyak," he joked weakly, thinking of the bird that the other had brought him.

Kannoyak wanted her to wait. To eat, then bring a gift.

While part of her wanted to object and leave immediately, he knew it best for her to have something to offer Sialuk and hope that the gift would advance them in her favors.

You hunt for Chakliux, She nodded towards him. See that his belly is filled while I dress his wound as best I can. Then I will find a suitable gift to offer Moonspear. It would not be fair to take credit for a kill that was not her own. If she would present anything to Sialuk, it would be her own catch.

You will repay me by growing strong again.

Nasamik did not want for him to bring her an offering. Kannoyak’s head was canted in confusion. She must have had her reasons. Perhaps Chakliux’ wife knew Sialuk and had plans for a better gift. He would not argue because it was not his place to do so. If the woman wished to do her own hunting, she would be welcome to it.

I will return soon. Rest, brother.

Then the pale figure turned to disappear into the trees. His eyes searched for something that would fill their bellies and bring new strength to their tired muscles. Kannoyak would succeed, for he was a good hunter.

nasamik spoke. kannoyak spoke. chakliux did not. he felt cold and hot at the same time, redness pulsing around the edges of the torn skin in faint angry pink.
when his wife came near, he would not respond; he had gone into a velveteen blackness, something like sleep that would for a short while keep him from feeling his pain.
chakliux breathed steadily but he did not dream.

last from me here!

Nasamik had never called herself a skilled healer. She would not lie and say otherwise. But she knew enough to keep her injured husband at bay until they could get him experienced help.

Finding a nearby spring, she soaked a pad of moss and returned, dabbing gently at the wound until most of the blood had been washed away. Then, with what was left of the moss she collected, she pressed it along the wound, hoping it would save more blood from seeping out.

For a moment, Nasamik watched him. She did not like the idea of leaving, but it seemed the best idea. The best they had.

With a final, brief kiss upon his cheek, she turned to depart, setting off in the direction of Moonspear.

With Chakliux sleeping and Nasamik preparing to leave for Moonspear, Kannoyak hunted.

The white wolf raced in pursuit of his prey for some time. He had caught enough to feed them well, to fill their weary bodies with strength. It was with pride that he carried three rabbits in his mouth. It had been a good chase across the ground by the brambles. The rabbits were swift and meaty. They would make for good meals.

When he returned, the woman was already gone. Kannoyak saw the work she had done on Chakliux’ wounds. They had been cleaned well enough to fight infection for a short time. If she would return from Moonspear, they would know if they had a village to carry him toward.

Dropping the rabbits beside the resting man, Kannoyak lowered himself to his belly and watched.

chakliux dreamed of the lichen-covered paths that had led from his village into the taiga. he dreamed of the great salt ice and the snow-houses his people built during their stints in the blizzard hunting.
when he returned to himself and to his pain with a low groan, kannoyak was there. chakliux blinked, muzzy, and grabbed for one of the rabbits. he ate in wincing bites.
eventually the seal hunter glanced to his shoulder. "how long did i sleep, brother?" he asked, thinking of his wife's work.

Kannoyak did not reach for a rabbit for himself. He watched Chakliux take slow bites. He wished to be certain that the other man would not need all three catches for himself. The white hunter was not as hungry as he had imagined he might be. Their journey had been more taxing for the wounded seal hunter.

He asked in a croaking voice how long he had slept.

A long time. Your wife has gone to seek the raindrop woman. It looks like she treated your wounds. Kannoyak had been gone hunting for hours. Chakliux had slept the whole time. It was needed, he reminded himself. Strength must be nursed back, not forced. They would need to be careful, if they pressed on with their journey to the mountain.

How did you rest? Did you dream?

chakliux grunted in minute contentment at kannoyak's mention of nasamik. so far he had not been able to enjoy his marriage or the idea of coming children.
"i did." he pushed the remnants of the meal away, lifting up his body. his mouth tasted foul; his eyes felt sticky with sleep. "i dreamt of my people and our ways."
chakliux pointed toward kannoyak with his chin. "you will live in my lodge with myself and nasamik, wherever we go. you are my brother now." his eyes shone with resolution, for he had not said ulaq. he had used the word of his own home.

Kannoyak listened and knew the types of dreams that had lived in the sleeping man’s head. Home was a good place to go during rest. His spirit must have needed it.

Surprise washed through his belly at the next statement – that he would stay with Chakliux in his lodge, with his wife. Kannoyak did not know if this was best. He nudged another rabbit toward the man. They were brothers, then. It was only right to accept such a humble offer of home, even if they did not have one.

I will be at your side, brother.

It was all he could say.

chakliux took it up and ate more heartily this time, though the pain in his side remained harsh.
"nasamik needs the company of women when she gives birth," he commented. "she is strong. but i have seen how it changes them." he was circling back to creating a hunting-pact with moonspear if he was not admitted, the idea of roaming alone with kannoyak becoming an appealing thought.

I do not think that raindrop woman will turn her away, knowing she carried young life.

But Kannoyak did not know with certainty if this was true. He could only estimate, after speaking with her. Sialuk had goodness in her heart. She carried much of her mother – he had seen this. The white hunter could not believe that she would cast out woman and children to the wilds for such a small slight. The sun man was painted as an enemy in the white hunter’s mind.

I am pathmaker. We will create hunting and trading paths between villages. If she will not allow you to stay, we will settle nearby and will begin sharing goods with the moon villages. This show will cast a shadow on the sun man’s actions – only boys throw their power around in such a way.

Kannoyak’s lip curled with distaste. He did not believe this was the way of a man.

the way that kannoyak spoke of sialuk made chakliux wonder. that nasamik had a place among the spearwolves was good, but a sudden rush of resentment for the entire situation overcame him again. he looked away from the other man as he spoke.
"ah. then you will teach me to be pathmaker?" chakliux asked as he looked back toward kannoyak, smiling with a little of his old humour. "maybe i go back one day and teach the boy a lesson."
he grinned but his eyes darkened as hatred flickered inside them for a moment of fire. then it passed; he shut his gaze and lay back against the ground. "i will trade goods with you. what is the best sort of fur for trading? the most favourite?"
but his thoughts were on the sun man.

Yes, he answered in deep voice.

You would make a fine pathmaker.

Chakliux was a strong man and he had proven his strength to his village. His scars said as much. It was his remark on the sun man that drew Kannoyak’s ears to a point. If he wished to act as a boy, he would be punished like one. It was not suitable for a man like that to stand beside the Moonwoman. It was not right. He was discomforted by it.

Caribou furs are large and warm. They make for the best to line a home. Kannoyak recalled the fur that rested in his mother and father’s place of sleep. It had been a prize pulled home by the man with deep voice. Their village had talked about it for many moons. My father had the skin of a white bear in his lodge. It was considered the greatest prize. The white hunter did not believe they would find one like it in these parts.

kannoyak's alert silence suggested to chakliux that this was acceptable. "i know caribou. but i do not know all of their ways. i will learn this also from you, pathway man." his teeth shone weakly but that was all of his strength.
"i do know the old white bear. he has much fat beneath his good fur. i will have that!"
chakliux lowered into sleep once more.

Kannoyak nodded, agreeing. 

When Chakliux spoke of the white bear, the hunter laughed. His voice was soft. If his seal hunter brother wished it, he could have it. Kannoyak might find a white fur. It would make a fitting gift for a new father and his budding family. He would keep it in his mind, as he hunted. 

Chakliux slept again. The white hunter watched at his side, finally tearing into the last rabbit and working its meat in his teeth.