Moonspear those exits are not made equal

@Sialuk! Mild pp of Njord allowed by Lieu!
Now featuring the correct character

She had slept for almost two days by the time the odd talker came to retrieve her. In that time, she had allowed the fog in her head to dissipate in sections, closing off the pain from the rest of her.

The mountain did not need pain. It did not need emotion. It needed bodies to walk on its surface.

She would be lead away from the sleeping-place she had not claimed, intent on building her own, and there, she would wait as the odd-talker howled. Tullik’s nostrils flared with nerves, her tongue coming out to run over her nose nervously.

It was time to meet the odd-talker’s village-leader. A thought that thrilled her and chilled her in equal measure.

@Njord had told her of the girl who was staying in Moonspear's boundaries, but it seemed she needed days rest before she was ready to greet her. Perhaps a more strict leader would not have allowed this, but Sialuk trusted her gamma's judgement. And, when the girl was ready, the starwoman answered the call.

I greet you, Tullik. I am called Sialuk Ostrega, alpha and starwoman of Moonspear. Silently, she dismissed Njord. The two women would speak alone. Is it your wish to stay upon the spear? she asked.

She was awed by the woman who approached, her eyes going comically wide. Even her voice! This woman looked almost like Ingiullik, though she was grown. Was this what her sister would have been?

Abruptly, her throat closed and she looked down.

Y-Yes, starwoman. Her eyes flicked up. Was this woman like her? Did she speak in the same tongue?

Are you..from the north? She asked in the language of her mountain.

The sounds Tullik spoke reminded her of Kannoyak and of Kigipigak. Not quite the same as her own, but cousin languages.

From this mountain, Sialuk replied, pride and mirth woven into her words. Tell me what Moonspear sings to your heart, she said. It was a question she had found worth asking. A way to know if a man or woman's spirit would find peace here.

A kindred spirit, a fellow mountaineer. Tullik’s face broke into a shy smile, the girl’s tail giving a breezy wag.

It sings of height. Her eyes stuttered away to the peak, towering above her head.

The exhilaration of reaching the peak, the cold snow but the warm heart. She fought the urge for her throat to close further.

What could have been.

Sialuk listened as the spear spoke through Tullik, pleased at what the girl had heard. And what will be, she added, a smile playing on her face. What skills do you bring to our village, Tullik? she asked, beckoning the girl to follow her along a familiar path.

The girl walked beside the woman, her head held high to try and copy her body language.

I am born of mountains. I know how to hunt in the highest of peaks, how to scale the steepest of walls. I know the feel of height, and how to combat the dizziness that comes with scaling. Her heart beat fast in her chest at the thought.

Sialuk watched with delight the girl's mirrored stance. She was reminded of her younger sisters, the way they had asked many questions about what her duties were in years past. The raindrop made a note to visit them soon in Moonglow, to hear of their adventures since she had last seen them.

You will be mountain walker, Sialuk said, a grin on her face. Can you teach others this skill? Some of Moonspear's people come from the sea, and they do not know these things.

Tullik watched with weary eyes even still. It would take time for her personality to well back up from the cracks, but for now, this was what she needed. The cool bliss of being nothing at all.

Except mountain walker, that she was.

Yes. Some lowlanders existed among my people, they learned quickly. She did not repeat what would happen if they did not. She knew intimately well that.

I will learn your mountain so I may teach it best I can.

last one from me! trying to close out some older ones. <3
would love an updated one once i have a lil' more bandwidth.

Good, Sialuk said, an approving smile on her face. Tullik would make a fine addition to Moonspear, and the starwoman was lucky to have her. Seek out the others who live here: Meerkat, Njord, Stingray, and Keen. Meerkat is to have children soon, so she cannot be expected to learn climbing now. But the others will be student to mountain walking.

Sialuk nodded a farewell to the young woman, off to gather more things for her own ulaq.