Moonspear beldame

backdated to evening of june 23 <3

when sialuk released him, chakliux did not immediately leave the mountain.
he went at once to @Tullik; he climbed to the lodge with a marmot in his jaws. "wife!" he called out in a laugh when he had set it down, his berrybright eyes looking for her. "i am only back for a time. but my eyes wished to see you."

Tullik had been dealing with a particular problem in the weeks her husband had been gone.

That of a particularly stubborn spider. She did not wish to kill the creature, merely wanted it away from her sleeping space.

”Perhaps you could set up your home in the communal area? It would be better there, or outside!”

And yet, the spider persisted, building its web back in the same place every time she took it down.

She huffed at the creature, watching the web sway beneath her breath. Then, it all did not matter, because a voice darkened her doorway!

Tullik laughed, bright and bawdy as she left the arachnid to its own devices and went peering around the corner like a child trying to glimpse a holiday related jolly man in action.

Husband! There was no mistaking her joy as she came bounding into the circle of his arms. It was only when she pulled away, breathless with her own mirth, that she remembered the spider. Then, actively, she shoved all thought of the creature away.

It has been too long since I’ve seen your face.

"it has," chakliux agreed, touching her shoulder with contemplative lips.
how easy it would be to return! how easy it would be if he could have both his wives beneath one roof!
but it was not how oil father had designed things. chakliux looked about at the lived-in nature of the lodge and smiled. "you have kept it a home."
pride in his voice, a deepening affection that sharpened the longer he was away.

It was too easy to fall into a spell beneath his voice. Tullik leaned her head against his, and allowed peace to suffice her soul. After a moment, she would reach up to plant a fond kiss to what she could reach of the top of his head.

I have done my best to upkeep it. She fluffed with pride, her ego a purring thing in her chest. That was, of course, when she remembered her spider problem.

I have made something of a frenemy. There is a persistent little spider that has chosen its home within our sleeping space. I cannot make it leave! She laughed at herself, remembering evenings spent bargaining with the creature, even going so far as to bribe it!

Kannoyak must think me mad. I tried to talk it into leaving!

frenemy; tullik spoke more, and chakliux understood. "grandmother spider has chosen this lodge!" he decided to say with a laugh.
"invite her to stay. she will have her children here, and when they leave on their silk threads, they will leave behind the promise of many pups."
yes; he thought of this future.

She could not help it, she laughed, low and rich.

If she catches the flies, we will have no disputes! Already the enterprising creature had caught a few, she was sure, but Tullik’s soft demands to leave surely interrupted that task.

The mention of children brought her up short, and she turned a mischievous eye to her husband, mouth ticking with a concealed smile.

Do you wish for many pups, Chakliux? We would need many hands for a large litter. An entire village would be troubled by a herd of stampeding babies, but this land was softer than the one she knew. Perhaps if she bore many, she would see them to adulthood in a way her mother had not.

chakliux laughed, but her words filled him with delight. "i want many children," he said softly, gathering her close in her soft parka of snowfur. "i will make sure you are not alone. unless you mean i should take a third wife!" he laughed, not truly meaning it. "a lesser wife, to help you with so many."
he allowed himself in this moment to think and to dream.

He suggested third wife, and she considered if she had ever heard of such. She hummed at his touch, sinking into it happily. This was, maybe, the happiest she had ever felt.

If you find such a woman! She laughed to herself.

I think our village is big enough to handle even the largest of litters. They were doing quite well with what they had.

"moonspear is huge! it thrives." overcome suddenly, chakliux dropped the crown of his head to nuzzle against her collarbone. "i like the sea. but i miss the mountain. it beats here," taking her paw, moving it against the solid thrum within his chest.
he wondered if he did the same for tullik.