Ocean's Breath Plateau Half your life you've been hooked on death

She'd noticed the new cache by her den. @Chakliux's attention baffled her; she had the support of the alphas, and Heph, already. It would be easy to assume that he did it out of some kind of sense of duty, or pride, or even just simple camaraderie between packmates. But Marina had been suspicious of even Samani and Rodyn in the beginning, and she was suspicious now.

Heph's habitual flirting, whether unique to Marina or not (one day she would figure it out!), had made her more aware of her appearance. So she was well-groomed today when she sought Chakliux's company, leaving her children to play under the supervision of a packmate. Marina carried with her a jagged piece of driftwood the length of her foreleg. She meant to see if his intentions were genuine, if he would be a true friend to her — and that meant reaching out first. She only hoped that what she had in mind would reach him.

fish speared, fish piled beside his feet on the sand until his paws and teeth were near numb. it was more than he could eat in many days, and he had already devised into which caches he would put the rest.
his lodge was silent. raiyuk spent more time away as he grew. chakliux soon would return to visit tullik, and this time, perhaps he would stay longer.
marina came close. she carried a long stick, and he smirked wryly to see her. "have you made a weapon after all?"

She laughed lightly as she set it down. A girl's gotta protect herself somehow, She said, but her next words turned serious. This is um - it needs some explanation.

My mother raised me on her own, but before that, she belonged to a pack with many traditions. When one of their own is lost, they make something they call a luminary - it's meant to light the way home, Marina's explanation was shy, hesitating. She'd never shared anything of her mother's culture, not with anyone. It's made with a length of wood or bone to start, but the rest is... personal. Things that represent their life, what they loved. It's usually placed somewhere outside of the territory.

I thought we could put one together for your wife, She finished, glancing down at the driftwood and then back up to Chakliux to watch his reaction.

a muscle jumped along his cheek. for a long moment, chakliux felt his shoulders hard and tight. 
and then they curved; he slumped lower.
to do this thing would be to admit nasamik was not going to return.
another breath, ragged, but it was all of his grief that chakliux would show. "then we will do it," grunted the seal hunter.