Moonspear dew on the grass

Seal rose early before the dawn to intercept @Sialuk before her morning howl. Even though she busied herself with helping the hunt, visiting friends, or watching the pups, the young girl hadn’t forgotten what her leader had said. Now, fully healed, it was time to make right the wrongs she had committed and seek peace with the disturbed spirits of the mountains.

She patiently (or not patiently) waited outside of Sialuk’s den and tried her best not to fidget as her nerves made her skin quake.

The children roused her long before dawn, and Sialuk lay sleepy-eyed on the large doe skin as they fed. The older two were resting soundly against the warmth of Elentari and Argent, and Sialuk smiled wearily in their direction. When the younger ones had finally settled with full bellies, the starwoman kissed both Argent and Elentari good morning, then shuffled her way to the mouth of the den. She had still not properly mourned her sister, though it would not be long now. Only a little while longer until she felt comfortable bringing her nephews back to Moontide.

The sight of Seal's face was a welcome, delightful surprise. The young girl was intelligent and curious, two qualities Sialuk had not overlooked. The Ostrega gave her a warm smile, then turned her snout to the sky to greet the day before returning her attention to Meerkat's daughter.

You have come to soothe the ancestors, yes? Come with me, to the creek first. And the village head began to make her way toward her morning drink.

Seal greeted Sialuk with a timid smile. It was not in her nature to be so sheepish, but the tiger’s attack had instilled a new reverence for nature’s spirit. This invisible world was new and the young girl feared its rejection.

Unlike her, Sialuk was completely comfortable in her own skin with a voice that flowed like a bird’s song. Sialuk howled to greet the morning. How elegant and beautiful she looked! Seal wished to be like that…

“Yes,” she breathed with conviction. Seal would have walked through fire if Siauluk asked.

She followed her leader, inline, towards the water.

To the stream they went, Seal obedient. Sialuk took a long, deep drink, replenishing the hydration she had lost between a long sleep and feeding the children. When her belly was full, she turned again to Seal. We must first gather supplies. A white flower, two small bones, and a patch of green moss. The starwoman led Seal to the first of these items: a large, white bloom with delicate petals. She did not know the name of the flower, but what it represented was clear: the spirit who had been disturbed. Carefully, Sialuk plucked it from its place in the earth, the bitter taste of plant matter on her tongue.

Next were the two small bones, which she sent Seal to fetch from a nearby cache. Upon returning, she instructed the girl to lead her to the gravesite. Green moss was an easy find on the spear, and she did not think it would be a difficult thing to find once they made their way to the site of the ritual.

Seal stood beside Sialuk, like a good student, as she took a drink. Then, the girl realized her own mouth was parched and took a few quick sips of the mountain’s cool water, imitating her leader.

Supplies.

Seal paid attention and gave three concise bobs of her head. “A white flower… two small bones… patch of moss…” she repeated.

She followed Sialuk to their first find. “Oh, that’s chrysanthemum,” Seal pointed out. “@Alaric told me,” she explained and hoped Sialuk wouldn’t think her too nerdy.

After that, Seal quickly ran to the nearest cache and pulled two small bones from the skeleton of a mule deer: one rib and one sesamoid from the foot. Quickly, she cleared them of debris.

She returned to Sialuk with her treasures in tow and, with a loud gulp, began to lead her superior to the grave site at the base of the cliff where the ancient leaders of Moonspear rested.

When they arrived, it was just as Seal remembered it. The earth and stone had clearly been disturbed – moved and reassembled. Dried flowers remained from the first time she and Towhee Jr attempted to fix their mess. Sunbleached pieces of skeleton stuck out where the earth had eroded away.

Seal’s ears swept against the back of her head and stopped a good distance away, afraid.

Seal imparted her with knowledge of the flower, and Sialuk smiled. She was a truly intelligent girl, and Sialuk knew already that she would grow and move on to be a strong young woman. The younger led them both to the site of the burial, and though Sialuk did not know exactly who lay here, she knew that they would not be at peace until their resting place had been made whole again.

Sialuk motioned for Seal to follow, and she placed the single chrysanthemum at the head of the gravesite. The moss—found on a nearby fallen log—was placed with the two bones, set aside until they accomplished the more harrowing task: setting the graves back the way they needed to be. Sialuk stepped over to the burial ground, motioning for Seal to do the same. Ever-so-gently, she churned up the ground, placed each bone back into the soil, and recovered it with great care. As she did this, she quietly repeated a small chant, inviting Seal to do the same.

With gratitude we accept their grace,
their strength and courage we embrace.
In their honor, we stand strong and true;
their legacy lives on in me and you.

Once they were done with the re-burial, Sialuk moved the flower to the center of the graves. Next to that, she placed the two bones, and she motioned for Seal to add the finishing touch: the patch of moss to bury them.

When Sialuk motioned, Seal followed. Closely, she observed Moonspear’s leader delicately set aside their natural amulets. No movement was missed, no detail overlooked, as the young girl absorbed every step.

Together, they reassembled the tomb. Seal was tentative at first. How reckless she had been! Ashamed and embarrassed, Seal did her best to turn her heart and ask for forgiveness. How could their ritual ever work if she hung onto her mistakes?

After a few verses, Seal joined Sialuk’s chant.

“With gratitude we accept their grace,
their strength and courage we embrace.
In their honor, we stand strong and true;
their legacy lives on in me and you.”

Emotion ran through her voice as she sang with complete sincerity. The lyrics became engraved in her spirit, never to be forgotten.

Then, when their work was complete, the Seer arranged the white flowers and bones. For the final touch, Seal picked up the green moss. She hesitated - only because she said one more silent prayer with her eyes squeezed shut - before placing the green talisman with the other offerings.

The ceremony was so spiritual, that when Seal stepped back she waited as if, at any moment, a spirit would suddenly descend.

Seal followed the instructions, and Sialuk watched with a sense of pride as her village sister's daughter hummed the rites to the dead. Only moments after the piece of moss was gently placed over the bone did a crow—though not Sixsix—cry out overhead. It was perched upon a tree branch. After a moment, a second joined beside the first, speaking its iconic single-syllable note as it looked down upon the tombs of the long-dead bodies. Sialuk watched, yellow eyes trained on the two birds as they sat there for some time. Then, without any provocation, the two spread their wings and flew off.

The medic had never before considered that Sixsix may have been a spirit himself, but through this display, she suddenly understood. The gentle crow who had been her near-lifelong companion was not simply a crow, but the watchful eye of an ancestor for a girl who had lost so much, so early in her life. A profound sense of knowing flooded Sialuk then, and she looked back to Seal.

You did well, she said. They are at rest once more. The starwoman paused for a moment, glancing up briefly to the now-empty branch above. Tell me, do you have wish of knowing more of the place beyond? Of the ancestors? she asked.

A caw broke the silence and nearly made Seal jump in her skin. She followed Sialuk’s gaze up at the two ravens perched above. The girl’s eyes glanced between the birds and her aunt as if they were in silent conversation with one another.

What does it mean? She wondered. Not yet fully attuned to the invisible world, Seal could only infer that there must be some kind of meaning for Moonspear’s leader to be so captivated by them.

Then, praise. A small smile m of relief softened Seal’s features. “I’m so glad…” she breathed. Mysteriously, Seal now found she cared less about her own salvation and more about the ancient spirits’s spiritual rest.

Sialuk posed a question. Seal turned it over in her mind like a stone in hand. “Aye, I… I think so,” she answered tentatively. Mum, Da, Ray… her family had never communed with the ancestors as Siauluk’s did. It was a whole new world that she had fallen into by accident. “I’m afraid, I guess.” Seal rubbed one arm with the opposite paw. “Nervous,” she clarified. But yes, the spark shined in her brown eyes like sunlight on a river.

“And I think…” Seal tested cautiously, worried about asking so much of her leader. “I think I also want tae become a medic, like you.” She thought back fondly to her adventures with Frolic.

Sialuk watched as Seal's posture seemed to melt from tension to calm, and she knew that Meerkat's daughter was well-suited to follow in her footsteps. Seal seemed to be attuned to the beyond in the same way that Sialuk always had been, and the starwoman delighted in the thought of having an apprentice to work with. The news that the young girl wished also to learn of medicine made her smile.

You will come often to my ulaq, Sialuk said. I will teach you the ways anna taught me, and ways I have learned my own. Tell your mother and father of this, too. They will be glad to hear their daughter has a bright path ahead. Sialuk reached her neck out to give Seal a motherly peck on the cheek, then stood back a moment and admired how much she had grown in these past few months. She had taken a traumatic experience and turned it into something that blossomed only goodness. This was not an easy task.

Long days and pleasant nights, child. I must return to the children. To her lovers, to her home, to the nephews who were only visitors here.

Thank you for the lovely thread!

As Sialuk explained her instructions, Seal’s eyes grew bigger and bigger. What the girl was given was a beautiful and precious thing: Sialuk’s trust, time, and knowledge. Having found herself a new mentor, Seal beamed with pride and happiness.

“Oh, thank ye, Sialuk!” Seal tried to stand stoically but she couldn’t help but hop in place. “I willnae let you down,” she promised her leader.

Then she thought of Momma and Da. “They will be so happy,” she knew!

“Give Acrux, Maggak, Panuk, and Rolyane kisses for me,” she chirped before turning in the direction of her parent’s ulaq beneath the great tree and bounding away. "Thank you for everything!" she called over her shoulder as one eye lingered on the resting graves and their peaceful spirits.