the sun was turning to dove-grey when chakliux wakened. it was not often that he had these moments. he listened to the soft breathing of his wives and his son in affectionate pride, smiling up toward the lodge roof.
quietly, the seal hunter chose to lay there another hour longer than he usually rose, thanking oil father for the blessed life he had been given.
when chakliux had gone out to begin his day, it would start with a patrol and then be punctuated till sundown by rounds of hunting. he found several times to return to the lodge during a day, however, bringing with him a useful thing; tines, flat stones, bark with dripping sap. once, a large pine bough torn down and shredded of its needles, the tiny twigs nipped away. his mouth had hurt when he dragged it to the clearing outside the lodge, and with raiyuk's help, arranged it so that its sharp branches lifted upright. a drying rack, he explained, for pelts or skins or food or herbs. the grin had split his cut mouth further but it had been worth the effort and the pain.
boys lived in the lodge of their mothers. single men might build a small one or none at all. married men lived in the lodge of their wives. once built for a wife, that was her property until the day she passed, regardless of what went on between them. it was very likely that the lodge would then be claimed by an eldest daughter. chakliux explained this to his son as they swam the shoreline and fished the tidepools.
chakliux kept his mind from ariadne and kilgitsuk. she had chosen a strong hunter in him and one unmarried, who could build his life there. the seal hunter was still jealous, and each day this felt like a slight against he and her. he had never been jealous before and did not enjoy the sensation of sick anger. he wished there to be no tension between the three of them. when he went to tell dutch it was time, he would seek them out. not only to say farewell but to know.
quietly, the seal hunter chose to lay there another hour longer than he usually rose, thanking oil father for the blessed life he had been given.
when chakliux had gone out to begin his day, it would start with a patrol and then be punctuated till sundown by rounds of hunting. he found several times to return to the lodge during a day, however, bringing with him a useful thing; tines, flat stones, bark with dripping sap. once, a large pine bough torn down and shredded of its needles, the tiny twigs nipped away. his mouth had hurt when he dragged it to the clearing outside the lodge, and with raiyuk's help, arranged it so that its sharp branches lifted upright. a drying rack, he explained, for pelts or skins or food or herbs. the grin had split his cut mouth further but it had been worth the effort and the pain.
boys lived in the lodge of their mothers. single men might build a small one or none at all. married men lived in the lodge of their wives. once built for a wife, that was her property until the day she passed, regardless of what went on between them. it was very likely that the lodge would then be claimed by an eldest daughter. chakliux explained this to his son as they swam the shoreline and fished the tidepools.
chakliux kept his mind from ariadne and kilgitsuk. she had chosen a strong hunter in him and one unmarried, who could build his life there. the seal hunter was still jealous, and each day this felt like a slight against he and her. he had never been jealous before and did not enjoy the sensation of sick anger. he wished there to be no tension between the three of them. when he went to tell dutch it was time, he would seek them out. not only to say farewell but to know.
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