Hoshor Plains tinnun ⊹

those tagged welcome! male chars welcome to cameo as having recognized there was an exclusive gathering lol. we will do this in rounds! please let me know if i forgot anyone!

ariadne and kigipigak sickened kukutux.

they were quite obvious with the turn of her daughter's season, but it was not for the act itself that she held irritation. such was natural with one's mate; she did not expect ariadne to wait until they had returned to moonsong, not if sedna called her now.

it was how kigipigak's possessiveness was so open, as if he used ariadne for his own power and nothing else. that he wished for all to see them was in moonmother's mind a deliberate devaluation of her daughter. ariadne was no object to be flaunted in front of so many eyes, not when kukutux remembered how rudely he had come to her the first time, once more utilizing the obvious claim to her child's form to perhaps cow her. remind her.

if he had come in such perfume but spoken first of ariadne, it would not have been such a rude thing.

but he had not. this had been a silent message from kigipigak, and now kukutux saw only that he proclaimed this often. not only to her, but to the moonvillages, the others who had come, the father of his own bride. he was not a man who had ever raised daughters; his crudeness in this open folly said as much.

the moonglow leader almost did not call the woman's circle, preparing instead to leave as she folded herbs into their packets of leather and insisted that the healers who had helped her take as much of these things as they should wish.

through the hours, moonmother argued in her own mind, and with lynx and tooteega. she was a woman, yes! she had chosen him and she went eagerly with him into this fire-time. but kukutux had already accepted this! what she had never accepted was him.

in the end, she saw the calling of women and girls together as perhaps a last attempt to remind ariadne of her sunshine upbringing and the strong threads of culture which had been built long before her birth, to touch the spirit-name inside her heart. to encourage the moonsong woman remembrance of old ways as she turned to a husband whose own were bloodied and ruthless.

and so just before the afternoon light began to pale into evening, moonmother stood up sharply at her camp and called to those roundabout and near, to gather if they wished for a time of communion and sharing of knowledges for them alone.

to this meeting she did not expect any of brecheliant, but let it be known they too were included no matter what had gone on. for chickadee she did this.

@Heph @Meylodi @Maia @Reverie Mae @Seal @Tatkigiksuk @Chickadee @Mireille @Teya @Tamar @Sulukinak @Miette @Astera @Ajei @Amalia @Coraline Maleah @Maggak @Nasamiituuq Raelle @Bronte @Sialuk @Raindrop @Reina @Vairë

she would also invite @Inkalorë, as they are not man or woman and can freely move between circles. she would also invite @Easy, despite the fact their thread is still underway!

Set sometime after Raindrop talks with @Heph. Tags for reference if any. Also a chance for Raindrop to meet the MoonWoman that @Valiant mentioned to her.

Raindrop had been socializing some, exclusively with Heph for the most part, about packs and places to call home when a call had arisen. She followed the sound of the voice, the howl, how beautiful it was. This must have been MoonWoman, as Valiant had called her, especially being that her coat was as white as the moon itself. As Raindrop approached @Kukutux, she could hypothetically see the wisdom radiating from the woman, and felt comfortable approaching. She smiled and gave a wag of her tail, lifting her head, she looked to the MoonWoman: “You must be MoonWoman,” Raindrop began, “It’s an honor to meet you. My name is Raindrop, and I hope you do not mind my joining.” “However,” she paused, “May I ask the reason for this gathering? What it’s about.”

She hoped that her question was accepted, and not taken as a disrespect.

Life had happened so fast at first. Easy had never spent much time just existing with other adult wolves. It was always business or parenting or idle chitchat. She hadn't enjoyed the feeling of a large, close-knit community since her father's death.

She was touched to be included in this gathering of women. She came at once to settle nearby, her expression bright and warm as she turned a smile on Kukutux. This felt like the beginning of something after the definitive ending of her youngest children leaving the nest. But here was a group of people she might still have something to offer, even if it wasn't in the capacity she was used to. Most of them were young compared to herself and Kukutux. As young as she had been when she'd first had to face the world alone.

Was she wise yet? Easy wasn't sure. But she was strong and she was kind, and sometimes that could mean everything to a young woman in a hard place in life.

When she left this circle, she would seek those young women out.

Vairë had a distinct pinch to her face. The sort of tooth-grinding expression of a woman who had little sleep and had to answer questions she did not wish to.

Her sister had little shame, it felt. To do such things in the middle of everything, where children roamed, it soured beneath her tongue. She wouldn’t say such things, her sister was young and in love. Her husband, however, was far older.

It appeared his brain did not live in his head, rather lived beneath his belly.

She padded to the call, nursing a headache as the woman’s circle opened before her. Vairë gave her mother and the other women there a sort of pinched smile, the kind when you are either in too much pain or too angry to speak. Then, she rather inelegantly flopped into a sit, resting her throbbing head between her own legs.

it was odd.

without arsenio upon the hunt, still in raventhorpe, her body continued to respond. and as the season moved among them, her body began to come alight.

it was not yet time, but she would be noticeable; she was glad to be away from how her own eyes lingered on the men; almost in shame she came to sit to the left of the gathering circle.

There was much shame and derision simmering beneath the surface. And Ajei had been privy to awakings thst she should not have. She vowed whomever Kukutux and her mother chose for her. She would not allow him to flaunt her so baselessly and with such disregard. It felt disdainful and cruel. Shameful even.

But she shook her head and followed the voice of the moonwoman and settled beside the woman Tamar who seemed quiet and forlorn. Her scent was changing, but Ajei saw no reason to ostracize her for this.

She offered a tentative smile. Hello. I am Ajei.

chickadee hated to be away from kivaluk for even a second as she began to undergo the changes demanded by this time. it would be some while off; but it felt very near, nearer each second.
she kissed him; she ran off to meet the others, realizing there were a few faces she did not know, and blinking in curiosity.
chickadee sat down close to vairë, motioning nasamituuq over to take her spot with them too if she wanted. her expression was open and intrigued as she glanced around.

Amalia blinked and moved towsrds the womans circle. Settling to the outer parts. Green eyes taking in new faces and she smiled at a few.

It had been sometime since she had sat with those of moonglow and she felt a small piece of herself reafix itself after leaving seasons before. Perhaps she was healing.

Heph came to sit near Raindrop, giving a nod of greeting to Ajei and a sympathetic smile towards Vaire. Though she was not quite sure what had caused the tension that she thought might have hung faintly in the air she was not oblivious to Ariadne and Kaluktuk's pairing - knew well the sounds and scents of it. It had been some time since she had lived in such close quarters with those who flaunted their relationship openly but she felt no distaste for either the act itself or that they had chosen to do in such close proximity to everyone else.

The black grey wolf was unusually quiet, willing to wait and watch the proceedings and wishing not to disrupt whatever was happening. Though she had made Moontide her home she was not familiar with all the ways of Moonglow and nor had her natal pack valued the gathering of women in particular in such a way. She was not sure she quite understood what was about to happen but she approached openly and ready to observe and participate.

If anyone greeted her she would return it politely and with a smile, though somewhat pained and she would keep off her front paws her shoulder and ribs still paining her somewhat.

sapphique camp was rather secluded, as they tended to be in all ways and all manners. but she had not been ignorant that another had come into full-fire before her, and watched in brief curiosity how she and the man she had chosen were open in their cavorting.
a woman taking her pleasure was no reason for mireille to think anything less of what had gone on; ignorant to the traditional politics which interwove between the camps, her interest had died almost in the same moment.
mireille was far more aware of her own shifting energies; soon she would go out and find her own dalliances for a week's time, and forget the faces of the men who had indulged her when she returned home to wash in the sea.
all but one.
a small, secret smile for the thought of the aventurine alone; outwardly she was flicking her eyes over those assembled and silently recalling the names she knew. mireille stalked among them and delivered herself to a seat beside heph, noting the tightness in the moontide woman's body. "when you are ready to leave dis talk, i will go wit' you," she said in a low voice.

Tatkigiksuk hesitated to join the women’s circle. She knew there would be judgment from the sunshine people and felt she’d rather stay with @Kigipigak. But as she drank her red tea for the evening, she was reminded of the olive branch that Kukutux had extended, and it made Tatkigiksuk realize that she should do the same if she wished to harbor any sort of relationship with her mother.

She sighed, hoisting herself onto all fours, and made her way to the circle.

She settled on the outskirts when she arrived, already feeling the tension in the air; another step away from the people she considered family. Another step towards the ways of Tartok.

Mountainwoman had a husband and children of their previous year. And even more so, she did not know why she was invited and her family was not. 

But one look at the gathered women and she understood why they were not. Raen was still a girl, and this was women only. 

The dark one sat silently, confused as to what all the fuss was about.

Bronte heeded the call. It was Moonwoman. A friend of Brecheliant. Someone she looked up to and admired for her gentle nature and great wisdom. She came out of curiosity. Wanting to be close to the other women and their healing craft.

She knew nothing of the turmoil that raged like an unsettled sea in the wise village matriarch. 

A blonde figure with a streak of fire, Bronte found many others gathered at the camp before her. Her steps slowed as she approached, inserting herself almost shyly. Her eyes flicked up to find the jade of Kukutux, before turning. Drawn almost naturally, to the others close to her age. Ajei and Chickadee. 

She sat by the formers side, saying nothing but offering a tentative smile and a light wag of her tail.

Few in this place knew her name; she could count Dutch among them, and now the elder woman of the villages, so when her name carried with many others Sulukinak was indeed surprised to be included. She worried that it was the call for another hunt. The giants of the plain had frightened her once already.

She came slinking to the gathered women and the closer she got, the more whale-eyed she became. There were so many! Some were like her—young women, but not girls—and others looked to be the age of ice mother, and maybe even wise mother as she had been taught. Why did they come?

The shadow kept to herself, but she was watching, and in this way Sulukinak could see a great many things that others might not.

no posting order! <3

there was only one who approached kukutux, and it was a young woman she had not yet seen. "i greet you," moonmother said softly, her eyes joyed to have such direct words given. "i have brought you together to know things that are not for men. please, sit," she invited, standing as the others began to arrive.

first, the mother of dutch, who she had only met. the jadestone eyes were pleased to see her. the moondoe of moonglow was next, seeming sickened and out of sorts; kukutux let her gaze linger here before it welcomed a woman she did not know, of a pack she did not know. she too was rather reserved.

pleased to see young ajei join the stranger, she smiled at the girl and looked warmly toward chickadee, who would soon marry. amalia was given a nod of her head, heph a broad grin, and the seawoman an interested look.
ariadne was next to come, and kukutux met her eye with a steady look and a welcoming incline of her muzzle. what had gone on did not exclude her from among them.

the woman of the mountains was given a soft touch of her eyes, the young bronte was offered a curve of mouth, and lastly the shy sulukinak showed herself.

there was hope for others to join, but at length moonmother waited for any voices to die away and then spoke:

”i am kukutux of village moonglow, mother to many. keeper of women’s secrets. in this place, you must know men cannot come and the things of which we speak are not for men to know.”

”among us, women are changing. when you have seen twenty-two turns of the moon, your body will grow in a new power. you will call men to yourself. and if you stay close to them, you will conceive children.”

”if you are not yet to this age, you may still feel the energies of this season. it is good power. it is our power, and it must be guarded.”

she watched them all for a moment. ”the first of these is choice. a woman’s body will urge her to become pregnant. but what if you are alone? what if you have no others to guard you as you grow with child, who will hunt for you when you are alone with your children? it is your decision then to be pregnant.”

with her she had yellow herbs, and now showed them to the women. ”antelope thread,” she said of the dried marigold. ”in this is the potency to stop life from ever beginning. take it each day through your fire-time.”

after a long pause, she went on; ”the second is this: to protect yourself from men who would only make you a mother, but not a wife. this is your choice, not his. perhaps you bear children at his hearth but you do not tie yourself to him in marriage. suppose he shows himself not to be worthy. do not let him fill your mind with sweet words. once life has begun within you, your own will change. this is not so for men who are not ready to be husbands.”

another stop now, for any voices that might rise.

She nodded at Moonwoman’s response, and listened intently, absorbing any and all knowledge she could. Kukutux spoke of the female body, how it works and why they should protect it; things women young and older should know. She then went on to the topic of dried marigold: A life stopper. Raindrop would not need it, for she had no intentions of creating life just yet. At the end of her speech, Kukutux had brought up men who only wanted to father children, yet not take a wife. Raindrop understood this, as it was her view too. But, what should happen if she never found the one? This she thought of from time to time.

Every word Moonwoman spoke was rich in knowledge, tested over the years. Only once Kukutux had stopped speaking did she raise a question.
“Moonwoman, how do we know if a possible suitor is the right one? What should one look for?” Surely a man would try and swoon a woman, but there must be ways to know if they are truly the one.

The decision to come to the circle was not an easy one.

She wanted to stay in the safety of her den, in the safety of her pack; but her heart strained against her chest, telling her that she. must. go. If not for herself, then for her pack. How could she ever heal?

With a heavy heart and somber eyes, she reached the gathering place where the circle had already convened. Just outside the circle, she arrived just in time to catch the tail end of the pale woman's speech. Widened eyes reflected the memories of recent trauma, and as Moonwoman paused, tears welled in Reina's eyes. A profound sense of shame washed over her, her spirit aching for healing.

the second is this: to protect yourself from men who would only make you a mother, but not a wife. this is your choice, not his.

But the choice was taken from her, and a heart-wrenching sob escaped her chest. Tears streamed down her cheeks, melting the snow beneath her, a poignant manifestation of the pain she carried.

It wasn't her choice...

"It wasn't my choice..." she whispered.

the woman kukutux welcomed many. she spoke of womanhood, of children, of stopping the natural inclination of the body; of the hungry men that sulukinak knew of from the everdark.

this circle was crowded. she was nervous, for once. how could so many people exist in one space? the everdark could never support so many. sulukinak thought of the rite of conclave as it had been taught by her own mother. she surveyed the others, morbidly considering which of them would have been fed to the ice or drowned for weakness, as was custom.

her eyes landed accusatory upon ariadne without meaning to, as she was lost in her own thoughts. if they locked gazes then sulukinak would promptly avert; and she then saw reina, drawn by a murmur.

must we want husband? her voice was as strong as the wilting reina, and then her throat was clearing. sulukinak did not want eyes upon her so she focused elsewhere - again, inadvertently to ariadne. seems some already -- do that. is the body so precious?

come to think of it, many had heard the herald of the nanuk man and the red woman as they shared one another.

Ajei listened, but she said nothing. Though she had found what Ariadne had done not to her liking. She alsk felt a soft protective feeling grow when she was immediately spoken too about her choices.

Had it been distasteful and shameful perhaps. But more so on the head of the older man who should have known better. A woman went crazy during season. And a real man protected that.

There had been stares since her arrival to the circle, but none as prominent as Sulukinak's. The first time she caught her subordinate's eye, the woman immediately averted her gaze. But the second time, hurtful words aided the disrespectful look. Ariadne couldn't believe what she'd heard; how such damaging and embarrassing words had been allowed in the sanctuary of the circle.

She heard ringing in her ears as she scrambled onto all fours, tears gathering in her eyes and her ears splaying as she regarded the circle and her people one last time; shame burned hot on her face, and her stomach felt like it was going to fall out of her butt. She was pushed away, figuratively and literally, by the ways of the Sunshine People, the circle, and everything she'd been taught; it had been the straw to break the camel's back.

She fled the moment she began to cry, making a beeline for @Kigipigak. She would not stop for anybody; @Kukutux had lost another daughter that day.

the meeting began. the moonwolf spoke, and mireille listened, though the methods of choice and contraception were not unknown to her. a young woman spoke of husbands; she hid a scoff. another looked toward the she-wolf who had been ardent with her chosen man and asked after their activity.
there was no answer except offense, tears; the sapphique woman was impassive despite her deep curiosity, and when the other had gone, she addressed the darkfurred one who had spoken:
"t'ere be no need for a husband to seek such pleasures." and then, more boldly; "consider dat a woman can please your body an' will not leave you pregnant," mireille finished archly, though she caught the older wolf's eye as she spoke, nodding in respect and hoping that her interjection would not be considered offensive.
and still she remained inquisitive about what had gone on, though a greater part of the obsidian now longed for the shores of home and to be surrounded only by faces she knew, only politics she understood.

a disagreement.

tamar, who had been listening rather eagerly despite her shame about her interest in other men, turned her head softly to watch, but soon pulled her gaze away.

she did not want to stare, though she did not understand, and grew more tense in this circle of largely unknown faces.

yet she lingered; she wanted to hear more, if only because she did not trust herself to be away.

kukutux began, and chickadee listened quietly to the knowledge that kivaluk's mother-figure had to offer. she had not known there were ways to stop conception, and while this did not interest her in practice, she understood why perhaps a woman might not want to tell a man.
there came more words; a question. she frowned as the moonsong wolf looked at ariadne, then glanced to kukutux. but the damage had been done; her sister-in-law rose sharply and in obvious hurt.
the frown deepened. the conversation went on, but her stomach had sunk; she crept to the edge of the circle, wanting to seek ariadne out but not wanting to offend the others, and now looking for an opportunity to do one and avoid the other.

Mountainwoman knew this well; it resonated within her bones and was the reason she found herself here instead of back home, in the mountains of her birth. Her father and then her brother had brought up many suitors for her and her sister, and she'd watched her sister struggle to raise her litter alone as the man did nothing for his family. 

Meylodi did not claim that man as kin.

At the same time, she now had a husband, and pups - and more on the way.

Aye, she spoke up. Ain't no man t'at not be wor'hy o' a woman be needin' ta meek one a mo'er. Dat fer ta woman ta decide - an' ain't none o' us got ta same standerds. We know w'at we wan' in a husband, an' ta best we can do be teach aur dau'hers w'at makes dere fa'hers good fer t'ere mo'er. An' teach aur sons 'ow to treat a la'y.

A Moonsong wolf’s voice rose and Vairë turned her aching head to face her, curiosity on her features. Then, everything went to shit.

Ariadne shot to her feet without waiting for any of her family to respond, tears in her eyes, and made to run. Vairë moved to a half stand, intent on calling after her, seeing if she was alright, but then it occurred to her. She would be running to Kigipigak no doubt, to seek the comfort of her intended, and he would no doubt drive her off. She would not be welcome.

The sunshine people would not be welcome. No matter how much advice she gave, no matter how much she loved her sister and tried to show it, she would come second to her hurt. Vairë’s ears pinned, watching after her sister, one paw raised as if to take a step.

She sat down. She closed her eyes.

Walk with Sedna, Ariadne Nuiruk

Wherever she went.