Ocean's Breath Plateau sisterblood

afternoon brought a mist of icy rain which unfurled across the face of the water, driving chakliux indoors.
he shook white-wet slush from his nape before he came into the warm rooms. he brought a plucked gull with him and glanced as his eyes adjusted for @Marina.
they had lived together as husband and wife for many days now. he had not offered more than brief touches to her, an encouraging kiss here and there. she would tell him when she wished to share a sleeping place or pleasures again.
chakliux had apportioned a small part of the lodge for butchering meat inside, out of the elements;  a bare patch of ground circled by rough stones. here he placed the gull, and to marina he said "wife," indicating his polite request that she carve the kill for the lodge-meal.

The first couple of nights, Phox had slept long and hard. He hadn't realized just how exhausted he had been. It wasn't until the second morning here that he finally felt really refreshed. He had hoped to get the lay of the land today, but only a short while into his leisurely stroll, the winds began to pick up. Not long after that, stinging drops of water fell from the sky. Phox knew better than to stay out long, but he also realized he didn't really know where the best spots to shelter even were.

He didn't have much of a choice when the first place he found was clearly inhabited by others. Phox ducked his head into the entryway. Hey, is it okay if I hole up in here until it clears up? he asked, hoping his presence wouldn't offend whoever was inside.

Name's Phox, kinda new around here.

Marina was beginning to understand that there were many things she did not understand about being a wife to Chakliux — about what that meant. It had been easy to overlook in those days of grief and shame and exhaustion after she'd been attacked. Now, however — she tilted her head at him, at the bird, at the request in his eyes that she could not decipher.

The stranger's intrusion interrupted the question that had almost fallen from her lips. She blinked at him, struck immediately by his resemblance to the man who'd attacked her. It was a vague and passing resemblance at best, but nonetheless disconcerting. Marina found herself unable to speak. She shifted and looked helplessly at Chakliux, tension written in her posture.

chakliux smiled softly, about to explain that he wished her to pluck the gull, when a vaguely familiar voice sounded at the mouth of the lodge.
"phox! you are brother to towhee, yes?" the seal hunter greeted.
marina's tension struck like lightning in the air. it was too soon to have a man close, even a man known to him. only raiyuk and himself visited the lodge these days.
just outside the entrance, the good poles of the trees formed a shelter for the space that might be called a porch anywhere else, but was only a smaller clearing. they would be free from the rain here, he and phox. "go lie down with tullik, wife," he murmured, knowing marina would not understand all the words but hoping she would grasp his meaning all the same.
chakliux grabbed the gull and joined the man before he truly entered. "my wives wish to sleep," he said. "i will prepare this here." a mouthful of feathers were spat into the air, onto the dry ground. "you did not stay in moonspear?"

Phox nearly blurted out "the one and only!" before he remembered that they actually did have other brothers. He wondered if any of them were still alive. Now that was something he hadn't considered for a long time. It had been just Towhee and him for so long as the eldest of the Redhawks for how many years now? He vaguely knew of some older siblings, and there was Eljay of course, but Phox admittedly hadn't even seen him in ages, either. Maybe he wasn't a great brother to all of his siblings after all.

It took his eyes a moment to adjust, and he realized who lived here. They'd only met briefly, but he did recognize Chak-lee-uhx. It was a name that he had struggled with at first, but the conversation had stuck in his head afterward.

Chakliux shuttled him out of the darkest depths of his home, and Phox couldn't blame him. It was probably weird having a near-stranger show up on your doorstep. But he really hadn't wanted to be out in the cold and the wet. At his age, he couldn't afford to get sick, and avoiding the cold and wet together was a good way to retain his health. The mention of "wives" didn't surprise Phox. It seemed like all the moon folk liked to take multiple spouses. Which made him wonder about Heph... but that was neither here nor there.

Ah, nope. Towhee and I traveled around a bit, but we're going to hang out here. At least for the winter. Phox knew that both of them would provide enough to the pack to make it worth Moontide's while.

the gull was soon placed before phox, and chakliux moved to turn, to block any wind with his broad shoulders. inside the lodge he thought he heard the voices of his wives, and longed for their warmth as a man who had not long been without it.
"i am glad to know you are staying. moontide is strong. but rodyn is often very busy. i wish to share more work with him, so he may rest."
he did not know the leader's plans for spring; he had not asked. it was not his to know.
he often thought of samani, her mind bringing a pang to the back of his thoughts in shorter moments.
"have you seen all of the village here? have you traveled to the others?" chakliux asked, investing his attention now fully in phox as he tried not to listen to what tullik and marina were saying through the strong walls of the lodge.

The harsh sounds of the storm still wailed outside, the wind picking up in gusts and threatening to creep its way into the overhang. It did hold, though, and Phox found himself thankful he had barged in, even if it was an uninvited visit. Chakliux was hospitable, welcoming him and moving so that the wind did not come further into the den. The gull was placed there, though Phox was not quite sure if it had been offered to him or if the man intended to do some other thing with it. The wolves of these villages tended to spend a lot of time preparing their food, something Phox had never felt he had the time or patience for.

Outside of Moonspear and here, I haven't spent any time in the others. I'm gettin' to know this one pretty well, although my explorations got cut short today, on account of the storm. How long ago did you move here? he asked, trying to remember if Chakliux had been with Moonspear or Moontide when he himself had gone to travel.

"it has been near to a year. in spring," chakliux answered, marvelling at the passing of time and how swift it seemed to be.
"i lived in moonglow and moonspear before. both have given me a wife," he said with a wink, then his eyes dropped to the gull. "eat this before it is cold," he quietly urged, setting his eyes back upon the sea.
"i like towhee. she is a strong woman," he commented toward her brother, a small smile lacing his mouth.

A year felt like the blink of an eye, especially now that Phox was going on his... seventh, was it? Had he really lost track? Sometimes it was easier to count the number of children he had than to try and account for the years themselves. His children had names, but years just were. And then they vanished. Which, honestly, wasn't that different from most of his children.

Phox assumed the two wives Chakliux spoke of were the ones huddled inside his home. All the Redhawk could do to respond was smile wealkly. He, too, had two wives, though both were now buried. The latter had been more difficult to grieve.

He was instructed to eat, and Phox did not hesitate to take his first bite of the gull, ripping a wing from its torso. He nearly choked at the man's comment on Towhee, though. Phox knew quite well that Towhee could make the decision for herself, but somehow he didn't think she'd be all that gung-ho about the arrangement Mr. Harem had over here. Sputtering, Phox managed to swallow his bite.

That she is, he replied, then went back to the bird, finding the situation now quite awkward.

a pale ear flicked, and chakliux might have frowned had he not controlled himself. he did not know the mind of the older man; he had only meant to compliment towhee as a fellow hunter, for why would a woman of her age want to marry again? old seal hunter women were happy enough to be alone, having outlasted one or two or sometimes three husbands, for hunters did not live long on the sea ice. surrounded by children and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren not so rarely, they ate seal fat and kept the old stories alive, they taught their crafts and travelled between villages.
"inside the lodge, to the right side, there is a bed of good deerskins. please sleep there, phox. i will remain here." he would not be cold with his fluffed fur and younger blood; the older man needed to be out of the elements. in this, he meant to show his son how a respected hunter should be treated.

last from me!

Thank you, he said, I mean it. Phox would be the last wolf to give up a warm bed when the weather was like this. He didn't hesitate to take Chakliux up on his offer, making sure not to disturb the two women inside. He did not mean to fall asleep, but as soon as he lay down, his eyelids were drooping and soon he was snoring. The Redhawk shifted in his sleep, eventually finding the most comfort belly-up with his side braced against a wall.