Ouroboros Spine In the early morning

@Valiant

New faces had come to the spine and old faces had returned changed. Ajei wasn't certain how she felt about the journey's to make her friends become men. It had seemed to hurt them worse than help them. But she wasn't a seer or a moonwoman.

She thought of the hunt and the different faces she had met. As the new sun broke across the mountains peaks she slid near the river. Dropping a large rock onto the ice. She had the want to fish despite the cold.

She pulled the cat fur from Ariadne tighter around her shoulders and hoped that wherever the moon daughter was she was safe.

Ariadne had been on Valiant's mind as well. Further removed from their last encounter, he began to see hurt feelings where he had previously only seen a poor disposition. He was still not sure what had gone on between the Moonsong head and her family, but surely, this was not the outcome anyone could have wanted?

He jumped when he heard ice crack, changing directions at once to hurry toward the source. Instead of a struggling wolf, however, he saw only a girl sitting on the banks, wrapped in a fur shawl like his aunt always wore.

"Morning," he said, his heartbeat calming. His tail wagged in tentative friendliness as he approached. "That noice scared me. I thought for sure someone went under."

Ajeo didn't know all of that had gone on in the women's circle. It had been very much to take in. But she did know that a lot of things began to happen because of it. It was a hard place to be.

Ajei had not much thought of who could hear her. Most of the wolves we elsewhere or ensconced in their dens. 

Red head of flames turned towards a new voice, green eyes on him. She lay one down. He smelled of moonglow wolves, but his face she didn't recognize.

Good morning. The wolf greets you.

She looked down a little sheepish. I am sorry. I hadn't meant to scare anyone. I just felt like fishing. I'm Ajei.

Delicate paw made soft patters on the frosty ground, unsure and a little wary.

Valiant waved this away; "You don't need to apologize," he assured her, coming to look down into the water. He and Raindrop had learned a little about fishing while they were out on the plains, but much of it had just been waiting for fish to appear in the first place.

"My name's Valiant," he told her. "My sister and I came back from the hunt with everyone. Here to stay, now."

He gestured with a paw at the water.

"Wanna show me a little?" he asked. "I never fished much."

He didn't want to put her on the spot, but Valiant was feeling just a little pressured to get to know everyone. Would they like him? Would he like them? So much seemed to hinge on these questions that he could not afford for their answers to be No.

He was big big like Arrluk, like Massaraq and Kassuq. Where she was small small. It made her more shy.

Then he was in her space and she blinked surprised, but not badly. He was just looking at water and fishing.

Well met Valiant. Who is your sister? I have three brothers. Two blood one heart. Chiteo, Mojag and Rodyn.

She looked down and smiled at the water. I can show you, but it will be cold.

She sniffed around for another rock and pushed it with delicate paws towards the river edge.

Drop the rick when icy like this. Now give few minutes. It is important not to grasp the jaggy sides could hurt your poor paws. You watch for fish and always strike ahead of their shadow not the fish itself. You can also put meat at top, but it takes longer and already must have hunted.

"Minnow," he said, still peering in the water in an attempt to make out their prey. He couldn't see anything yet, but that was probably best. It gave him better ears to listen with, and he committed the names she spoke to memory. "That's a whole lotta brothers," he commented with a swish of his tail.

The lesson was succinct, which was what Valiant preferred. He watched Ajei handle her rock and glanced around for one to push in on his own. They weren't in danger of running out any time soon, but he couldn't help thinking that they had only a finite number of rocks here. He supposed they could always just pluck them out again when summer came back to the land.

He eyed the exposed water a little more, and then shifted a glance toward the girl to measure her. It seemed as though she would fit without cutting herself, but he was still interested in seeing how she went about it. He didn't want to make a fool of himself in this very first interaction.

"Who taught you all this?" he wondered, keeping his voice low, like he would if they were stalking deer instead.

She smiled. Minnows sre often first. Big fish will come once it settles.

A swish of her tail at the mention of her brothers. It wasn't that many. Arrluk had many many brothers and sisters so many.

I think two brothers is just fine for our family. Moonwoman has many many children. Enough to fill the teekon and star so many packs. a happy little sigh. She loved them too. 

She peered into the water near the hole she'd made and looked back up. My mama and Sun Man, also @Heph of Moontide. And @Arrluk and I would often fish together before he went on his man journey.

Tags for reference.

"Oh," said Valiant, "No — I mean that Minnow's my sister. That's her name."

But now that she said it, Valiant could see tiny shapes darting around in the water. These wouldn't be good for a meal, but it did mean that there were fish living under all this ice.

Strange.

Ajei was very different from Ariadne in the way she spoke of the sunshine people. Valiant felt no small level of relief for it — but he couldn't shake the feeling that he should've done more when they last spoke. Now a family had been divided, and Valiant had only just gotten his own sister back. Seeing Vairë lose one of her own was heartbreaking.

"Man journey?" he asked, his ears flicking forward. "Arrluk is... he's sun man and moonwoman's boy, right?"

Ajei giggled. Oh. I'm sorry.

But there were minnows. She had thought. He seemed to noticed them too. He watched them.

She was not privy to what he was thinking, but she would not admit she knew of the sunshine people. Yes her family was a part of it, but they also weren't.

She nodded. Yes as well as Massaraq and Kassuq. And there was a girl Galana. But she had disappeared for a time..

These names were filed away just as carefully as Ajei's. It was a big family, and he wanted to get to know them all. Or, well — want was a funny sort of word. What he wanted was to know them already, skipping the part where he had to offer up pieces of himself in exchange. It was a daunting task, and one he did not undertake lightly.

"I'm glad she's back," said Valiant, his voice turning grave for just a moment. Missing sisters were a sore subject. Missing anyone, since Aeryn was still gone. He'd been doing his best not to think about that.

He saw dark shapes moving under the ice, but none came close enough quite yet.

"See those?" he asked her, pointing his nose at them. His tail whisked in anticipation.

He listened to the names and seemed to collect them. She was unsure what else to say of them without specific questions. Though, Kassuq she couldn't speak of much. He wasn't one she was close to. And Galana not at all.

Ajei smiled. I am glad for them too. what she didn't say was she hoped the girl stayed. That she didn't hurt the moon family again.

A small laugh. Yes. They will come soon.

She motioned at a large shadow and with precision struck above it and curved a fish out of the ice and struck. It lay beneath her paw in thd frost covered grass.

rolled a sucess for 1 fish

Ajei struck fast, but the fish scattered like lightning bugs blinking out of existence. He had prepared already a, better luck next time grimace for the girl, but incredibly, one of them had been caught by her quick paws.

"You struck like a rattler," he marveled, dipping his head to sniff at the fish. His tail wheeled as he replayed the very brief "hunt" in his mind. He wasn't sure he'd ever move that quick, but it was damn impressive to see Ajei do it. "I guess it must be a little easier when there's not so much ice," he mused, looking back out at the river. "This place'll be real pretty come springtime." He glanced at Ajei. "I guess I don't need to tell you that."

He crouched near the water again, his eyes sharp as he searched for more moving shadows.

Ajei already knew she would succeed based on thecform. Somwtimes you struck and you knew. That it was not going to go well. But this time she was lucky.

Ajei nodded. It is, but it is a sport of luck anyway. Fish are quick and agile in the water. Where we are not. So sometimes you have a good day and sometimes a very bad one.

She smiled as she looked around. Yes it is beautiful. I am excited that you get to see it with fresh eyes. It is a marvel.

Valiant laughed — "You seemed pretty agile to me," he told her, but that was as far as his argument went. He supposed that a lot of hunting was luck, and then that thought didn't sit quite well with him. He pushed it from his mind, but found himself unable to focus on the water.

"Thanks for showing me your trick," he told her, shifting his gaze back to Ajei. "I think I might leave it to you, all the same. I'm better off lookin' for a bigger target, 'f'I wanna snag anything."

He shook a few stray water droplets from his pelt.

"I'll be seein' you," he said, his mind already in the woods.