Moonspear pinik ⊍

she's looking for @Sialuk but welcome to all babies: @Pauk @Pie @Kaujimaq (also @Acrux & @Maggak) <3

in her absence, sialuk had given birth once more. kukutux regretted this time away, helping to deliver the babes of the seal hunters and those in hearthwood.

but she was refreshed, and now came up the familiar slopes of moonspear with two wood-doves.

she sang her entry and came to the place of her daughter's ulaq, and clucked her tongue softly at the milky scent of new babes.

An unfamiliar presence entered the ulaq this evening, strange paws drumming an unknown cadence on the ground. The den filled with the scents of faraway lands, telling many tales.

Tiuttuk peeped and bobbled their little head, small nose twitching as they tried to make sense of these stories. But they were beyond their grasp, at only nine days old.

Nevertheless, Pie persisted. They detached from their beloved mother’s side to begin scooting forward, keen to welcome the newcomer, to learn more about who she was and whence she came.

Pauk noticed the strange scent first and then felt Tiuttuk pull away. Though curious, as evidenced by his twitching nose and swinging head, he was more upset that his sibling was gone.

He wailed, summoning Treepie to return to his side.

Two children older and wiser, three still small and helpless. Sialuk wondered after anaa's thoughts when her subsequent children had come into the world. Even the Ostrega wondered what to make of each one of them. Four now had come from her body, one from Elentari, and surely her fiancée would bring more this year, should the spirits will it so. Would the dark woman have three, just as Sialuk had, or would she bring only one into this world? Would their bond be less because they were not born at once? These answers, the starwoman knew, would come in time.

Anax̂, she greeted warmly when her own mother came to the ulaq following her song on the wind. These are Pauk, Tiuttuk, and Kaujimaq.

"pukak," kukutux murmured as sialuk's glowing face was close enough to kiss upon both cheekbones.

her daughter had named them in the sunshine fashion; their grandmother fussed over each as they were named, nosing small folded ears and exchanging her breath with their own.

"they are beautiful mountain-stars," she said, gaze eloquent with the love she felt in her heart. "how do maggak and acrux welcome them?"

Deaf to Pauk’s wails, they wriggled across the den floor until they reached a paw. Its general shape was quite familiar, though Pie had never yet made this one’s acquaintance. Their little tail jerked as their nose skimmed over each digit, sniffling and snuffling with utmost curiosity and delight.

A nose descended, another customary and welcome sensation. Treepie turned their attention to the new arrival’s snout, giving a little joyous cry when her breath gusted over them. These scents were not only far more numerous, they were richer and made the babe’s mouth water.

As their excitement grew, they reached up a little fist to paw at their grandmother’s muzzle. It caught on the soft flap of her upper lip seconds before a whisker tickled their forehead, eliciting a second ululation.

Pauk's wails were quieted with the curiosity that came as Kukutux greeted him; the scents she carried overwhelmed his nose, and he pulled back sharply and sneezed. She'd moved on by the time he was ready to explore the new smells, and he decided to follow.

He wriggled away from Sialuk and towards Kukutux, realizing mid-crawl that Treepie was over here, too. Distracted, he squealed in delight and squirmed until he was on top of his sibling and gumming their ear.

The kisses upon her cheeks were welcomed, the compliments to her children accepted with a swell of pride in her chest for each one. Tiuttuk bumbled toward their grandmother, paw reaching out for her chin. Pauk grew quiet, sneezed, and made cheerful sounds at the discovery of his sibling nearby.

As I welcomed Rolayne's mother and Kausiut, Sialuk said, a tinge of sadness in her voice for the sister who had gone to the dancing lights. Maggak and Acrux had taken to their younger siblings well, curious and delighted with them.

There is another thing, Sialuk said, her face growing heavy with the news she knew she should share. Argent has gone. He brought the bride price, but—Sialuk sucked in a breath, trying to still the clenching in her chest—he could not share my love with others. Why he had left Elentari, too, she could not know. He could have stayed for her, stayed a friend to Sialuk, but he had not.

Elentari remains steadfast, Sialuk assured anaa. She is on a journey now to find a father for her children, but she has her heart set on Alaric, too. Would he not do the same as Argent had? Would he not leave her in the lurch? The starwoman found herself steeling her heart against men, though she knew it to be unfair. They were fine lovers, but none had shown themselves to be reliable partners.

argent had gone?

why did these men befall her daughters?

kukutux kissed the gentle cheek, murmuring as she thought down to the roots of her own teaching, sifting through the old soil there for anything else.

"keep with elentari. i say, even in this, it has been taught: a woman's right is to become anaa. she does not need to make him husband first." she wondered what had turned argent's head after these last several spans of time.

"alaric is a good healer. he is calm. i cannot say what will happen, sialuk, only i say this: you and elentari will have one another. you are mothers together. that is stronger than what argent could give."

Kukutux moved her head out of reach to speak to Sialuk. Tiuttuk might have felt bereft if not for Pauk’s immediate interference. He squealed in their ear promptly before latching onto it, an irresistible distraction. Pie made a querulous noise, though they didn’t truly mind.

Leaving the adult women to their conversation, Treepie turned their full attention upon their brother. Although they no longer relied on the contact, they still found great comfort in grabbing Pauk’s hind leg, tiny toes curling around the fine bones of his ankle. It was such a simple thing, yet it affected the child like a warm and fuzzy blanket being tucked over them.

Chances were Pauk would move again, though if he did not, Pie was happy to settle right there in the middle of the ulaq floor with him and catch a couple zees together.