Ouroboros Spine and down the road I'd go

Hoping for @Kukutux — other tags for reference, but feel free to join.

Dutch arrived on the borders smelling strongly of @Simbelmyne, having spent the past several days with her in the deepwood. He'd grown fond of the place — how could he not? — and he'd come at last to a decision on the future of their family. It was close enough to the seal hunters and not too far from Moonglow, either.

And Moonglow was a place he'd been meaning to visit for quite some time.

At the borders, he called out for Valiant. It was not long before he arrived, and the two met like brothers in a hearty embrace. They shared news, Valiant of his heavily pregnant wife, @Vairë, and Dutch of his new bride. They spoke of @Minnow and of Aditya, and Dutch told him about the deepwood.

"You'll have to tell the moonwoman, too," Valiant reminded him.

Dutch did not need to be told twice. He followed the other man deeper into the territory, his eyes wide as he took in the sights.

tags for reference, shes just schemin' <3 and i got carried away dont mind me ok

it would have greatly surprised kukutux had @Arrluk and @Ajei chosen to live far from one another in moonspear, or at all. while the daughter of shikoba was quite familiar with the nuiruk hearth, the star hunter had guided the young woman even in the absence of inutsuk.

it would be more surprising, the duck thought with a small smile, if they did not become more to one another as the year went on. only time might say this for sure. mother-heart only sensed.

in years past, the village at this time rang with the laughter of children. kukutux reminded herself that they would come — only not from her, a thought that had become dismal as she settled at home once again. her want was a formal, flowered ceremony for vairë and valiant. maia; she did not think that the bird-wife's mother might give help for a moonglow marriage. chickadee and @Kivaluk also, then, she meant to unite beneath her spirits.

and that reminded her; they must ask the first-hunter to a formal meeting, for the duck wished that @Shikoba be the one to pass her strength to him.

hopes turned toward @Galana, her last daughter at home. so much she wished to keep the girl with them always, and was relieved to see that the moon-child did not seem to have this desire. so welcome, the promise of help with the weddings, with the pups still to be birthed among them. another year.

dutch was coming up the years'-worn path beside his brother, and kukutux rose, moving swiftly to meet him on legs that felt fleeter today. "it is good to see your face!" she cried out, only moments before pulling him into a warm embrace.

simbelmyne; oh; her smile deepened. the other woman had been very wise in her choice of this morningsong man.

Although the panther had adored the woman from their very first meeting onward, he was still surprised by the unexpected swell of joy he felt when he laid eyes on her. He felt far more settled now than he had the last time they'd met — and he wondered if she would be proud of him, or if she would resent that the ice mountain had once more been abandoned. He was glad to face her, either way.

"It is good to see yours," he said with feeling, returning the woman's embrace. He breathed in the stories of her scent, the same as he had with Valiant, and found himself overwhelmed with peace and happiness. As he drew back, a dazzled grin on his face, his eyes sparked with familiar humor. "I hear that we are family, now, you and I!" he said, his gaze flashing briefly to Valiant. "And I must congratulate you twofold at least as your family grows!"

These things made him happy. The idea that Valiant's children would grow with kind young Chickadee's warmed his heart, even though he did not know her well. And they would both know moonwoman's gentle guidance — a boon he hoped his own children might come to know, even if it was only in visits.

Please skip him; I just want this in his thread log.

No matter how many times he saw it, Valiant was still faintly puzzled by how naturally Dutch could interact with other wolves. He wondered if he would ever feel the same comfort with Kukutux that his brother seemed to enjoy and couldn't imagine it. He still hoped so. The idea that she might rather have Dutch as a son-in-law would now plague him for the foreseeable future.

Still — he lingered in the conversation despite having little to say, glad to bask in the peaceful energy of two far less anxious individuals.

valiant held a comfortable silence as dutch and kukutux shared words. he offered good ones, the sound of them golden as always. "i have happiness, that moonglow will once more ring with the sound of children, as it has every year."

while away, the duck had not allowed herself to truly feel the impact that her absent fire-time had bestowed in her. there were more moons of time, she knew, but it had not happened before. and now that kukutux had come home to her village, she felt keenly the ache of empty breasts and an empty womb. each cycle, she and aiolos lay together as the snow still was upon the ground and their children were born when the sun returned.

but she would not allow any of this secret woman's pain to touch her eyes as she embraced dutch radiantly with them. "i think i might say the same words to you," the duck said slyly, alluding to simbelmyne but not yet saying the name of the moonspear woman. it was dutch's to tell, she felt, though she was eager to know how they had come together, and invited them both back toward her ulaq.

The panther's eyes glinted like firelight. He could only hope so! "It is too soon to tell," he excused, playing at diffidence and modesty while joy remained his predominant emotion. "But perhaps you will speak it into being — I have great hope, at any rate."

He glanced toward Valiant, who gave an infinitesimal nod to say that he wasn't going anywhere. Dutch was pleased to have time to catch up with the moonwoman — but he felt a tiny jolt of trepidation that almost, almost made him wish for Valiant to drag him off on a more comprehensive tour.

"I have other news," he said to her, his tone giving no hint as to whether the news as good or bad. "My father found us in mid-winter. Others have departed. It is only he, Simbelmyne, and Sulukinank who remain. We have moved to the seal hunter village, for now — but we are working to settle the deepwood."

so much change!

his father had come back. morningsong had become less, but they banded together. they would move their village another place.

kukutux was pleased to know that dutch would remain close to the seal hunters. it meant also that the sunshine people might remain his own kin as well, through valiant.

"i will send moonglow hunters to you, to help with gathering meat as you settle," the woman decided. her eyes were curious. "this place calls to you as the glacier did not?" she asked softly, without accusing. the duck only wished to know if the heart of this man for which she cared deeply might be happy in the long forest.

"only the place of moon stones will divide us," she observed with pleasure. "let it be a meeting-place for our villages. our children will hunt there together as they walk to the sea."

simbelmyne. sulukinak. "both are welcome here, as are you. i offer my long years as anaa and midwife to them," she murmured, wondering, wondering, too polite to ask.

Her question had him very briefly conflicted. He wondered if he was meant to feel strongly about the places that he'd settled, but — "It is a good place, but it is the voices that surround it that call to me, and not the deepwood itself," he admitted.

He thanked Kukutux for her thoughtfulness, and was similarly pleased by the idea of the children of the villages coming together. He imagined what the gatherings would look like come summertime — they would be overrun with vigorous youths, each one carrying the blood of someone beloved to Dutch. He wanted to cry out in joy when he thought about it, but he kindly restrained himself.

The mention of Sulukinak helped.

"Our shadow girl has spoken of children," he said to Kukutux. "I cannot tell a woman whether or not she is ready — but I worry. Perhaps you can speak to her? She could use your wisdom, I think. She sees the spirits in ways that I do not."

"i will speak with her." the moment a girl became a woman was different each time, and it was clear that something about the shadow girl perturbed dutch now.

"how does she see the spirits?" the duck asked, sweeping her eyes over the men and then glancing toward firemother. she enjoyed that this new place spoke to dutch, but sensed she should keep her words upon the dark girl now. 

"my daughter sialuk, of moonspear, she also knows other spirit ways. sulukinak will have many teachers."

The panther bowed his head, uncertain. There was much he did not understand about Sulukinak. Much he did not know. Many of these things seemed to be topics better broached by spiritual leaders or other women. So at most, he could say, "She is frightened." He gave a tiny shake of his head. "Her mother... I think her mother was very frightened, too."

Dutch caught Valiant's eye and remembered the other topic he'd wanted to broach. The one that Valiant wanted broached, rather.

"Moonwoman," he said, "As your family grows, and mine — I would like to offer my cousin, Minnow, a place among Morningsong. I will treat her children like my own, and they will have time to grow strong before Simbelmyne's time comes."

at this she nodded. "minnow will welcome this," she believed. moonglow's number might be overwhelming for the young mother. in morningsong, her children would help to build the first foundation of a new home.

"it is frightening to be anaa. but if you mean to say she does not understand that her body may want this, i understand." kukutux watched dutch. "what will you do to keep her from this?"

Dutch shook his head; "Not of becoming a mother. Just... frightened. Of the spirits. Of men. She was not raised like us. Even as I was not raised like you — I think that she was not raised like us."

He glanced toward Valiant, who appeared uncomfortable with the subject matter. Solemn-eyed.

"I will not prevent her," he said to Kukutux. "Perhaps I worry for no reason. She wants to be a mother. She is a sweet girl, and she will have help..."

Still. Something about it unsettled him.

He looked to Valiant again.

"We will go and find your sister in a moment," he promised him. And again, to Kukutux: "I will bring her to you. Your wisdom — perhaps she does not need me to tell her to wait. Perhaps she only needs the tools to decide for herself. Or perhaps you will find that she is ready. I do not know. I only know that I worry."

of men. of the spirits. sulukinak was a girl who existed in fear. 

kukutux had sensed some of this upon the plains, but had thought the dark one was only out of sorts due to her lack of connection among the closely-knit moon tribes. to know it was more brought her heart sorrow.

"you are right to follow your lack of sureness in this. i will speak with sulukinak." between the brothers she glanced now. "there are things a woman may say to another that she will never say to a man."

and it was in these things that kukutux might find the questions to the answers that dutch did not know how to ask.

She had already said so, but she said it now for the first time with understanding. Dutch felt a deep well of relief and gratitude; it was good to have moonwoman when his own mother could not be close. In a way, she had been there for him more than his mother ever had, and, had their wisdoms conflicted, he might have been unsure who to follow. He may well have chosen Kukutux.

"Thank you, moonwoman," he murmured, bowing his head. He looked to Valiant, who gave a tiny nod, and then back to Kukutux. "I will bring her to you when I get the chance. For now — we must go and speak with Minnow."

Shall we close?

she nodded softly.

"walk with sedna."

and her eyes followed them for a time before her mind returned to this sulukinak and her confusion.