Neverwinter Forest bloom under the willow tree

for @Ariadne

the siblings duo had walked through the thicket of night until dawn's sharp light cut through the billows. they'd found a felled tree where @Maggak and he had nestled against to sleep until mid-day, where finally he stirred from his sister's side and strode off to go stretch his limbs in search of a late brunch.

he'd tracked a badger not far off from where the pair had rested. acrux thought he'd found an easy meal but the creature packed more of punch than what he'd expected and after a small scuffle, the boy was left empty handed.

he shook off his loss and turned back towards where he'd left maggak to see if she'd awoken yet.

aya! aya! aya!

let us hunt! let us hunt!

there will be meat for dinner!

let us hunt! let us hunt!

if need be, i will follow until winter!

let us hunt! let us hunt!

i will get it done!

aya! aya! aya!

She stalked through the underbrush, singing a hunting song as she roamed the forest. While she wasn't following any particular trail, Ariadne knew this unclaimed territory was teeming with prey.

While she hadn't spotted Acrux yet, she kept her trajectory

a hunting song caused ears to swivel atop his head, the voice unfamiliar to him. he turned from the direction he'd originally intended, cutting his course to who he assumed to be a member of one of the other villages.

when spotted, he stopped to offer the woman glowed with motherhood a soft chuff. he remained where he stood, still leary of strangers but not off-putting since she held the scent of anânsiak.

"you are hunting?" he asked in a test of his mother-tongue.

A young man appeared, who looked no older than a year old, speaking the language of her people. She straightened, her expression curious, as she studied her nuaġaaluk for a beat before speaking. I am, she confirmed in their shared language,  Are you?

She sniffed the air, noticing how he smelled of Sialuk and the village Moonspear—could this young man be one of her nephews? She wondered this as she looked him up and down.

I meant to say this before: thanks again for starting our thread!

of course!! <3

she speaks in his tongue, and he lets muscles relax in the familiarity of assumed family. "i was," he begins, a glance given back to where he'd lost the badger. "but i am not very good at hunting." he had not considered his poor skill to be a hindrance before leaving the spear. hopefully maggak would be able to compensate for his lack of ability should they hope to last more than a few days on their own.

"who taught you that hunting song?" he asked while lifting a hind leg to scratch at an itch. perhaps this woman was a cousin or aunt to him? he knew the extension of his family to be large, but how large was still relatively unknown.

She smiled softly at him, feeling an instant kinship at his admittance as she glanced over his shoulder and toward where he'd come from. That is okay—I am not very good, either, her eyes, sunbright, returned to him. If you are hungry, maybe we can try hunting together?

Oh, that, she said next in reply to his question, shaking her head slowly. That is just something that I came up with. My mother, Kukutux, taught my about hunting songs when I was younger, and I've only just started singing again. she paused, then wondered: You know Kukutux, right?

he offered an appreciative smile to her admittance of not being a strong hunter either. at least he wasn't alone in that regard. "sure," he responded with a slow sway of his tail, happy to have some help with securing a meal.

she explains the origin of her song, and of how she'd learned to sing. his eyes brightened at the familiar name, a nod given to her question. "she is my anânsiak," he reveals, putting two-and-two together and realizing this was anaa's sister.

"could you teach me?" he asks, quickly tacking on, "the song i mean. i think my sister would like it." maggak was more of a singer than he, but the thought of teaching her a song this once versus the other way around brought a smile to his face.

Excellent, she said when he agreed, her tail waving. I was trying to pick up on a rabbit trail, she explained as she lowered her nose towards the floor and sniffed again, But, I am not picky—there are many things here to hunt. They wouldn't have a problem finding something for him to eat.

Ariadne's grin grew as Acrux admitted his relationship to Kukutux, and she lit up. Aya! Then you are my nephew! I'm your aunt, Ariadne. Oh, how she wanted to pull him into a hug! Are you Sialuk's boy?

When he asked to learn the song, she nodded and looked around, expecting his sister to materialize out of thin air. Of course—let's start from the top:

aya! aya! aya!

let us hunt! let us hunt!

there will be meat for dinner!

let us hunt! let us hunt!

his hunting party of one officially grew to two and he let a thankful smile tug at his lips. "i had tracked a badger off that way," he turned to motion towards where he'd lost the feisty creature, "but it got away." he glanced around half expecting the thing to pop out and attack him for revenge. "we could go after it again if you'd like? i do not think it went far."

the truth of their kinship is revealed in full and he takes the moment to properly introduce himself after her question. "yes, i am acrux." he wonders for a moment just how large the length of anaa's family truly was. he knew their presence was impactful on the teekons but the full extent of their size was unknown. 

he turns his thoughts to focus on the song at he repeats:

"aya! aya! aya!

let us hunt! let us hunt!

there will be meat for dinner!l

et us hunt! let us hunt!"

Badger. Ariadne glanced where he motioned, half expecting the beast to materialize from the foliage. When it didn't, she returned her attention to her nephew and nodded. That sounds like a plan to me, she said. Although she wanted to warn him of the danger of hunting the creature, she refrained, figuring he was old enough to know. You can lead the hunt, if you would like, and I will help however I can.

His name was Acrux; it was a strong name for a strong, young man! It is nice to meet you—I am glad that we finally got to meet!

He caught on to the song quickly, so with that in mind, she continued the song:

if need be, i will follow until winter!

let us hunt! let us hunt!

i will get it done!

aya! aya! aya!

to the badger it was. he accepted when offered to lead the hunt, though was not very confident in his abilities to do so. still, he thought some practice would be well suited, especially if he could no longer rely on the strength of family to provide for him. "this way," he motioned before guiding her towards the direction he'd last scene the creature. 

they exchanged a few words and continued to sing the hunting song until they neared where the badger lay. it was alert, prepared for the attack that was planned, and yet two mouth snapping at the prey was more successful than just one. acrux tore even portions for each of them before thanking his aunt and parting to go surprise maggak with a meal.