Ravensblood Forest halichoerus

after following dutch to and fro, searching for the red woman and her nanuk, the girl spent some days in moonsong with him, and then slipped away. she did not give warning of this; it wasn't a malicious thing she chose to do, but a momentary lapse in thought. sulukinak had tasted salt upon the air while they had gone southeast and the taste had lingered. she missed the frozen sea of her home.

heading northwest initially, she was drawn among the hills of the mountain range and then found herself in a dense forest unlike any she had seen before. here she could smell the ocean all the better, even with the snow piled high. sulukinak moved effortlessly through the falling snow and on occasion felt compelled to snap at some of the motes of ice as they fell, catching some in her mouth but most upon her nose, earning little snorts.

when the snow proved to be fluffy rather than packed down like the ice she knew, her playful antics ebbed and she began to scout through the forest for a place to rest and dry off. the snow was up to her shoulders in some patches, and so it felt like she swam through it; luckily, there was not much to sulukinak and her body could whip up and away with minimal effort.

so she went, cavorting.

sobeille searched for the strange smelling plant maleah had once showed her. she would learn this was a child's folly - harvesting in winter-time was a grim job, and often unrewarding.

her pursuit brought her to a dark forest. were she a child raised to fear the world, she would recognize the shadows for what they were: sinister omens of a black history here.

instead, sobeille marched with the confidence of a young girl who had yet to see the world's bad side. she found a series of cavorting tracks - they lead this way and that, seemingly without plan or purpose.

EY!! she yelled into the woodland, giggling as her voice shot like a ricochet through the solemn pines. WHO DAT BE?

sometimes the snow was deeper than expected, and she had to arch her back and leap enough times that sulukinak could get atop the snow. at one such moment she should have alighted upon the snowy surface, a shout at just the right moment made her startle. up she went, down she went, and next sulukinak was snow-covered and chomping through layers of the stuff like a gator through the surface of water.

so much for graceful. so much for being nimble upon the snow that she was so accustomed to.

when she freed herself it was to shake the white off of her narrow shoulders, and look around waspishly for any sign of the stranger that had ruined her moment. the dark girl was well hidden, and with some frustration sulukinak appeared to gulp and snap at the air, maligator style.

sobeille’s ears cupped forward, straining to parse from the varied sounds of the wildwood an answer.

none came save the rush of quieting snow.

she nosed the ground where the tracks lead deeper into the pines. the stranger was well out of view; not even the engulfing snap of her maligator jaws was detected.

sobeille took one leap, and then another — bouncing clumsily from track to track. all together, she was much too short to wade with ease — but this was a game and she the pursuer. i ‘eard some’ting. sobeille announced to the snow laden world, peering after the tracks that wound away. where you be?

for a pair of dark-pelted wolves, one would expect they would be easy to find. they were both young and small, and the snow was so deep across the earth and moving in flurries through the air; it did not help that sulukinak was effectively swiming through it.

when she heard the voice again it did not sound as distressing. she lurked in one spot, feeling the chill of the snow seeping in to her furs, and then the oddly comforting warmth as her skin flushed and warmed to counter it. she began to wade closer, with her ears poking up from the snow and only the triangle of her face visible —

and when she got close enough to the stranger that her scent was strong, she leapt from the gulley of white! upturned snow went one way, and sulukinak, with her spidering limbs, kicked out at the air in a playful wave and came back down to all-fours, before bending in a play-bow.

’EY!! sobeille roared in delight as the snow-stalker made itself known; there was a brief flash of misty white and dark fur, and then she was practically face to face with the snowmigator.

sobeille bent in an answering playbow before darting down beneath the snow with a huff, listening to the creaks and groans of the forest. when she heard a shift in step she leapt from her own embankment like a clumsy jack in the box, diving back into the snow-hole again and waiting for her newfound playmate to make their next move.

it was important to show she did not mean harm. that was a lesson taught by her mother to her brothers and to her, and then repeated each time they were alone and playing, and it had been so long since sulukinak had felt the urge to play at all — but she felt it now, and was glad to have a friendly face.

she kept herself bowed and with her tail low but sweeping. and the other was quick to bolt for cover, leaving sulukinak to listen and to watch and so she did these things, rising from the bow to stalk the snow and then she turned to listen to the forest and then there was a snap of something and a crunch and someone was there, and she was bowing again and turning together — but the stranger had already hidden away again.

a low humming sound came from sulukinak, a cajoling, and she took off after the shape even when she couldn't see it and her long legs devoured the landscape, but so too did the snow devour her, and suddenly she was chest-deep again in the snow without the power to plough through it, but she tried to leap and half-escaped.

when sulukinak was atop the snow again, she spun in place and crooned her invitation through the crags of the trees and hoped her playmate hadn't already gone away.

sobeille listened with ears cupped. a low song crooned from the stranger’s throat, followed by the scuffle of snow.

she turned her ears this way and that, pinpointing the direction the sounds came from.

then she launched from the snow pit, clambering over the rigid lip of ice. she saw the stranger mid-play bow and lunged for her with waving tail and teeth sheathed, aiming a playful nip anywhere she could before darting away again.

the game shifted from beneath the snow to atop it, with the girl appearing and throwing herself close enough to joust at sulukinak or at the air, and then back off again.

so quick! sulukinak had always thought she was so fast atop the ice, but it was different upon snow, and the girl was much faster.

she dashed forward to try and land a snap of her own; with each attempt she made sure to display a waving high-tail, a bow, and careful purpose to her expression to convey she was playing.

the last thing sulukinak wanted was miscommunication as she so enjoyed her new friend!

as they engaged in a game of chase, sobeille's heart raced. despite hardly knowing this yearling from the snow on the ground, sobeille was fully rooted in play -- and her own antics communicated this by the light wave of her tail, same as her play-adversary's.

as the stranger closed in on her hocks sobeille kicked into turbo-gear, doing her best to spray snow behind her as she went. she squealed and wheeled, ducked and turned -- racing around a tree before pouncing towards the stranger again.

eventually she tired, and a new scent in the snow caught her interest. sobeille paused and sniffed at the dark spot before lifting her head to face the stranger. ey, what your name be?

it felt like their energy was match for a good long while, and when it began to wane sulukinak was at first a little distraught, then accepting. the game could only go as far as their energy levels allowed; so far there had been no issue between them, and for that the girl was thankful.

the other girl was distracted by the snow; perhaps some tracks, or some scat. maybe the game had brought to mind a hunger? sulukinak did not blame her. when attention sought out the dark girl again she breathed deeply, huffing to clear her nose of the various abundant scents.

her name?

sulukinak. she licks her lips, as if the name itself has a flavor. her head tilts slightly in that akimbo style of a dog trying to hear a strange new sound; her eyes are expectant. who are you? aside from being friend-shaped.

sobeille lifted her gaze from the dark spot in the earth. the scent here was acrid — perhaps stale urine from a long gone predator?

she stepped back to allow her new friend to inspect it if she wished. sobeille’s reserves weren’t totally spent, but she was just starting to understand the concept of conserving her energy — she had a long walk home.

her friend’s head tilt surprisingly endeared sobeille. i be sobeille, from saffique. where you from, suluk—su… sobeille struggled with the foreign sounding name. she settled on an abbreviated nickname. su-su?

she obliged, if only to mirror her new friend; it was the best way to learn and to make sure to keep the peace, and sulukinak was very good at it. she did not find the scent all that strange, but neither could she identify it with any certainty. it didn't matter; she looked at the girl and didn't take offense to the struggle over her name.

village, that way. her tail moved first, as if that might indicate with a wag—but then she motioned with her nose. morningsong. she licks her lips, and sniffs the ground again as if its very interesting, and wonders if that might impress the girl.

the word village sparked sobeille’s interest. oh! i know of a village. but morningsong didn’t ring any bells. sobeille’s expression settled into one of thoughtful concentration.

she sniffed the air between them, careful to not appear too hopeful. do you know ajei?

oh? sulukinak knew of a few, and immediately her ears gave a twitch and she looked to the girl with a new focus.

ajei? her brow furrows—but she doesn't recognize the name as someone from morningsong, or as the name of anyone from the bison hunt.

her head gives a shake. my man dutch is chief. maybe she knew of him?

sobeille tried to hide her disappointment. it seemed that ajei’s whereabouts eluded her — if she could just remember what the girl had said…

dutch meant nothing to the sea-waif. i dunno dem. sobeille have a roll of her shoulders and a rough tug of a root. what’s morningsong?

a—place. forest and ice. she did not know how else to describe it!
it was called moonsong, but then the moon-woman left. my man dutch became the chief after that.

maybe these things meant something.

where is home? she did not have the look of a mountain wolf, and smelled more like sea ice than anyone among the village; sulukinak was deeply curious but also aware of her social short-comings.

moon-woman! sobeille’s ears flipped forward; yes, she knew that name!

the rest wasn’t so familiar, but the girl bit back her tongue until a query hung in the air between them. i be from saffique. sobeille announced, an air of pride tinging her voice. de pack on de cliffs. i know dis moonwoman; we do de bison hunts together.

the bison hunt? sulukinak's interest piqued at the mention; she could have explained that she was there too, but remembered how she had fled when the hunt began. the giants of those golden fields had frightened her terribly—and while it was a point of connection to her friend, sulukinak was not keen on sharing the story of her retreat.

but there was other information there too. some place on the cliffs by the sea.

i miss the sea, she admitted; and the ice. and the dark. simpler times. dangerous, but sensible to the odd girl. maybe... maybe sulukinak can visit, one day?

i miss the sea; the girl confided. sobeille's ears flipped forward, for sulukinak had earned herself some newfound respect.

o! yes! the girl chirped, her usually fixed expression lighting up. you should come! maman would like you. sobeille, being a child, had a very over-idealized interpretation of the world -- but surely a friend of the moonwomen would be welcome in sapphique.

you will know us by de cliffs. dey are very tall. sobeille said, in the comically sage way only a child can muster. i should go 'ome soon, but i will look for you to visit one day!

the cliffs.

sulukinak wondered what sort of people lived there, beside the sea.

were they the same kind that lived atop the ice? this girl was warmer than anyone she knew from the underdark; she was playful in a way that sulukinak missed, and it was familiar because it was like playing with a brother, but odd too because no blood was drawn.

she gave a quick nod. i will visit. one day. maybe soon.

it would be time to go their own way, soon. the girl already mentioned it; and once sulukinak had caught her breath she drew a step away, and then another, but paused long enough to look back and let her tail sway; then, she was gone.

okay, den. sobeille chirped, her cheery expression following the girl as she bid her exit.

suluk looked back once, her tail waving past her thin hocks. sobeille waved with a paw, sending her off with a quiet giggle before she bolted clumsily through the snow. maman would wonder where she was soon.

sobeille hustled home.