Ocean's Breath Plateau imiqtitchi

maybe @Red Leaf? referencing various other threads at the same time.

she followed the weave of shadow through the weald, finding herself facing the seaside, and then plucked her way carefully to the outskirts of the village where she knew the man was staying; along the way she sought the carcass of the caribou that they had hunted together, which by now had been eaten away. among the remains she managed to pull free an ankle and the attached hoof.

sulukinak went looking for cen. his scent carried on the wind with others, heading towards the edge of the plateau where the caribou most often frequented. in this moment she realized her gift would likely be seen as a silly thing; he would have a full belly once he returned.

instead of abandoning her idea, sulukinak remained within the village. she sought the scent of the man among the ulax and lodges, and found the sleeping place that was marked most by the man cen, as well as a woman and child. sulukinak was curious, and lingered just outside with her offering.

cameo, mb!! also making some assumptions abt cen's whereabouts, lmk if im wrong!!!

ghelan plays just outside the den with the shells and conches that marked a helpful path to it until he catches sight of an approaching, dark figure. they're big, and though he doesn't consider that everyone is big at his little height, the cub comes to a natural but exciting conclusion!
with a giddy but strange gait, he runs towards who he thinks is his aapa only to quickly realize his mistake upon closer inspection. this figure is a woman, and while pretty, she isn't who he was expecting.
his smile drops, his brows briefly furrow towards the stranger. the boy can only stand awkwardly with a small conch caught within the snares of baby teeth. watching as the strange woman approaches his home, he's left to linger when on earth aapa will return.

cen was gone.
with each passing day, red leaf's distress continued to fester, and yet she found she could not bring herself to ask anyone of his whereabouts. some part of her felt she did not deserve to know.
this was what she deserved. isolation. loneliness. raising her son alone.
she could still feel the water in her lungs. she hadn't cared much about the rather persistent and ugly cough until it began to keep her up at night, sometimes waking brave one; and in those moments, she wept as she tried to rock him back to sleep.
she shivers beneath the cool breath of mother sea, content with watching her baby boy from the denmouth with her gangly limbs tucked up close to her belly. but something ensnares his attention, and so she begins to shift, unease settling in her gut. what is it that you see, pamiuqtuugutiga?
the visitor is certainly a surprise. not chakliux or rodyn or tullik, but this time a dark-pelted woman who reminds her starkly of her husband.
oh, hello, a small, polite smile touches her lips, but does not reach her eyes. suspicion begins to brew. how did she know to come here; and why, or how, has she brought meat? have we met before?

when she stops and places the gift upon the ground, something as small as this comes rushing from the shelter. the child stops short and appears confused—equally so, sulukinak stares at it with as much interest as she might pay a squirrel. he's got something in his mouth.

as she steps towards him, a voice rises from the dark place where he'd come from. sulukinak startles and looks up, seeing the woman; smelling the mark of the man cen but not seeing him here, anywhere.

she forgets the boy.

i look for cen. she steps to the side, grabs the hoof she had carried all this way, and then places it down again where she can see it. is this his lodge? we hunted, but i have not seen him since.

i look for cen.
something ugly stirs inside of red leaf, the typically passive woman now shredded with a violent urge to rip the feathery black tail from this woman's hind. the recognition is instantaneous. this was the cousin chakliux had told her about.
i am his wife, a calm, but triumphant statement as she silently motions for her boy to return to her; the quiet assertion of her place within cen's bubble. red leaf. and this is our son, ghelan.
i'm afraid i cannot tell you where he is, because i do not know. i think he may be tracking the herds, or something. we followed them here, she tries to hide her concern, pitching up her voice to hide the hoarseness that stemmed from her cough. but you're welcome to-- stay, if you'd like. so i may learn what exists between you and my husband.

the woman did not answer in a way that sulukinak expected. she had found very few with the same direct manner as herself, and this was no exception. rather than a simple yes or a no, sulukinak was told many things—introduced to the woman and child; then told that cen was not present, which was something the girl had suspected already.

she was welcome to stay, though. sulukinak gave a look over her shoulder and then stepped closer, settling to her haunches. it did not occur to the girl to thank red leaf for the welcome, and she wasn't all that interested in the little boy either; after a few glances sulukinak notices that the child drags a hind foot when they walk.

remembering the caribou ankle, sulukinak suddenly looks to it and says, oh, i brought this, and she stands again, moving to it and with a toss, aims for the child's periphery in case they might want to investigate it; maybe she should have given it to red leaf directly, but that wasn't a thought that flit through her mind.

i am cen's cousin, sulukinak. it felt powerful to say out loud.

hes respawning for now lol

the woman briefly approached brave one, only for mother to take up all of her attention. good, he thinks at first. otherwise, he would've had to bare his massive fangs and protect the den! but he shifts when it's cen that she asks for.

apa? brave one corrects as scampers up, only to be left unacknowledged by the stranger. apa? aka, apa? he glanced between the two women before huffing in frustration. he could find no opening in their conversation, and so he leaves the little shell he'd "caught" by red leaf's side and retreats for now with a grouch and a pout.

something chases for him, and he yips and scrambles, only to fall onto his rump. it takes a moment before realizing he's still alive and whatever that tumbled for him had not even scraped his body. it is.. something! he'd ask mother, but she's busy. he staggers back onto his three feet, his fourth falling only after he's steadied himself to inspect the strange thing.. with his teeth, of course. hard, gnarly. smells funny too! brave one for now is entertained.