Dragoncrest Cliffs Of moon, of sea

Ajei had promised @Sobeille she'd find her near the sea. She had also promised @Galana she'd walk with her. And of course as always she told both @Arrluk and @Kukutux where she'd be. Extending an offer to the moon son if he wanted to walk along.

Ajei was nervous traveling this far, but it had been without incident. She arrived upon the borders fire kissed and wide eyed. Green eyes went up and up as she stared at the cliffs. Her mouth open in a tiny o. They were huge.

Near her paws she had dried meat and a few furs for Sobeille to wear when it grew cold if she wanted. Including the soft otter she had fought against.

She lifted delicate muzzle to call out. Then settled to her haunches brushing fire tip tail along paws and waited patiently.

tags mostly for reference but any of you can join in. This one is for Sobeille.

Feel free to skip around Arrluk!

It was hard for Arrluk to leave the side of Ajei these days. Well, at least, staying in relative close proximity. After her mother's death and taking time to heal up from her runs and hunts, Arrluk had played the role of quiet support. When she decided to visit the ocean cliffs, Arrluk agreed to accompany her, unwilling to let her take the long journey alone and too much worry on his own part for her. Now he played rhe role of quiet guardian. 

Arrluk would howl to @Sialuk. He wondered if his sister might be disappointed, with going back and forth to Moonglow and now their venture much further... He did his best to remember that the villages often visited between one another and played his worries aside. 

Along the reaches of the dragon cliffs, he takes a few hesitant steps ans peers below, the ocean waves crashing hard on the rocks far down. The borders shrouded in rock and wood, he wondered what all hidden beauty may lay within.

though they had met but once, ajei had been a frequent visitor in sobeille's thoughts.  it pleased her to hear ajei's voice call among the tall trees, for her specifically.

there were two at the borders, not one. sobeille's warmth faltered as she spotted the male accompanying ajei, though she was quick to regain her composure and speak directly to ajei. it pleases me to see your face, a phrase borrowed from @Kukutux -- but wholly meant.

her gaze turned to the bundle of objects in ajei's possession -- what looked like a furskin, and some kind of dead animal..

Ajei stood quickly and wagged her tail when Sobeille came near. A soft yip of delight 

Ajei dipped her head.And yours too! This is Arrluk he is one of my dearest. He has been taking care of me. Umm.

Her smile faltered here, but she gathered herself. My mother passed away just a couple weeks ago. I have been quite sad. I'm sorry I didnt come before this.

Her ears laid to her head and she frowned. How she missed her mama.

Ajei noticed her look and she pressed them forward. I brought you dry caribou meat and two furs to wear when it is cold. Like we do in the mountains. An otter and a small fox.

She touched a paw to each one a little smile in her gaze.

ajei introduced the male, who remained silent. sobeille deliberately spared him the barest glance. her focus remained on the girl - more important than any man, by sobeille's account.

her mother died. sobeille tried to imagine how this felt, but all she could conjure was a sense of absence. she liked ajei, so tried to show the level of concern she'd seen other adults do. oh. her brow furrowed. ajei was frowning, but she quickly pushed the items towards her.

an otter, and a small fox. sobeille's eyes were drawn to the rich pelt of the otter. she had nothing to give in return. dat is very nice, thank you. sobeille reached for the otter pelt and stroked its dense fur. did you kill dem yourself?

Ajei was surprised that Sobeille didn't pay  more mind to Arrluk. Most of her girl friends enjoyed looking at him. And he was handsome there was no denying, but she also cared deeply for the wolf he was, but that was neither here nor there. Perhaps SObeille's tastes lied elsewhere. No problems there either. Though she also briefly remembered Sobeille's thoughts on men in general. Perhaps that was it.

Ajei nodded her head. Yes I did something called a Kinnalda. It is something in my mother's culture. For four days I Run to meet the sun. Back and forth three times or more. On the third day I hunt for the entire pack. On the fourth day. They all eat. It is then I am considered women, no longer girl.

She thought briefly of all she had done. And touched a paw to her cheek.

something in sobeille rippled to life on scuttling legs. as she touched the fur she imagined the kill-memory; ajei’s teeth puncturing warm flesh —

what does running to meet the sun entail? she stroked the soft fur - did he scream? now you are woman? she thought of the boy matteo and his man ceremony. what is that like?

Ajei had been incredibly upset to kill brother Otter. But he had been old and his fur was nice to give to a friend. That she was certain of. Even if it sort of did blend in with Sobeille's own colors. It would keep her warm and that's all Ajei cared about really. 

Ajei shifted. I ran as it rose. I think it is more for resilience and to show I can do it. To grow into myself, push myself further than I am used to doing.

Ajei tilted her head a soft look. I don't feel much different except. I feel more confident in myself. Not so worrying.

sobeille did not know it pained ajei to kill this thing; to her killing was as natural as breathing. only, she sometimes got strange satisfaction out of it.

she continued to stroke the velveteen fur, listening as ajei painted the story of her kinnalda. it was a romantic concept to sobeille; everyone’s lives were so rich and colorful with tradition. she wanted to breathe it all in and hold it against the fierce beating of her chest —

there were many threads weaving in and out of their conversation, but sobeille focused on the one and plucked it with a hawk’s tenacity. what worries you, ajei?

Ajei knew that she must kill to survive. That her friends and family relied on that and this she knew.  But she still didn't like it at least not when it came to aquatic beasts. Particularly Otters. But their furs were important and their teeth and claws. 

Ajei had not heard of her mother's traditions until she was gone.  A regret of hers was not asking for more. Not begging her mama to tell her all she could before her time was up.

Ajei blinked. Oh. I've always been rather startled easily. I don't like meeting new wolves all that much. It makes me nervous to leave my borders.

ajei revealed she didn’t like meeting new people — or leaving her borders often. sobeille examined this statement - both the words spoken, and unspoken; she tried to remember what ajei was like when she first met her. did that version of ajei think the way the ajei that stood in front of her did? did that version of ajei already undergo whatever foundational stressor it was that made her loathe leaving home?

what did that say about her coming here? sobeille appraised ajei with a sentiment akin to possessive pride; ajei had knowingly left home — a place she loved very much — to come here, a place she didn’t like going.

she had done this for sobeille.

a ripple of some unknowable emotion stirred under her skin. she would protect ajei — both the then-version, and this version now — from whatever transpired to make her afraid of experiencing the world. it was the closest thing to empathy sobeille ever knew.

you don’t need to be afraid when i’m here, ajei. sobeille murmured, her expression dark. she liked the way ajei rolled off her tongue. she liked that small, perfectly ajei-sized space that had been carved in the corner of her mind, just for ajei. she liked ajei’s face, and she liked that ajei had killed for her — each of these things were powerful in their effect on sobeille. i will protect you. what startles you, ajei?

There was much more that Ajei disliked than liked at least in general population. She preferred the company of those few she deeply cared about. She loved her own home borders and neat little den. She kept it spotless most of the time. Ajei had grown in her thinking, but she was still quite nervous and shy. 

Ajei smiled sweetly. Thank you.

A small blink, Oh. Hmm.

She tilted an ear, and patted a paw in the dirt while she thought about it. Delicate circles and swirls. Loud noises, new places, new faces. I also don't like any wolf that comes at me fast. I have always been this way. Born anxious and afraid.

sobeille took note of that sweet smile; the way it stole across ajei’s face like a slow blooming sun.

she observed, too, the way the girl traced delicate patterns in the soil rather than make direct eye contact. sobeille absorbed it all; ajei’s flicking gaze, the scraping noise of claw against occasional stone, the softness of her tone — all supped in the manner a parched desertgoer might greedily take in water.

ajei did not like loud noises, new faces, new surroundings, or hard and fast approaches. these were things sobeille did not mind - how interesting!

she solemnly drew her gaze up and down ajei, as if she would be able to view the inner machinations of the girl’s psyche. what was your maman like, ajei? following this, her gaze cut to arrluk pointedly — was he at fault for why his charge was so bound by nervous energy? and was he so poor a guardian he could not ease her mind and spirit with his company?

Ajei was delicate in all aspects. Sometimes she wondered if there was something in her birth that had caused issue. Because both her parents were strong and brave. Even if her father had been often absent he had been strong.

A bright smile lit up her gaze. Oh my Mama was not like me. She was brave and strong. A great huntress. She was star hunter for village of moonglow! She took no fools. But she was kind and loved me to the stars and beyond. As she did my two brothers.

ajei's face once more transformed: this time with a wistful emotion sobeille could best assign as love.

what was it like to love?

she stroked the otter fur as she listened. ajei's mother sounded fierce -- and here was a product of her womb, wispy and shy as the wind. how did that work?

mebbe you grow into dat, ajei. sobeille murmured thoughtfully. she imagined she and her maman were a lot alike, but sometimes, sobeille felt a chasm she could not explain. she knew it had more to do with herself than her maman.

what a starhunter be?

Ajwi loved her mama endlessly. She always would. Even if she weren't with her right now. She still loved her.

Ajei smiled sadly. I would love to be like mama, but I don't think I will. But it's okay. She still loved me and was proud of me just the way I am.

Ajei frowned in thought. A bit like second in command, but also best hunter in the pack. A place of honor.

ajei explained what starhunter was with patent patience. the epithet seemed so romantic to sobeille, who was used to rank titles named after rocks. the older she got, the more she realized her corner of the world was incredibly small. the rest of the world was a colorful mosaic just waiting for her to discover it and frame into into pieceworthy segments all her own.

you caught dis otter. sobeille pointed out - she still believed an otter was the creature known as a beaver, just in another tongue -- and in her estimation, those things had rank teeth and fierce temperaments. they were not to be hunted lightly. so mebbe you will get dere. sobeille's voice was unusually encouraging. she could not say why it meant so much to her that ajei had thought of her -- had killed for her -- but she now had a dark room in her heart, reserved solely for ajei. i am not like my maman at all. i don't t'ink. so, mebbe it is okay to be different too. do you know what a pearl ceremony be, ajei?

Ajei didn't know where her wells of patience came from. Perhaps it wasbecause the world had always seemed so fast to her.

Ajei smiled and looked to the otter. He was a fierce one. He gave me this.

She touched a paw to her shoulder where the bite had gone deep and it had hurt so bad.

I think it is okay not to be like them. Their job is to help us grow into our own wolves yes? So in a way if we are different. It is a good testament to how they raised us.  No. What is it? It sounds lovely.

another pop in!

'you don’t need to be afraid when i’m here, ajei'. Arrluk's ears fluttered, then swept back as he looked towards the dark masked female. The way the words murmured off her lips and those words which followed. Arrluk felt a turning in his gut, like a fluttering nervousness and... unsettling? Arrluk didn't know the words of jealousy yet. 

Then, he found that Sobeille was looking at him now, with judgement in that gaze. Arrluk's ears remained back, yet now his black fur began to prickle up at his nape. While Arrluk had grown up with much of his father's traits when it came to respecting woman and more or less like the more dominant sex, he had not been a slave by women like his father and so, didn't take being looked down to as easily.

Ajei continued on and grasped the other's attention yet again. Arrluk found himself trailing back a few paces and laid down, focusing his eyes best he could anywhere else.

at some point the boy became aware of the burn of sobeille’s attention. she watched him as he stalked away out of the corner of her eye.

ajei pointed to a scar that cut along her shoulder! sobeille traced this newfound wound with fascination. bodies were a map of the environment they experienced; it thrilled her to think that ajei’s kill-moment (for her, nonetheless!) would be worn on her skin forever.

dat be a nice scar. sobeille’s tone was approving. you wear it well. she thought of her maman and the scars she wore - would sobeille one day be so decorated?

ajei asked of the pearl ceremony. sobeille leaned in. it was one of many traditions in sapphique she was proud of. where often it was she learning about other people’s cultures, now it was time for her to share her own. when we are puppies we have several coming of age ceremonies. de pearl ceremony is de first. each one is given t’ree oysters. de one with de first pearl becomes your pearl. mine was little and brown. ugly - a true reflection of the soul occupied inside. sobeille thought of how beautiful astera’s had been, or tousaint’s. but my maman had de same one. dat pearl means i be brave and loyal. i will bring you some oysters, ya? we be havin’ our own pearl ceremony.

Ajei as always was in tune with the wolves around her. And suddenly there was a tension in there air that she wasn't quite sure of. She looked to Sobeille and then Arrluk, but all seemed well. Perhaps it was simply her being silly as she often was.

Arrluk moved to lay beyond them. She reached out with Muzzle to nudge his shoulder gently. He was probably anxious to return to Sialuk and the puppies. They should probably leave soon. 

But Sobeille caught her attention with an explanation to her question. A tilt of an ear forward and she listened closely. 

So three oysters and they picked one? How fascinating. Ajei wasn't sure if she ever had seen one. Oh that sounds fun. She turned to Arrluk. 

Arrluk you want to do the pearl ceremony? Then returned her smile to Sobeille bright and cheerful.

Ears back, he is listening carefully, though now his face is away from them. The pearl ceremony did sound interesting. Then again, he did pretty much enjoy all things water. 

He wondered if depending of what each pearl meant, if the pups did their best to shape their personalities around whichever pearl they got. Maybe it was some kind of destiny, too. Maybe a way the spirits communicated them. Arrluk thought of his own spirit name, what it might be, what might have been whispered into his ear as a newborn at @Kukutux side. 

His head archs back when Ajei speaks to him, inviting. Oh um... He couldn't help it, but his sea-green gaze shifted to Sobeille, wondering if she had any intention of bring him along.

some slight PP to set the scene, lmk if that is not ok <3

when sobeille mentioned the pearl ceremony, she'd been thinking of just herself and ajei. her gaze cut to arrluk abruptly as he was invited along -- something she had exactly zero intention of entertaining.

but ajei was sweet -- sobeille knew enough of her friend to know she would be crestfallen that arrluk was excluded. deflated but quickly regaining ground, sobeille considered lying. we don't be doin' pearl ceremonies for boys, she could have said -- and it would be so easy, too. yet, something within discouraged her from lying to ajei.

dat be fine. sobeille said coolly, the coldness of her gaze on arrluk communicating it was anything but. follow me!! we will 'ave to find our own oysters, bein' dat dey don't keep well. but i know a place! she waved them on with a fan of her tail, adopting a supple trot down towards the bay.

it did not take long before their path spat them through a tunnel and out the other side, where the bay thundered against the shore. to a novice, it might look imposing. to sobeille, it was exhilarating. she turned to them both and asked how be your swimmin'? she secretly hoped arrluk lied and found himself tested by the waves -- but none of this showed in the glint of her yellow gaze.

A wag of her tail and a soft little step. Looking at Arrluk with a smile. Completely missing the look Sobeille shot him. Happy to be included she followed behind. Delicate paws tracing soft footprints in the sand.

Ajei looked out over the ocean with a smile and a soft inhale.

We both fish a lot so we spend much time in the rivers, streams, and lakes. But we also both been to the sea. It is stronger, but I think we'll be okay.

Ajei studied it. She knew enough to know to watch the tides.

Sobeille agreed to allow him to come along, his eyes flat at they took note of yet another hardened stare from her. Ajei, attention on him, went blissfully unaware. It wouldn't be like Arrluk to speak up about it, however. He had no intention of ruining Ajei's visit with her friend nor wedge a rift between them by complaining otherwise. Besides, how often would he ever have to see her, anyway? He and Ajei see each other, well, basically every day. She had always been a constant in his life, like his parents and up until recently, Ajei's mother too. 

While the seafaring woman took the lead, Arrluk took up the rear. He felt a littlr unsettled, going through the long, dark underground tunnel and a wave of relief washed over him as the light at the end became larger, brighter and eventually opened up to a cove. Arrluk smiles deeply, his tail waving. A beautiful place indeed. It brought his thoughts to the Stavenger Bay, a once residence of his sister, like many of the lands around home that at some point a moon tribe had settled. He wondered one day, if and where he might settle should his one day (likely suggested by his mother @Kukutux) bride want to form her own as well.