Ouroboros Spine Black willow

Anyone welcome of course but seeking @Kukutux in particular (if you have the time, love.)

By the time the young wolf had reached the edges of Moonglow, he was spent. His round body was a lot to carry across such a terrain. The shift in altitude had made his head spin and his tongue loll from his mouth in a desperate pant.

Once the earth became familiar and the young wolf could sense his family on the borders, he tried to collect himself. The ground swayed and the air felt thin. Pan wheezed, feeling his large paws struggle to climb up to where his grandmother would hear or see him. When he could go no further, the boy lifted his head and called out to the Moonwoman.

<333

he wore sunshine eyes and the build of his father, his voice deep even now.

she found him struggling upon the rises and whisked down the path to draw him up, to guide him along a lower trail. "panuk! it is good to see your face. are things well in moontide?"

but she did not scent the sea upon his fur. callyope lingered there, briefly, and the fragrance of the forest.

that same something clawed her gut.

A young voice called for grandmother.

Tautukpik could not be distracted for much longer; he had eaten the treats spared in the ulaq, and he had guarded Akmaaksi, but when that voice crested through the air he was on his feet and running.

He knew it was not Nutuyikruk — he knew his sister's voice — but there was a trail of greenlight that snared his attention and drew him to this edge of the village. As he trundled out of cover and in to the path of the stranger, he stared down the boy.

There was a shimmering to his outline which faded as soon as Tautukpik focused his eyes.

Kukutux was there too, he realized.

I got a two for one special! ^^

Pan still heaved breaths of air, hoping that the dizziness would cease its hold on his mind. It was not long before the pale figure of his grandmother appeared. Then another - a boy who was younger than Panuk but growing and with promise! His puppy paws were almost comically large for his shape.

Gramma, the young wolf spoke affectionately to the Moonwoman. Gramma… Callyope told me to come get you fast. We were in the forest and I saw aunty Ari on the water with a man! And he called me-

What had it been… Pan’s eyes darted back over his shoulder, as though forgetting the term the white wolf had used would bring his important task to an end. He swallowed the dryness in his throat.

He called me spirit-talker! That was it. Pan beamed with pride.

yay!

tautukpik was there with them too now, and kukutux almost grabbed both of the boys for her balance as vision narrowed to charcoal point.

her mind replayed the words again, trying to make sense of them.

callyope had sent an urgent message. aunt ari was upon the lake.

her legs started to tremble, and she looked now to tautukpik. "sweet bear. do you remember when you shared the voice of iggaġriq with me?"

she drew a breath. "i want you to listen now for the voice of your anaa. listen well. panuk is your cousin, and he has been called spirit-talker."

her eyes lighted gently on the son of her sea-girl, but she could muster no smile now. "was she standing in the water? did she come out of it, panuk? did callyope also see her?"

surely she only played games! but kukutux did not think ariadne would. "we will find where she has gone. you both can help me," she murmured. hers was not a response that would have come without the word spirit-talker.

aunty ari? did he mean aaka? what did it mean to be on the water? tautukpik was dizzy as he tried to keep up and to understand, and then kukutux asked for his help; she mentioned Black Bear and as abruptly as his wave of confusion had come, he found clarity.

buh the green followed me here, he said, unaware of the difference between follow and led. the light had been stronger during those days of lonliness with akmaaksi, and only now did it flare again as it brought him to the village edge, and the boy who spoke of — tlateehin?

his eyes were far-away.

Little Brother, listen.

how do i help, gramma?

In the water? 

No, no… ON the water, gramma. She floated with the man. They looked like water was part of them. 

Would she insist that Pan saw only imaginary conjurings? It was possible, sure. The moonwoman had only ever been loving and supportive, so the boy did not think that she would cast aside his visions as being childish. 

I could not hear her, even when I called out. But the white man spoke to me. He had a deep voice, Pan went on, mimicking the sound of Kannoyak’s rugged baritone. He thought he’d done a decent job and he awaited the proper praise from his grandmother. Callyope too! She must be overjoyed that Pan had successfully delivered the urgent message.

her throat closed with hurt; kukutux tried not to stare at panuk, not wishing the boy to feel as if he had done any wrong. the shining water girl and the pathmaking man glittered in water and spoke of spirits.

what else could this be?

but more was the shock of hearing almost the sound of ariadne's spirit name in the mouth of a child who had not been born when it was given.

had the wind offered this to tautukpik?

"soon we will need to leave moonglow, panuk and i."

there was still time for all of this to be a falsehood, for callyope to discover ariadne and — but the duck had been molded by belief in the spirits, guided always by them.

her tears forced against the gaze that remained stalwart, but shock had started to steal the echoes of her soul. 

please, sedna. please. please. have you not had your fill of sunshine spirits already? please, sedna, no.

"first, come and rest, panuk. ah, tautukpik. we must continue and listen for her. you must tell me if more names come to you." her voice trailed. "if i leave with panuk, will you follow me? even if i ask you to stay?" her voice was gentle; she did not want another lost child, but neither did she feel he should be brought to the forest. 

he knows the name of her spirit. he hears things he would not if she were alive.

grandma wanted to go? tautukpik began to protest; he had already seen nutuyikruk go, and had lied to aaka before she'd gone, and seen his father leave them in the village too. everyone leaving, few coming back.

as stricken as kukutux appeared for the time being, tauktukpik was ignorant to this. she hurt, she worried, and he stomped his feet. no! don't leave. would he follow them and leave akmaaksi? he wanted to say yes, to shout and scream that kukutux should stay — but he heard a plea upon the wind.

Shining Water waits for her. She is not alone; Pathmaker protects her. Rest, little brother. Rest and dream of the mountain.

Tautukpik's ears twitched and he glared at the clouds for a moment, not seeing the green shifting light here now, but hearing the voice of Black Bear; and he looked at Pauk next, seeing his figure through a blurry haze of tears. Boldly, the boy steps towards him and commands, Keep gramma safe. P-please. Be good. Be good. Be good, or get away from here.

He would stay and he would guard Akmaaksi.

Leave? But Panuk had only just arrived on the steps of Moonglow. He did not want to leave so soon, not when there was food to be eaten and other boys to speak with. Despite his desire to protest, Pan held his tongue. He had grown enough now. He was nearly a year old. It meant that he must do things that were challenging, he knew. 

When the other boy spoke to him with tearful eyes, Pan’s features softened. The glow of green that played about the other child’s body was mesmerizing for a moment, but only just. As soon as his hefty paws had shifted, the colors vanished. The boy asked that Pan protect their grandmother. The young wolf gazed into the eyes of this other boy and nodded his head. 

I will keep her safe. And I will bring her back for you. 

The chocolate figure smiled, round features lifting. His bright eyes searched the other boy’s, only for a moment, before he impulsively stepped toward Tautukpik and planted an affectionate kiss on his cheek. Then, his gaze shifted to Kukutux. He hoped that she might explain this confusing chain of events and what it meant for all of them.

"i will come back, tautukpik. and i will need you to be here when i do." kukutux tied the tether that would return her to the spine village no matter what, and turned a warmer eye on panuk, appreciating his warmth toward the saddened tautukpik.

"come and have some good things to eat before you leave. i must tell your pappóus aiolos that i am going. he may desire to come with me. and also your aunt vairë, do you remember her face?"

tautukpik was very brave. she kissed his forehead, seeing some spine of kigipigak in him, and led both boys toward her ulaq.

their words would fill the warm air until she had gained the courage needed to follow panuk from moonglow and into the forest.

The older boy pledged to keep her safe, and that was enough for Tautukpik. He could not go himself, which hurt him deeply, but he could be good for his grandmother. He could watch over Akmaaksi. Waiting would be the hardest; but he could do it, he had been doing it — waiting for Kigipigak to come home, waiting now for Ariadne and Nutuyikruk.

Big Sister comforted him too. As the wind licked one cheek, Pauk kissed the other. Soon the boy would be coerced back to the ulaq where he would guard his remaining family and continue his prayers, hoping that everyone would come home and be happy again.

Wishing, with every fiber of his being.

Gonna fade this one out but I’d like another thread with Tautukpik!

The young man did not need any further persuasion. He would have followed his grandmother to the edges of the earth if it was what she wanted. At the promise of food, his round rump waved from side to side with the sway of his tail. Pan hoped that they could have the other boy stay with them for a time, enjoy food, talk. It was nice to see young faces and hear their voices.

Following after Moonwoman and Tautukpik, Pan listened to them talk and shared his voice when he was asked. His mind remained fixed on the image of his aunt, heavenly and glowing on the surface of the lake water.