Ocean's Breath Plateau moon water

backdated to the 27th <3

the tracks of @Ghelan and @Red Leaf divided. the boy's trail made for the ocean, but so did that of his mother. stricken, torn, chakliux opted to find ghelan first, though it was with great trepidation.
moontide bustled. rodyn was away. intrinsically he knew he could not leave at this moment, and hated it.
the seal hunter trotted to the corner of moontide which held the small den and the shell-lined path. for the moment he was empty-jawed, bringing only himself and the sharpness of his gaze as he peered around for ghelan.

the pale coat of chakliux was unmistakable. scarlet eyes meet berry ones and fix themselves on him. but brave one did not move.

he did not want to be found, not by chakliux.

their eyes held.
chakliux nodded and came no further, turning so his gaze moved from the boy to the coastline, the sea. ghelan was so young to be alone here, and yet the seal hunter knew he could not persuade the child to come back with him among the lodges.
"there are many spirits in the water. sedna is one name. oil father is another. ice raven. that is one who may speak to you here, akiak."

brave one grunts.

none of them answer. he mumbles, redirecting his attention to his amulet.
||where's mama? if she was anywhere, brave one expected her to have been with him.

is she angry with him?

"she went for a walk outside moontide" chakliux chose to say, turning to the boy for a glance. 
the sight of the amulet, red leaf's work, his heart twisted.
"they all need their own sacrifices to answer," he explained, but what could the child give that he had not already?

sacrifice? stupidly, he turns to chakliux again for answers. briefly anyways, before he pouts.
it doesn't matter anyways, huh? he doesn't have any "sacrifices" or whatever to give. he just wants his family back together. and if not even gods can give him that, then..
go away! ghelan scurries underneath.. something, he couldn't quite tell what it was, but it only covered half of his body. the most he could do is tuck his tail close to himself and hope he blended with the ground as much as possible.

there was only the sound of the sea then, as boy retreated and the seal hunter turned weary guilted gaze to the ground.
"akiak. if you are hungry the seal hunters will feed you. your welcome in my lodge, among the other pups, stands now."
slowly he rose, all fatherly instincts shouting as he trailed back the way he had come. it was not right to leave the boy, but it would not be right to drag him from beneath the sea stones and take him where he did not wish to be.
a kelp-wrapped bundle of small fish and shelled clams would appear near akiak's den before the sun departed.