Ocean's Breath Plateau out on sea ice

sea birds roosted upon the edge of the plateau.

she was reminded of her first home, the ring of stone that protected this place. it was not unlike the spine.

but she did not know these lands and it showed when she prowled. hopeful to catch one of these sea birds and yet! each one took flight when she tried to approach.

note 2 self: set a lil closer to this

"they must be baited and lured closer." the moon people grieved again, and not for the first time did chakliux wonder if they should move on. 
he knew this woman. he did not. but he saw the nuiruk in her as he came to stand beside her that day. "while they sit, they are watchful. get them from the edge where their nests are." and he slid a small, pungent pogy-fish across the ground beneath one paw.

did she know him?

she looked longer at him than might be appropriate for one who wished to wed. the scarred shoulders and the bridge of his face marred by teeth. she wondered at once what his accomplishments were.

and then she felt the long lonely ache of wishing for white elk once more.

come home, i cannot lose you so soon.

you are moontide's first hunter?

she whispered and watched the bait he had laid.

firsthunter. so she had come up in moonglow. "here i am first warrior also." 
one bird turned its head, eyeing chakliux as he retreated. 
for minutes it did nothing, and then it turned on its perch, hopping down from the stone ledge. beak clicking, the seafowl dove into the brush, nearing the pogy. 
berrybright eyes glanced in the direction of the moon woman.

first warrior.

she dared to look a little longer at those scars again. she once had an aja who had painted an ulaq with her. was this simply that for warrior men?

but the bird demanded her attention.

with a half-absent mind, she only caught it by the wing. a struggle began and embarrassment bloomed within her as if she was a girl again.

chakliux let her struggle, laughing in a way that was not mean. "behind the head! grab! hold. its wings are strong, and they will hurt." there was nothing to break the buffeting of those weapons; she would bruise. and it would be part of her victory.
the rest of the flock took to the air, calling, crying. he casually raided their nests for warm eggs as the moon wolf grappled with her bird.

and hurt they did!

callyope was not sure if she had ever been smacked in the face before but the repeated beating of a wing against her nearly cost it.

behind the head!

she wished for victory more than the bird wished for life, perhaps. head swinging with the bird still partially in her mouth, teeth grappled to move along the bird.

a crunch and stillness.

the birds cried overhead and the first warrior raided. it was excitement from the chaos that fueled her now. the bird was dead and would not move from where it had dropped.

she chased after first warrior in search of eggs. laughter erupted from her, bright and brilliant for the first time in weeks.

the bird, downed, and the moon woman, dancing his way.
he saw in her the lines of saltwater which had made samani so beautiful;
he saw in her the moonbow grace of ariadne;
the seal hunter was reminded of how long he had coveted, wanted, desired. but no woman desired to be third wife, and someone with her lineage would only want a husband she did not share.
and he was not willing to forgo either culture for passion. not now.
he kept his thoughts to himself and allowed a laugh of his own as they raced together through the surf.

a warm egg cracked in her mouth and spilled down her throat.

it was just an egg, but it felt different here. the new location and the good company. she tasted her food now, she did not eat just to fuel. how nervous she had been of the saltwater shores! and now it healed her!

her hunt turned towards him!

reaching for a scarred shoulder and not caring much if she messed his fur with egg yolk or shells — little bits of both still painted her muzzle.

the yolk smeared through his fur. chakliux grinned a little, flicking his own meal onto her shoulder. eggshell gently oozed and he watched it there on her alabaster fur.
clearing his throat, the seal hunter waded out to splash water along his heated ankles, flinging some in her direction. "i do not know your name," chakliux said in sunshine, forgoing seal for now.

she was tentative with the water’s edge and when she went in, she made sure it did not creep any higher than her ankles.

sedna could take her, too. it did not matter if she had good company in a good place.

but she focused her attention upon that company and made a smile.

and what will you do once you know it?

"then i will know who shares such a pretty hunt with me," chakliux ventured, though he grew wry and reserved at once. his stare moved across the ocean, its darkened waves paling to turquoise and then foam.
"names have power. your mother says so. it is why her songs hold names even if they do not." overstep. overfamiliarity. he moved boldly all the same.

she did not know what to do!

perhaps it was good for her own sake that he grew reserved. although she felt something else stir when he spoke so openly of her mother, of their beliefs.

it is why i wanted to know what you would do with mine.

she had not realized there was a great comfort in having someone who both knew her in these unspoken ways. yet still he was new enough.

can you be trusted with it, first warrior?

"only you can know if i am to be trusted, mist woman." chakliux enjoyed the volley; his smile grew smoother as the moments slipped, until it was his usual easy openness. 
"i would cherish it. your name," said the seal hunter. "i have learned that the titles among your clan bear their own power."

mist woman!

see me a second time, before i leave here. she instructed him now as if it was a ritual.

was it? he had spoke of power, of beliefs.

then i will say my name to your ears.

if you would like to fade here for an up-to-date one before she heads back, lmk