Ouroboros Spine drenched in vanilla twilight

tags for ref or joining <3

At the turn of Tinnivik, Yuralria felt her paws grow restless. 

@Ipiktok and @Salaksartok - brothers she had known only by name until now - had returned as men. She didn't quite understand what anaa had meant by that, other than they had each ventured from the spine as round-bellied boys and come back as young hunters. Often when Yuralria would bring @Vairë small prey of her own, their mealtimes would be filled with questions of the unknown.

It was on one such journey that the girl wondered what was really out there beyond Moonglow. As she set a plump marmot at the ulaq's entrance, something made her pause her routine. She couldn't help but recall the stricken face of little @Nutuyikruk - who probably wasn't so little now. Did she know about her mother's death? Was she even alive herself?

The thought made her sick to her stomach and still she wondered, her mind filled with a thousand possibilities that she itched to answer. Roaming further from the village, she searched idly for the scent of @Nantahala in hopes that perhaps her sister could provide some insight. Her periodic absences had not gone unnoticed, though Yuralria had never thought to ask where exactly she went.

*YOINKS*

Nantahala was also restless.

Vairë's health wasn't improving, and it was strange and disconcerting to witness their mother so unwell. Nantahala did her best to busy herself—to distract herself—but, today, she was unable to keep her thoughts at bay.

She stalked through Deersight Hills with no true destination in mind, and as she walked, the scent of her sister came to her. It struck her as odd that Yuralria was away from the village's heartlands, and quickly she assumed the worst—something had happened to their mother, and she was coming to break the news. 

Nantahala veered off her initial course to locate her sister, and upon seeing her, she called out, Is everything okay???

Their mother's decline had weighed heavily on Yuralria too, though she had grown used to anaa's condition the more she tended to her. As the self-proclaimed responsible sibling, the girl had taken it upon herself to ensure she was well fed and looked after - and today was no different.

So it was somewhat of a surprise when Nantahala's usually chipper voice came now as a question tinged with concern. Her train of thought cut short, Yuralria could only blurt out a confused "Huh?" as her mind raced to catch up.

"Yeah uh- is something wrong?" Did her face look weird or something? Had Nana encountered something on one of her travels? In her wandering, she had failed to realised how far she was now from anaa. It felt oddly freeing. Yuralria dwelled briefly on the feeling as she gazed quizzically at her approaching sister.

Yuralria's confusion did wonders for Nantahala’s anxiety. Upon realizing that her sister wasn’t here to deliver bad news, she exhaled slowly and visibly relaxed.

It’s nothing—, she assured her sister, shrugging it off with a laugh. —I’m just not used to you being all the way out here. Which begged the question: What’re you doing out here? You usually don’t go this far. She looked her sibling up and down, seeing nothing wrong, and feeling her confusion grow. If nothing was wrong, what was she doing?

As her sister's posture softened, Yuralria offered a friendly wag of her tail to ease the remaining tension from her body. The two had spent little quality time together lately, and the girl found her mood lifted just from her presence alone.

That said, her nose wrinkled thoughtfully at the question, noting with a small laugh that it was now Nantahala's turn to be confused. It was true, the passing moons had seen Yuralria become more and more of a homebody, though she wasn't sure if that was truly in her nature or if it was her duties to anaa that kept her close. 

"I should ask you the same question," she jested, extended her hindlegs in a big stretch. "Don't you have something more exciting to do than talking with your lousy sister?" Behind the humour lay a glimmer of truth. While Nantahala always seemed to be busy helping someone or other prepare for the hunt, every day had begun to feel like groundhog day for Yuralria.

After hearing the self-deprecating joke, her face fell, and she nudged Yuralria's cheek with her nose. Hey! Stop that! That’s my sister you’re talking about, and I love her very much! She smiled and shook her head as she pulled away, before adding, Give yourself some more credit—I think you’re super cool.

She admired her sister’s dedication to the family and the village, and how she’d stepped in without question to help Vairë. She was one of the most selfless wolves that she knew, and thought the world of her.

Then, backtracking their conversation a bit, she answered the question, I was just thinking of hunting something for mom—did you want to join me?

As her sisters wet nose smushed her cheek, Yuralria resisted the urge to shrink from the affection and instead made a face similar to a disgruntled cat. It wasn't like she was opposed to physical touch, but she preferred it to be on her terms. Nevertheless, she returned Nantahala's comments with a genuine smile. 

"You flatter me," she grinned, though her heart swelled to know how much her sister loved her. "If I'm cool, then you're definitely also super cool." There was no jealousy in her eyes, only the desire to see what more there was to life.

At the suggestion to hunt, Yuralria nodded tentatively. "I dropped of a marmot for her earlier, but she would definitely appreciate the extra food." Something bigger, perhaps, they could hunt together? The girl had never caught anything larger than a ground squirrel, and so she asked, "do you have any ideas?"

Nantahala noticed the way Yuralria scrunched her face from her touch—had she always done that? Why couldn’t she remember? She made a mental note not to do it again, as she didn’t want to make her sister uncomfortable, and shrugged off any guilt that trickled into her mind.

It’d been an honest mistake, and it wouldn’t happen again.

She laughed and shook her head at her sister’s praise, not feeling as “super cool” as Yuralria had said. Thanks, she said with a wave of her tail, refraining from touching her sister again. We’ll be super cool together.

Yuralria filled Nantahala in, letting her know what she’d dropped off for Vairë, and she nodded while considering their options. There were several things they could go for, but there was one thing that’d be worth their while. The other day I went out with Rodyn to Firefly Glen, and we hunted turkeys—maybe we can see if there are any here? It would give anaa lots of meat, and they weren’t that hard to hunt. But, of course, this all depended on whether or not they’d be able to track some down.

“The super-cool-club!” Yuralria piped up, tail picking up speed as Nantahala thankfully kept her distance. “On second thought… that’s a little silly.” While admittedly it sounded fun to embrace what was left of their childhood, she almost immediately hated how juvenile it felt.

Her excitement mellowed slightly as she listened attentively to Nantahala’s suggestion of turkeys, along with a name she failed put a face to. She’d have to ask anaa about this Rodyn fellow later. The moon villages were home to so many and, especially for a girl like Yuralria, she was familiar with few beyond Moonglow.

“Sounds like a plan,” she agreed. “I don’t know much about turkeys other than they have a bunch of feathers. How do we start?” Opting to let her more experienced sister teach her the ropes of bird hunting, she allowed her mind to wonder briefly to the mystical sounding place Nantahala had mentioned; Firefly Glen.

Feel free to PP Nantahala if you want to find them in your next post! <3

Ye— Nantahala chimed in, but was cut-off as Yuralria second guessed herself. She hesitated for a moment and wondered what’d caused the change of heart before she spoke again. Well, I liked your idea, she said. I’d happily be a member of the super-cool-club. 

Her hunting idea was well-received, and she smiled as she thought of what information would be useful in this situation. They’re big, chatty birds that can’t fly. They’re super easy to spot, but we’ll have to hide and ambush them because they’re FAST! They’re also surprisingly strong—so you’ll want to watch out for their wings.

She sniffed the air then, sifting through the scents of Moonglow to see whether or not she could smell them. When she caught a whiff of them, she turned in the opposite direction and searched for them in the distance—they were out of sight, and would require some searching to find. They’re this way, she said, dropping to a hunter’s crouch and slinking off. Follow me!

<3!

"It's no fun being the only member," Yuralria let out a snort, reluctantly rescinding her resignation. "But you can't tell anyone I'm in it with you - I'll be a secret member." Now, that sounded cooler!

Nantahala went on to describe the turkeys, each new fact leaving the girl a little more stumped than before. Birds... that couldn't fly? "Are they even birds then?" she questioned dumbfoundedly, more to herself than to her sister in particular. She took the advice with a grain of salt; she had to see these birds before she could believe they were as dangerous as they sounded.

Diligently, she followed her sister's lead as the pair travelled down a shallow rise to the bed a dried up stream. While Nantahala pushed left, Yuralria paused for a moment to drink in the scents that pooled here. It wasn't long before the scent of bird grew stronger and she could begin to hear faint rustling sounds coming from the opposite bank. Popping her head up revealed not one, not two - at least a dozen! - fat brown hens scratching for seeds. "Over here," she beckoned quietly as Nantahala soon joined her. "Now what?"

Ohhhhh! Nantahala drawled at the mention of Yuralria being a “secret member” of the club. Very sneaky—I love it! It was cool—very cool, in her opinion.

While the question had mostly been for Yuralria, Nantahala paused to consider it as well. She’d been guilty of taking Rodyn’s words at face value—as she had no reason to doubt him—but now she wondered why turkeys were considered birds when they didn’t fly. She shook her head, scratched her head with a forepaw, and shrugged, coming up short on any logical explanation to answer her sister’s question. You know … I honestly have no idea. Like … they look like a bird, but are there birds out there that don’t fly? The more she thought about it, the more her brain hurt, and so she dropped it with, That’s a great question! She was genuinely stumped.

When it was time to embark and begin to track, Nantahala took the lead, and drank in the various scents of the land while honing in on the turkey scent. The trail led them down the ravine and through the dried-up stream. Soon enough, the turkeys were located—so many of them!—and Nantahala paused as she watched them. There was a mix of males and females, and while she wanted to bring home a male for anaa, she knew she had to be realistic and accept that they would have to go for an easier target. They were both inexperienced, and they were better off going in with realistic expectations.

We watch them, she instructed when asked what was next. And pick out our target. She searched the crowd, hoping to find an injured or sick bird. Ideally, we’ll find one that’s hurt or sick, but if not, we’ll go for a smaller one. Usually, the smaller ones are younger, and are easier targets, she elaborated as she fell silent to continue her search.

There was a smaller female towards the middle of the flock who hobbled along with a noticeable leg injury, and upon spotting her, Nantahala’s heart skipped a beat and excitement consumed her; they’d gotten lucky! That one, she said, pointing with her paw towards the crowd, The one that’s limping—we’ll go after that one.

Now, it was a matter of finding a hiding place. One of us will chase, and the other will take her down. What would you rather to do? she asked.

While Nantahala took things at face value, Yuralria liked to think things through with logic before she blindly believed someone. Honestly, she half expected her sister to ignore her question completely - or at least make a joke out of it - and so when the dandelion girl became just as confused as she was, her tail began to stir in excitement. "Guess that will be the first thing the super-cool-club will investigate!" Once they were done turkey hunting - obviously.

As Nantahala drew up beside her and instructed her to watch, Yuralria did just that. Squinting her eyes, she listened to her sister's instructions and tried to scan the crowd of birds for any obvious sign of weakness. It was only when one blonde paw pointed towards a hobbling hen that she finally noticed something different about this one.

"It's probably best you finish her off," came Yuralria's hushed reply. She fancied her odds better at chasing the thing, though there was the matter of- "How do I separate her from the flock? She's surrounded." When hunting ground squirrels, it had been easy to lie in wait by their burrows like a couger waiting to pounce. But with turkeys? Well, the girl supposed it took a different set of skills.

She nodded, silently accepting the position of striker. While she preferred chasing, there was something thrilling about being the one to take down the prey, and it made her feel powerful. It wasn’t often that she had the chance to feel such a way—so she would relish it while she had the chance.

She continued to watch the flock, studying them as they lay in wait, and soon another question came up. The others should clear out when you single her out, she explained, figuring they’d simply get out of the way as Yuleria chased. If they don’t, I’ll jump in and help chase them away. She’d always have her sister’s back.