Neverwinter Forest pathmaker

@Callyope for vis

True to his word, Ipiktok forged a bath between the Spine and Neverwinter villages. He had hunted a young elk in the Wealed and carried a fatty haunch as a gift, the color of its fur nearly identical to his own. He reached the borders of the grand forest by noon… but the winter sun already hung low in the sky.

He howled to let his presence be known, eager to know more of this village and its people who now harbored his aunt.

first, moonspear had come to visit.

now, moonglow walked the path to them.

how joyed she was! lively as she moved through the forest. mother’s foxfur slung over shoulders, shifting with each jovial step.

moonglow has sent such a strong, young hunter to visit! she praised as her features melted into warmth.

He was met with pure Sunshine.

Ipiktok was stunned by Callyope’s similarities to Kukutux. More and more she looked like the Moonwoman reborn… fiery foxfur and all. Her face beamed with happiness. If only his own mother’s face could glow like that once again!

“My beautiful Ajâtsuk!” he crowed, “This man greets you!" Her praise made his tail curl proudly. "I am happy to see you are well… here, I have brought an engagment gift…”

He gestured to the fine cut of meat. “I have been away for many moons… but I hope I can make up for lost time now,” he said.

how lucky her to have such charming a nephew!

her chin tucked with a coy sheepishness and her gaze examined him thoroughly. she looked for signs of hard travels, of anything that might mark a story!

her radiant gaze only cut away from him to admire such a fine gift. moonglow would do well with such a hunter. she hoped anaa married him to a woman who might settle among the spine above.

she thought of women of forneskja!

i think we have walked the same path, she confessed to him with soft smiles. i went away for a time and when i returned, i realized i had more to see here than anywhere else. all of the siblings she had not forged strong enough bonds with!

now nieces and nephews ran among the wilds. she hoped to add her own blood to the runnings when the time came — she knew she would.

will you spend a night here, nuak? tell me of your moons away!

It was comforting to hear of their shared experience. To know that to return wasn’t a failure, but a blessing.

An invitation! “I would like that very much,” Ipiktok said with a puff of his chest. “I have so many stories to tell you!

“But I also wish to hear of your life in this new place. And I want to meet the man who has asked for your bride price. To see for myself if he is worthy of my Ajâtsuk’s hand.” His eyes shone and he smiled. There was an airy humor to Ipiktok’s words. He enjoyed playing the role akin to a younger, protective brother.

a man of sunshine.

a man meant to be a strong hunter, she thought.

there was so much sunshine in him that he could weather any winter. how good it would be to have such a man back in a moonvillage and to see him grow into himself.

such a man is hunting that price right now! she beamed with a pride on behalf of sólhárr and his efforts. but, yes. soon you should lay your eyes upon him. a thought forming behind her bright gaze.

and does this young hunter have a woman catching his eyes, hm? i should meet her, if he does!

When Callyope explained that her husband-to-be was away hunting Ipiktok clucked his tongue as if to say, pity.

“Then that means I must visit again and again,” Ipiktok teased, happy to keep the path between their villages well-traveled.

Between his remarks, Ipiktok’s bi-colored gaze searched his aunt’s face for genuine happiness, as Moonwoman had asked… Perhaps with Solharr away, Callyope’s guard would drop and she would reveal her true heart.

But when Callyope asked about his prospects, Ipiktok was happy to hog the spotlight.

“This one has no match yet,” he said quietly in their ancestral tongue, bemused, as if they shared secrets. “Grandmother seeks names for me. Perhaps my Aunt will, as well?” his bright eyes glimmered impishly as he wondered of the beauty and strength of Forneskja’s women.

“I have faith Sedna will send me a bride who wishes to bask in Sunshine,” he laughed, animated and merry. “For her to want this, is most important.”

forneskja would be richer for continued sunshine presence.

moonglow should walk among them. sunshine should see this forest and know it was not strangers who built a home. that it was still a blood-tied woman who led them here.

as for her collecting names — well!

she could not stop the joyous laughter that broke through her. nor the wide waves of her tail behind her now. all too content to have such a quick-thinking nephew!

if this is your wish, then names will be whispered to moonwoman. she agreed with and thought of the faces of forneskja. it would be good to bind them in this way too, but the woman must wish for sunshine ways. but know this, any woman would be to lucky to walk in sunshine ways with such a strong hunter as husband.

and she sent a silent prayer that Sedna would give him such, that it would give her mother such!

have you walked the paths to other villages, too? sialuk is another aunt, in moonspear, who might help as you enter the next part of life.