Herbalists' Cache willow frost

backdated to after this! no posting order, sivaak & star eater welcome to witness! some powerplay, lmk if not good

muradoii pledged to lanzadoii. sun eater did not know the protocol of this. did he take her as second woman? did he insist she mate one of his hunters for the protection of her blood-eater young? it would have to be decided, but not now — not now. 

two returned to the camp where one had gone.

with care he bore back the hairs from the moon girl's tail, and when he had come to the place of the saatsine, he bellowed bullish for @Star Eater. "@Sivaak is muradoii. caribou hunters from ice. monster blood. she stays to give birth." but he turned toward the seawolf now, measuring; "if you will be lanzadoii for a time, keep my ways. i will leave yours behind as mine if they are not strong."

nothing paused him now; nothing drew him back. he shouted for the captive @Nutuyikruk to be brought and thrust her down into the snow, crouching close and dropping the fur across her muzzle. "who is this?"

life is fluid. things change. much has changed for the muradoii woman. once, great war chief who cleaved life from others and smiled with bloodied teeth. watching bodies be washed away by the black sea. each sacrifice earning her the favor of her cruel sea god.

now, her womb growing strong with life. future muradoii, future blood-drinkers. they would be great raiders, great hunters, great warriors—there was much to consider. but now, sivaak strides behind the black scar man, towards his band of lanzadoii. once, an unthinkable fate. now, a prospective future.

her head is high as she goes into the clearing where chieftain commands a slave be brought. sivaak watches with approval, red eyes glinting. black scar is not so different from muradoii cousin as he thinks; this is a thought she tastes, savors, enjoys. a dark furred woman with a pregnant belly comes forth. black scar does not speak to her, instead, turning to look at sivaak. she meets his eyes with a narrowed, slitted stare.

ha! is her response, a jolly laugh, and then boisterous words: if they not strong sivaak kill them. and it would be so. now that they were squared away, she is content to watch what unfolds with a salivating mouth.

star eater moved swiftly, the cold forgotten as soon as she saw the smear of blood on her husband's hide. her breath hitched, but she did not ask him what had happened—not yet. not with the others present. instead, her nose pressed to his side, the warmth of her tongue dragging through the copper tang of his wound, cleaning him as gently as one might soothe a restless child.
who did this? she murmured under her breath, but her touch belied the softness that only he was given. a pause to glance over him, check the muscle beneath the skin, ensure he was still whole. satisfied, if only barely, her attention slid toward the stranger who stood with the same blood-soaked pride of a distant cousin.
a woman cut from sea-ice and marrow. thick with old scars, red eyes like firelight.
star eater did not shrink, but nor did she bare her teeth. instead, she dipped her head with the faintest of nods. polite. measured. but her concern for sun eater still clung to the edges of her words.
i am star eater, wife to the chieftain, she greeted coolly, gaze drifting back to her husband as if to remind him she had not yet finished her tending. her tongue worked over the last streaks of red along his shoulder before she continued.
welcome to saatsine, sivaak. may your strength serve us well.
and though she spoke the words, her eyes lingered just a beat too long on sun eater, on the way he stood, bloodied but still proud.
they would speak of this. soon.

Scent holds memories.

It was a bright one before it blackened.

Yuralria.

Nutuyikruk's head reeled suddenly into the cold, chest heaving with anger as she dispelled ferocious thoughts away from the one-eyed warrior. She looked at him with mountains living in her spirit. Breathing deep, calming.

"Some girl I met towards the mountain ranges." 

he raised his paw, swinging to strike her down into the snow. "not need eyes. not need ears. not need feet, tail, fur, to tell truth. to do what i want."

sun eater crouched above the girl who wore green eyes he knew too well.

"i ask. last time i ask. who?"

he did not look to sivaak or star eater.

Had she come? Seen the people of Saatsine? Followed the caribou into their red hands?

It was fear that enveloped the teenager, feeling the heavy weight of threat and staring at the face of someone who appeared to have never met mercy.

The guilt of betrayal arrived before the words ever came out.

"Yuralria of Moonglow."

yuralria of moonglow. sun eater shut his eye and sent a fierce prayer upward, to the cutting wind.

"and you?" he asked in the same cold tone, holding still the threat of teeth above her head. the acquiescence had eased, but only for this time.