Ouroboros Spine the pulse of our hearts

The last few days had pulled her away from the spine, but not without purpose. In quiet devotion, Agana had sought to fulfill her promise, gathering all she knew the moonwoman would cherish: delicate white flowers, their petals pure as untouched snow, and a smooth moonstone, its glow reminiscent of the night sky’s gentle watch.
Was this the moment? The day she would finally lay her heart bare, unshielded by foreign tongues or distant dreams of a fate that might never come?
She had prepared in silence, fashioning a secluded den far from the main camp, a place where her gifts had rested, waiting for the right time. And now, with careful urgency, she gathered them between her jaws, her steps purposeful as she made her way toward the ulaq, hoping, praying, to find @Kukutux alone.

<3!!!

as the future was thrashed and the paths fell away into an uncertain murkiness, kukutux found silver light in the face of agana. she had been away, and now beneath the gravid curve of a radiant moon she came.

agana, surrounded in the floral bounty of white flowers.

her heart ached. her eyes stung.

kukutux, alone there at the ulaq where so many moments of her life had been spent in delight, raised salt-glitter eyes to agana now.

she did not know what to say! her, of all; no words would come.

Agana stood at the threshold of the ulaq, the dim light casting soft shadows across her face. The moment she laid eyes on the Moonwoman, standing alone in quiet contemplation, something in her chest tightened; an ache caught between sorrow and devotion. Had she come at the wrong time?
Still, she did not waver. With careful steps, she moved forward, the gifts held gently between her teeth. When she reached Kukutux, she set them down, nudging them closer in silent offering. Her gaze, luminous beneath the flickering light, searched the woman’s face. „Are you well, Kukutux?” The words were quiet, yet heavy with meaning.
There was hesitation, a lingering pause; but then she closed the space between them, embracing her without a second thought. Perhaps it was bold, but Agana did not care. Before anything else, before traditions, before duty, Moonwoman was a duck, one who did not deserve to bear her burdens alone.
„I am here.” A murmur against soft fur, her voice steady, her breath warm against her fur. She nestled closer, breathing her in, letting the silence settle between them. If she was unwelcome, she would step away; but the thought of being turned away was one she was not yet ready to face.

"much changes around me," kukutux exhaled, grateful. worried for how relieved she was to see agana, to feel the press of the other's affectionate regard encircle as if it were a cape of fur.

work-rough palms cupped now the gifts, and she allowed their satin touch to soothe the fraying nerves of her heart.

and then she set these things aside, winding her arms hesitantly, almost shyly, around agana.

for a moment. only for a moment.

"it feels to me like — my world. it is breaking."

hard swallow bobbed her throat painfully. she let herself fall into that worried gaze.

"and at last, agana, i do not know what must be done."

an anguished admission.

The argent listened carefully, the weight of the moonwoman’s words settling deep within her chest. The embrace, however brief, was enough to tell her all she needed to know; she was not just troubled, but unraveling.
Her own gaze, warm and steady, held her jadestone eyes as if willing her to borrow some strength. Agana did not offer empty reassurances, for she knew the weight of such sorrow could not be brushed away with mere words. She pressed her forehead gently against hers, a silent vow. 
For once, as the moment wrapped around her, Agana longed to be selfish; to let her heart spill the quiet confessions, to claim the space that should have been hers to speak. Yet doubt curled around her resolve, a whisper against the walls of her mind. No; this was not the time. The weight of unspoken words settled in her chest, and she swallowed them like a secret never meant to be told.
„Then we will find the path together,” her voice was quiet, certain, „Even when the world shifts, you are not alone.”

kukutux knew she should not find so much comforting in the feel of agana's intimate embrace, but she was unable to help it. this was not the touch of a stranger; it was agana, her minkhaired companion whose sentiment had spanned so many years.

their eyes met, gazes mingling.

together.

together.

"i must tell him, agana," moonwoman heard herself say;

"and i must tell you of sakhmet."

their paws, twining together. she looked into the eyes that held so much warmth and drew a breath, filled with an unknowable fear.