Permafrost Hollows Que que na-to-ra

The raven had left her dreams.

Amka had suspected he would, given that their journey had ended. She was here, wherever here was; but still, she had wondered if the nightmares would return. 

She should have known the monsters were only waiting for a chance to creep out of the closet.

The nightmares were different now - broken into chunks. There were times Amka questioned if it was even real. The images seemed to flicker in her mind's eye like slides in an antiquated projector - distorted and fuzzy and surreal. The caves - that dark maw that had swallowed her up, pools of stagnant water and the musty, moldy stench of it. 

She can still taste that water. Can still feel weight on the back of her neck and feel the brackish water filling her lungs. 

She can hear the rats - their little squeaks of pain as she ripped them off her. They were drawn to the blood, her blood, drawn to feed on her flesh. Another image flickers by - black blood spilling across the floor, her teeth in someone's throat. 

Another image, not of the caves but of the hollows she had taken to, was enough to wake her. Distorted features, blank golden eyes, monstrous features that had been warped by the ice caverns - her own reflection, unrecognizable.

Disgusting. Filthy. Vile.

Monster.

Amka wakes with a gasp, lurching to her feet as her golden eyes fly open. Stumbling, she turns in a circle, panicked and searching for threats with heaving breaths.

She's alone. The wind is her only company, lonely and cold, speaking of winter. Amka's breaths slow, sunshine orbs scanning the entrance to the hollows which she slept by. It was warm enough here for the young woman to sleep beneath the stars and she didn't know this land well enough yet to wander too far from the caverns. 

The sun is setting, casting orange streaks of fire across the sky to collide with fluffy, pale pink clouds. Amka gazed at the sunset, wishing its heat and light could forever burn away her fears, forever keep the darkness at bay.

The smoky man had been at work most of the day, refreshing the borders of the Glacier and making sure that no intruders were getting through. It was his last round when a breeze had blown through cutting his pelt like a knife but a scent of a woman was strong enough to make him forget about the dreaded cold. Steele’s ears perked toward the hollows that lied right beside the territory.For safety, he thought he should check it out. 

Slowly he made his way toward the scent it grew stronger as he followed it. His mind wondered what anyone would be doing out there in the cold without coming to them for a place to stay first. It hit him then as he was walking that he was no longer in the Sanctuary that this place enforced their borders and probably wouldn’t let just anyone in. With a head shake he spotted the woman laying down. A chuff was let out so she wouldn’t become scared.

Steele haulted in case she wanted him to come no farther. He would wait for her cue to come closer or they’d talk from afar.

Perhaps it was cold to the stranger but to Amka the weather was warm - nothing at all like the freezing, dark boreal forest she had come to call home with its everlasting snows and stunted trees. These lands were practically tropical in comparison - the gentle nip that spoke of turning seasons hardly able to reach her beneath a thick pelt that spoke of harsh winters past. 

Amka was as unaware to the presence of his pack as she was to Steele. She wasn't close enough to the Glacier to scent the trails left by IkKanattuk nor had any of their members been here recently enough for her to catch even a whiff of their scent. She had chosen to remain here by the Hollows simply because it was something familiar on this green planet.

But his approach, from behind the Hollows, was enough to bring the girl to her feet alertly from her sitting position. She eyed him warily, golden eyes taking in the odd silver sheen of his coat - like that of a fish's reflective scales. His eyes were as strange, a bright, glowing amber that perfectly matched the prehistoric stone. 

Amka offered him neither submission nor aggression - her ears pricked with curiosity and her tail hung in a neutral position. 

"Who're you?" She asked, slipping easily into English - her speech marred by only a slight northern accent. She didn't consider that he might be offended by her question - he was a pack wolf if the scent on him was to be believed - and they generally didn't respond well to strangers near their home. Yet, in her surprise to see Steele appear so suddenly - she'd overlooked this.








 

The woman seemed to be neutral about his appearance not welcoming nor disapproving his advancement toward her. He didn’t try to come any closer to her in case at any point she would feel uncomfortable or vice versa. Steele dipped his head respectfully, this wasn’t their land and he couldn’t claim it as such but wanting to know what she was doing out here all alone was something he wanted to know. 

The sky was dimmer now the color was fading into the midnight blue it always was at night. He looked up and then back at her. Slowly he descended on his haunches, hearing her ask who he was. It was a fair question after all. The man showed up unannounced guiding her to her feet as she was lying probably going to sleep for the night. 

Steele nodded for a moment as he remember the accent his fellow pack members carried. The accent was much like the woman who stood before him. “I’m Steele from Ikkanattuk.” His voice rumbled like thunder before a storm. He wondered if she would like to come back with him, join them, maybe she spoke the same language that he could not. 

The smoked man let silence fall fall between them for just a moment. “Do you speak another language?” He asked curious to know if he was right about her and his pack mates.

Amka's golden gaze flickered impassively as he sat, dipping his head - polite but wary of his intentions, unsure what he could want from a lone wolf in the hollows. 

The northern word, IkKanattuk, caused her dark ears to twitch curiously, recognizing it. The man before her was clearly southern and from the way the word fell from his tongue she could deduce that he didn't speak her native language. Yet, Steele knew the northern word and it appeared to be the name of his pack, indicating other northerners nearby.

Could this be the reason the raven led her here?

"Yes, the northern tongue," she saw no reason to withhold this information as he seemed to have realized she was of the same descent of those at IkKanattuk. 

"I'm Amka Eshevak," she introduced though he hadn't asked, "from...nowhere." Her gaze shifted as she trailed off suddenly, realizing she didn't want to talk about the tribe.

At the sound of his pack her ears had changed, like she knew something he hadn’t. He wanted to furrow his brow but refrained from doing so as she seemed a bit on her toes toward him. As she introduced herself a chuckle came from his throat. Amka from nowhere?, he questioned it in his mind but didn’t say anything aloud. He nodded like he understood because maybe a little piece of him did understand why she didn’t want to talk about it or say it.

”Well Amka Eshevak from nowhere, it seems you speak the same language as my pack. Would you consider coming back with me to check it out?” He said as he offered her the option he thought he should explain why he didn’t know the language too well. “I’m learning the language and though I’m not from the north I have made friends with a pack member before actually becoming a member and she solely speaks the Northern language. I’d like to talk to her in her own language one day and so I joined this pack.” He felt content after his explanation.

All he could do now is wait on her answer. If she said yes, he would lead her back and let her meet Siarut and Takiyok, but if she said no he would politely leave her to her business but still patrol the borders in case she changed her mind.

fixed it

It's sudden and surprising - the offer - and for once, Amka's face relays this. 

She glances to the caverns as they're the only thing that can be considered familiar with the raven gone. She feels the attachment to this place - tugging at her to refuse and stay put. The smarter half of her knows this is only fear, fear of rejection or not belonging or losing it all again. 

Her golden gaze wandered back over to Steele and she nodded once, taking the first few steps towards him as if to follow. 

Her brows lifted slightly at the explanation - confirming that he was indeed southern but was attempting to become northern. A concept she'd not seen before. 

"Perhaps I could be of some assistance, if they decide I can stay," she offers simply, not making any promises. Perhaps these northerners were not like her people, perhaps they would decide she wasn't worth a spot in their ranks.

Only the spirits could know, she thought, best to let them worry about it. Amka tried to follow her own advice, ignoring the ball of nerves forming in her stomach as she moved to Steele's side, allowing him to lead the way back to his tribe. 

slight PP at the end, I can edit if you need me to. Thank you for the thread! <3

Steele nodded and a smile formed. It was nice to see that she would be accompanying him back to the pack. He knew they wouldn’t turn her away, especially since she knew the language though he didn’t tell her just in case he was wrong. As she came to his side he moved toward the border.