Shadewood ipiktusuktuk ✺
Moonglow
Alpha*
3,078 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Master Missionary
Master Seer
Master Medic
Offline
#1
Private 
too many things had delayed her. first the birth of the children, and then a sudden illness that had confined her to the den. in dismay she realized it had been several weeks since she pledged she would leave. though still weak, the girl forced herself upright.

out of fear for the new pups, she had not gone to visit the warrior minori, nor seen again the children brought forth by the snowy one. and while she ached somewhat to stay, to see them grow, the keep was not a place for her. kukutux felt she had earned taking her furs, however, however many she could carry, and slowly wrapped meat in one of them, pausing often.

she needed to leave — now, lest this place hold more tightly onto her, a creeper choking a nearby tree. and so kukutux continued her packing, hoping fervently that @Cry would not come upon her, but knowing by some stroke of spirit-luck that he would all the same.
[Image: pSj9vo4.png]
"My love for you was bulletproof, but you're the one who shot me."
90 Posts
Ooc — Sɪᴛʜ’ᴀʀɪ
Offline
#2

By lucks it was not Cry who’d come across Kukutux and her attempt to flee, but it was Morgan, the widowed - well could somebody be widowed if they never married the baby momma? 
And  could it hurt worse than if it was was marriage that bound them rather than their love? Their kids? 

Morgan didn’t know, but he was scarred all the same inside. Rather than having even a semblance of decency and niceness in him, he became a bitter outrider, a true rustler fiend who wanted nothing to do with his past, now. There was no bringing Vetty back, nor Jonah, or Hornet. The fact that nobody in this goddamn Keep chose to even look for em- to even see if they were okay, ... it was a bad vibe and the southwesterner wasn’t havin none of it no more. 

So here he was, packing no bags but planning his last ride out. That was until he passed a den he hadn’t encountered before, and hear a rustlin’ of its own. The scent round it spoke of it being somebody else’s, but it was lookin barren. 

Who’s that there?” He called out, unafraid but curious.




Moonglow
Alpha*
3,078 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Master Missionary
Master Seer
Master Medic
Offline
#3
it was not the dark shaman who prowled upon her that midmorning, but the accented, kind morgan. kukutux knew him from her time before, and despite the fact that she could not recall ever having spoken with the man, she was relieved all the same. "i greet you, morgan," the duck said softly, emerging from her denmouth. lying a quizzical eye upon him, the girl wondered why he had come so close to her shelter.

"i — i am leaving," kukutux provided by way of explanation, though he had asked for none. simply the pressure of his inquiring eyes seemed to demand it, and the girl was hardpressed not to respond. "i came back simply to see gwen's birth, and that is over. now i return to my ulaq."
[Image: pSj9vo4.png]
"My love for you was bulletproof, but you're the one who shot me."
90 Posts
Ooc — Sɪᴛʜ’ᴀʀɪ
Offline
#4

How ya doin, gur’,” his question came out much more relaxed hearing it was a woman doing the talking. He wasn’t sure if he had- oh yea! He had met her once, speeding past the woman to catch up with Phex that day he overslept. Was a good night of sleep next to-

He shut his thoughts up. Wasn’t no use thinkin like that, now. “Leavin’ leavin? Fer gud?” Well shit. He hadn’t even seen her leave the first time- shows how much he tried to keep his duty to himself. Cry woulda been disappointed in the both of them too, had he known that he too was lookin ta hit the high trails. The grief was just too much for him. 

Whale, ain’t no sense in us sittin here chattin round it- best we git a move on ‘for he sees us.” And just like that, he threw a home and good food, a Family, away. He moseyed on in and picked up a hefty bushel of some of her remaining furs, pulling them gently out to the front of her entrance. “You just show me where we headin’ and I’m righ’ behinja.



Moonglow
Alpha*
3,078 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Master Missionary
Master Seer
Master Medic
Offline
#5
confusion blossomed quickly on kukutux' features; she watched in consternation as morgan seemed ready to shoulder a good deal of her burden. his drawl, decipherable after a moment, shocked her, and she circled out of her den to stand before him. "wait ... wait," the duck exclaimed, lashes fluttering against her cheek. "he will ... come after us?" but why? cry knew of her desires to depart the keep.

however, the girl understood the answer: he was a dark and possessive man. if he could lock her in this forest, then well he would. to that tone she was in agreement, draping two rabbit pelts across her slim shoulders, one bulging with dried pheasant and fish. but kukutux was not sure she trusted morgan completely, or if she wanted him near the small shelter she had built to start over.

what was the harm, the girl decided swiftly. if cry wished to track her, then that he would do, with or without morgan. and accompanied by the latter, she would have an easier time returning to the river junction. "this way," she muttered, sweeping toward the borders lightening to beach and sand.
[Image: pSj9vo4.png]
"My love for you was bulletproof, but you're the one who shot me."
90 Posts
Ooc — Sɪᴛʜ’ᴀʀɪ
Offline
#6

Halting him with the cargo in tow, he eyed the satchels she had made for herself as her assumption was spot on. He would- but they had a good minute to atleast have a head start. “I reckon he would, but I ain’t afraid of ‘em. Don’t care who ‘e is. He wanna take it like a man, I can respect. But he gone give chase, then he gone be runnin from his babehs and his gurl. Desertin Famileh. Goes against what he call himself doin here in these parts.” Well, Morgan wasn’t a smart man, but he was just hopin his guesstimating would pull through. He damn sure didn’t want to fight the man- he was a father now. Ain’t no pups deserved being raised without one. 

After a minute of consideration, the pale gurl led him from the now cleaned out place of hers, and started heading in direction of the sands and waters. He was fine with that. They’d have to share tales eventualleh.



Moonglow
Alpha*
3,078 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Master Missionary
Master Seer
Master Medic
Offline
#7
for kukutux' part, she had nothing to say. they walked in silence for some time before the ocean began to lay out before them, a shimmering, endless expanse of sunlit water. from there, the pair would head eastward until they came to the mouth of the totoka. 

entertaining no such ideas that her ulaq had survived in her absence, kukutux nevertheless wished to shift her mind from such things. "it is a three days' walk from here," she revealed, wondering if that would change morgan's decision to accompany her. he seemed determined, however, and as loam changed to sand beneath their paws, the girl let her gaze drift sideways.

"why have you left the keep?" a fair enough question, if they were to travel together. and what would happen when kukutux had been delivered to her lodge once more? but that was a thought for the future; for now, the girl must simply know if he could be trusted.
[Image: pSj9vo4.png]
"My love for you was bulletproof, but you're the one who shot me."
90 Posts
Ooc — Sɪᴛʜ’ᴀʀɪ
Offline
#8

The mountain of a wolf chuckled, the sound much more rugged with the few furs he had in his mouth. Swinging his thick neck around, he slapped the hides on his own, giving her gauging mint verdants a ease of gold. “I’ve walked worse on worse days- I’ll be alrigh’.” He hadn’t thought she was seeing if he was noble enough to keep this going- naw, he thought she was trying to look out for him. Well, most women folk were sly on their motives, but he didn’t take Kuk for one of them folk. She just seemed like how Gwen was when he and Vetty first came up here. 

Sand came eventually, and he thought it was a rather nice thing. Sand was cool. Kinda melty, but heavy men such as himself felt like they were sinking with every bit of step he took- he never knew why it didn’t bother him. 

My Vetty died while I was out scoutin roun’ them Melonii bastards- and pups went with her.” He didn’t mean to sound so forlorn bout it- his mourning period shoulda been up by now- but it wasn’t. And he fell quiet before he did anything else to make him seem like a damn kitten. It was already bad enough he cried yesterday. Probably all tha folk in Shadewood heard him, for all he knew. What a shame.

Moonglow
Alpha*
3,078 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Master Missionary
Master Seer
Master Medic
Offline
#9
ears wilted and her face turned away, downcast, with the gravity of what morgan had shared. "you will see them again at the dancing lights," kukutux said softly. what a horrid thing! to lose not only one's children, but a mate in childbirth as well. such things were not unheard of among her people, but more often if a mother passed, her pups would live to be suckled by another, raised at that hearth as children of that lodge.

fighting the urge to cast a glance over her shoulder for cry, reassured that he would not come after them against what morgan had said, kukutux cleared the cream-slim column of her throat. "cry met me far away from here, and took me back to keep. he knew i was searching for a husband; he knew he could not be that, for he rejected my offer to become his second wife."

why she was telling all of this to the russet man she did not know, but somehow the weight upon her heart seemed less, seemed more bearable. "after that, he grew very possessive. in some way, i loved him. but in another, i felt as though i was only his token, an object to hold. he could never be what i wished, nor i to him, but still i belonged to him." had he not said as much upon her departure?
[Image: pSj9vo4.png]
"My love for you was bulletproof, but you're the one who shot me."
90 Posts
Ooc — Sɪᴛʜ’ᴀʀɪ
Offline
#10

He nodded, not fully taking in whatever religion it was the ladeh kept to herself, but he didn’t argue against it. Couldn’t no living thing claim they knew the afterlife, nor what it held. He believed once you died, you were just dead. But hell, if he could see his Vetty again, he’d never leave her side- not even to feed himself, bathe himself, nothin. He’d fade away with her. “Shoah.” It was all he could offer back on her topic. He wasn’t gonna argue the view.

Listening to the second half of her return, he learned origins a bit better. Was best getting an understanding on this mess, anyways. Guess storytime was better now than never. 

That man’s downright confused. He ‘ont know how ta stock ya one thing. Bastard got all heated bout Melonii breakin’ Alliance, then he got some man helpin him train better, just ain’t seen him since all this mess well all over. I ‘ont want nonpart of it.” 

Spose it was his turn now, eh? 



Moonglow
Alpha*
3,078 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Master Missionary
Master Seer
Master Medic
Offline
#11
it seemed they were well-met in their mutual critique of cry and his ways. kukutux was relieved that morgan did not comment more upon what had transpired between herself and the shaman, for she would not know what to say. reaching across to adjust the furs more easily upon her shoulders, the girl gazed down the broad land over which they must travel. 

"i do not know very much about the meloniis," she admitted, having been away for that time. away, or secluded, as she had wanted to be in the chagrin that followed cry's rejection of her. lapsing into a silence, the duck pondered the ways in which she and morgan were similar, and how she had gone from knowing so little about him to knowing a good deal in a short amount of time.

"my ulaq is small, but you are welcome to stay while we rest. unless," and here kukutux' green eyes raised to the intelligent gold of the man's own, "you have your own travels to forge."
[Image: pSj9vo4.png]
"My love for you was bulletproof, but you're the one who shot me."
90 Posts
Ooc — Sɪᴛʜ’ᴀʀɪ
Offline
#12

Hell, me neither- I only just found out there was supposed to be some talk ‘oah sumthin’ dealin’ with that Phex thing. And that we had an alliance wit’ em.” That was as good as it got for em. Soldiers weren’t really told much it seems- only gave em opinions. 

He grinned at the offer, giving back a grateful brim tilt to the ladeh. “Think I will rest a bit witcha; make sure Crieh ain’t after ya so soon after you get on set up at yer place. Dunno what I got in mind just yet,” he trailed off trying to see what plan he had for this mess he had just thrown himself in. “But I reckon I’ll figure it out evenshualleh.”

He wondered how and when she had set up this place of hers if she had been at the Keep the majority of her time there- but she had said she had been away some time prior. What a strange thing being prepared was. 

What made ya make a spot outside the Keep? Jus’ Incase somethin went on downhill?” He met the spring gaze with curious sunny orbs.

Moonglow
Alpha*
3,078 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Master Missionary
Master Seer
Master Medic
Offline
#13
she nodded, feeling rather secure in the knowledge that morgan would not simply abandon her once they had come back to her ulaq. perhaps it was because he was male, perhaps it was due to his affability; either way, things had changed for kukutux so swiftly in these short moons of time. first a mourning, now a flight. the girl felt older, more weary with wisdom she had not wanted to bear.

"i told cry i was leaving for two weeks to seek a husband, or my own way, and that i would be back." a sigh rushed from the girl's throat. "i built a shelter while i was away, because i decided not to return to the keep except to tell him i was leaving. a courtesy he repaid with ... somehow he convinced me to stay until after the birth of his children."

had cry done that? the spirit-voice asked in kuktutux' head. or had she allowed herself to be lured, fully aware of his dark wiles and manipulative nature? had she merely given into the heady weakness she always seemed to feel in his presence? the thoughts began to swirl into an eddy of plague; the duck fell into a grim silence, plodding alongside morgan.
[Image: pSj9vo4.png]
"My love for you was bulletproof, but you're the one who shot me."
90 Posts
Ooc — Sɪᴛʜ’ᴀʀɪ
Offline
#14

Morgan could see reasoning on both sides, but it seemed to lean more on makin sense in the ordeal that Cry just wanted to keep Kukutux there. He had noticed before he was seemingly replaced by @Reiner, that Cry had some kinda addiction for Kukutux. He had noticed it well after he first heard word about the woman from Cry. 

The man’s losin it, Miss. I woulda bet he kinda did that jus’ ya stay near ya. Or ya keep an eye on ya.

Morgan had his suspicions, but this predicament just made it much more real. Returning back to something that should have been a lot more cheery, he asked with a lighter set of baritones, “didja find you a man, atleast?” However after asking, it was kinda clear she hadn’t - wouldn’t he have helped her get her shit from where she was staying? Or stand up to Cry? 


Moonglow
Alpha*
3,078 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Master Missionary
Master Seer
Master Medic
Offline
#15
losing it. she supposed that was the proper way to put it, whatever cry seemed to be experiencing. lost to spirits, lost to himself. kukutux did not understand, but it was not her place to understand. it was, however, her duty to protect herself from whatever violent ire the shaman might conjure against her. 

at morgan's inquiry, a small smile tugged at kukutux' features. she thought of the wandering, feral male she had met, but he was not hers. "i did not," the girl answered. "i have decided to pursue the realm of the spirits instead." a shiver as she said it, for in all her moons, kukutux could not recall a woman ever having been allowed to do so.
[Image: pSj9vo4.png]
"My love for you was bulletproof, but you're the one who shot me."
90 Posts
Ooc — Sɪᴛʜ’ᴀʀɪ
Offline
#16

"Spirits? like some voodoo folk 'er somethin'? That's a pretteh inchurestin' thing ta fall fer. Mean it's a bit weird hearin a woman chasin some ghosts, but I might not have much understandin' on yer hobby, miss, so excuse my ignorant ass."

Through their nice walk, he cleared his throat and added a bit more,...what? Humble? "I don't think it's right fer us ta jus' be leavin Cry like this- but in a way, I'm thinkin' there ain't much else we can really do fer 'em. I wanna warn folk up there but I feel like I'd end up gettin caught, and frum what Cry and Reiner been talkin' bout, they ain't too far from havin' torture dungeons in them damn woods. You see they already snatchin' up prisoners and shit- that Zomorac kid or Zaderic whatever his name was, kid didn't look good. They took him from what I heard, and kept him stuck there." Taking a breath, Morgan added the last bit of info he got on the matter. "Heard they tryin' ta train the kid into some kine'a soldier, 'er somethin."


Moonglow
Alpha*
3,078 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Master Missionary
Master Seer
Master Medic
Offline
#17
fade in another round? we need an updated one!

morgan's observance tugged a smile from kukutux; she glanced at him with a warmer expression. "spirits walk the earth all around us. in my ... where i was born, shamans are always male." a low breath, her chin lifting somewhat. "but this is not my home, and i ... i think that the spirits will forgive me."

were her family able to see her from their place among the dancing lights? it was something about which kukutux would always wonder, but for now her gaze traveled back to morgan. the amusement died from her eyes; a feral expression lit them instead. the duck had given cry her time in the keep, and in return she had gotten nothing but his threats. now morgan spoke of darker things.

"we are right to leave, morgan. it would be only a matter of time before we were commanded to act upon his orders." whatever they might have been, the duck was aware it would not have been pleasant for either of them.
[Image: pSj9vo4.png]
"My love for you was bulletproof, but you're the one who shot me."
90 Posts
Ooc — Sɪᴛʜ’ᴀʀɪ
Offline
#18

Haught came to him as she asked side-windingly for spirits to forgive her. He guessed decently on the behalf of Shamans being picked sexistly, they right better forgive her. "Dutch use'ta tell me I could grow up and be whatever it was I ever wanted, if I tried hard enough at it and got good at tellin folk bout it. I reckon aint no harm in you doin' tha same, miss." He offered a bit of smile at that, some kinda encouragement for the woman. Womenfolk liked being encouraged too, he supposed. Hell, everybody wanted to hear they had a fighting chance. 

At her words, he could nod, but in his heart he knew thats all he was- a soldier. He wasn't no top leader man; he had always been a second in command, and always followed orders to the tip of a tooth. Wasn't no comin' up with plans or embarkin' on some fanciful shit for him- he followed orders. And that lifestyle was one he wasn't able to shake off. Hell, even this was gonna be hard for him, because passively he aint been doin nothin but following Kukutux's subtle directive. "I s'pose so, miss 'Tux. But some folk don't right have that strength. Hell, I know me and Vetty wasn't rightly pack wolves, but we had gotten real stuck on stayin' and just trading in comfort for commands. That's all I really know." At his admittance, he fell quiet, content to let the rest of their journey fall silent at his awkward and painful relay.

Yes! We def can go one to brighter pastures~
Moonglow
Alpha*
3,078 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Master Missionary
Master Seer
Master Medic
Offline
#19
fading here!

one day, she would ask morgan who this vetty was, but for now, even one as young as she was aware that it cost the man a great deal to speak of his past. and so, gingerly, and despite the warnings of the spirit against touching a man who was not her husband, kukutux brushed his shoulder encouragingly with his muzzle and fell silent. he had been nothing but kind, honest, and supportive; she could only do the same as they moved away from where had once been comfort into the unknown lands beyond.
[Image: pSj9vo4.png]