Ouroboros Spine siarnaq ∯

for @Tuathal <3

the duck lingered in the shadow of the moonrock depressions, passing through the afternoon with a climb to the lip of the spine. she gazed down into the bowl of it; a shadow clenched at her throat. what would become of those she loved if a misstep divided her from life?

but kukutux did not come down, and eventually she continued on with steps she did not look at, wading through an invisible dark sea of inner war.

<3 !!

It’d been a couple weeks since he’d joined Neverwinter and so far Tuathal was settling in like any good Blackthorn would.

Which goes to say, not very well.

His paws jittered with that old familial wanderlust. If Ceara was around she’d probably scoff and ask why he hadn’t left yet. Quite frankly the only reason was that he quite liked Mal. Seemed like a good kid, and someone with enough sense and experience to lead without smothering.

So he embarked on out-trips instead. Today just so took him to the crest of the World’s Biggest Mud-hole. “Jeeze,” Tuathal scoffed under breath and peered over the ledge, ears cupped forward until he heard the footfalls of someone approaching. “This place has gotta be one of the seven useless wonders of the Teekon Wilds,” he said rather loudly, as he turned to see the stranger — a snowy wolf — who walked the crest towards him.

there was a good lot of mud; it would be wet in such months. but beyond there was a sprawl of forest, curving against the snowy edge of the stone jaws. however her attention had ceased to be upon the sight and had instead alighted upon the sun-eyed man.

did he speak to her? kukutux blinked, glancing briefly into the dip before returning her gaze to him. "it is a trap for hunters. chase the caribou here. they will not run away again." a small smile.

"Well damn, don't let me get caught on the other end of the hunt," he said, and leaned back over to look. Didn't he look stupid now! The thought of trapping caribou hadn't even crossed his mind. He rocked back on his haunches to pull himself away from the ledge. "Your pack must sing your accolades, o mighty huntress," he teased, with a good-natured flash of a smile.

Green eyes. White fur. A curve to her hips.

She was pretty.

And no doubt like every other pretty girl he’d met.

huntress. praise. kukutux blushed and turned her face away, though high upon her shoulder the scar twinged, as if in answer. "i am not hunter. only a woman," the duck demurred, though her jadestone eyes lifted again to look at him curiously.

"i am kukutux, of village moonspear," the gamma introduced, wondering from where he hailed, this man of many kind words.

"Only a woman?" he scoffed, and flicked his ear to dismiss her modesty. If he'd told any of the girls he'd known that they were only a woman, they'd have raked his ears and kicked his butt to Timbuktu. "I've known plenty a woman with more balls than lots of the guys I've met," he said, "and more brain, for that matter. Don't sell yourself short, love."

He watched her with gilded eyes, half-lidded, as she appraised him with jadestone. He'd never heard of this Moonspear Village. Her name, though foreign, was at least easy to pronounce. "Tuathal Blackthorn," he returned. Of nowhere, he often finished, but today he had a new title to add. Might've puffed his chest out, too, if he'd been more dramatic, but that'd always been Ceara's job and he had very little flair to give, "of Neverwinter Forest."

kukutux was left silently appalled by his warm familiarity. she did not know this word 'balls,' but suspected it was very crude, and his use of 'love' in the end of his sentence was almost too much for her. and yet his voice had been warm throughout; a trader coarsely praising a woman in his own way.

perhaps he had simply not been around enough wives. he would know how to properly speak to them then. there was a glow of something unknown in the duck's gaze as she surveyed how his sun-made eyes watched her. "t-tuathal black ... thorn," she stumbled. "i know the name of neverwinter. there is an agreement between our clans. it is peaceful but not kind." or so she had put together piecemeal.

He sensed her discomfort, and though his demeanour went unchanged, save for the slight slant of his ear, he made a mental note to tone himself back. Candid as he was, she seemed a shy thing, like Ceilidh, and she'd required a very -- er -- special way of speaking. Maybe this girl was the same.

Or maybe her discomfort came from this revelation, that he was from Neverwinter. An unkind yet peaceful agreement wasn't much of an agreement at all - what the hell did that even mean? but, "Haven't heard anything about that, only joined up a few weeks back 'cause there was that hell of a -- er, sorry, I mean, that wicked snowstorm," he said, catching his language for her, "and I needed somewhere to shelter. You know what happened to brew bad blood between us and you?" Didn't want to step on any toes, after all - and Mal hadn't told him anything of packs to look out for, so surely things couldn't be that bad.

a quick, bemused quirk of her lips absolved tuathal of any offense kuktutux might have further taken. he offered no true threat; she had relaxed in his company, even if his words were not carefully chosen at first. it did not matter; it was the nature of the spirit that defined a creature.

"i do not know the details. only that you are first hunter of neverwinter i have met." she rolled her shoulders in an exaggerated shrug. "you have given me no reason to not hold our peace." perhaps the way that something changed was to perform it a different way. "the long snow took two from us," kukutux sighed, thinking of nyx and ciri. "it has been a fierce time."