Blacktail Deer Plateau west memphis is on fire in the light of day

She had told @Kigipigak most everything on the way home.

At least the things she had been aware of between all her wandering adventures for the mountain man.

That it was her mother, her mother's mate and their children on the plateau now too. That Gleipnir, a friend from her past who had only stayed briefly, had disappeared.

The latter she talked about with a vague, brief awkwardness to her words. Mainly because she harbored some guilt about her disappearance. She hadn't even been able to go look for him yet because she had been so wrapped up in getting Kigipigak home!

She opted not to focus on the negative within her. Far too eager to get him settled somewhere comfortable after their journey home.

Sakhmet had been busy. Between her visits to Moonglow she must have been run ragged by the number of new bodies upon the plateau; especially so with the addition of children. Kigipigak could smell them keenly upon his arrival.

There was some sorrow to the girl as she recounted her lost friend. Kigipigak could not help but feel pleased upon hearing this, a sentiment he held close. He did not know the other man and was not interested in competing for the girl's attention. He could offer a shoulder to cry on if the need arose, but with the way Sakhmet cut through her explanation with haste, it seemed less likely.

He wondered if any of the newcomers would be there to welcome him home. To know that Sakhmet's parents had found their way here brought to Kigipigak a mixed opinion; knowing that the girl had been so lost and so sad because of their abandonment, and knowing that he would need to make a good impression regardless, warred within him. Kigipigak would not know how to handle their presence until he faced them.

Perhaps it was selfish, but she hoped to keep him to herself for a bit longer before everybody got introduced to him.

It would be important for him to meet them — for he was important to her.

Just a day, she hoped. She would settle for a few hours even. She wanted to seclude them away where she could examine over his wounds or hear how things had been for him. He had survived so much!

I can make you somewhere to rest. She offered softly.

I still have my space but— A slight awkward look away from him as she dug a paw against the ground.

The way she withdrew in to herself made Kigipigak worry; he did not want her to feel beholden to him, he had not done anything to warrant special treatment. All he had done was offer her friendship and support — which, now that he thought about it, was probably more than she'd had before.

Her offer brought a smile to his face yet again.

I liked that place, Kigipigak mentions, wanting suddenly to reach out and draw her face back up into the light, but he does not follow through. He watches her, his face almost as warm as when the fever had settled in his skin; this fever was one he hoped would not abate.

If it makes you uncomfortable... He began, pausing as he thought of the right words.
What if we find a place to share? It can be secret, for just us.

"If it makes you uncomfortable..."

She might have protested had she not very much liked the idea he came up with. Tail betrayed any sort of casual air she might have tried to front. A little sway to it, as she found it in her to look back to him.

I'd like that. Warmth bubbled up in her words.

It was overwhelming how much relief she had felt when they had departed Moonglow together. The glow of the good feelings still present on her face when she could muster the boldness — silly, she knew — to look at him directly.

We might be able to. . . find something hidden near the wall. Or the river for the heat. She might have bumbled on and on with suggestions had she not wanted to hear what he wanted.

She was trembling. He had to assume that was a good sign.

Kigipigak had never been in this sort of situation before; he didn't count Valmua or his dealings with her to be anything like this, considering the firebrand woman had tricked and used him. He believed that Sakhmet was different and that she would never manipulate him in the same manner. Her desires were more genuine and she offered herself wholly, but cautiously, to everything.

How about a small tour, then...? It would give them time to acclimate to one-another in this place, to get to know it, and perhaps find their own secret hideaway. Kigipigak wondered what she meant by the wall and if it could be climbed; he wondered if the river was winding and choppy or sluggish and rich with fish to catch; there was time to see all of it, of course.

He wondered what she would show him first.

She nodded with an eagerness, wary of being too eager! Often times she found herself toeing this line and yet it never felt bad to her. Simply mindful and respectful of how he might feel.

First she would take them to the river. Well, stream, she supposed. Not that she was deeply familiar with the differences between the two nor did she think it made a world of difference to him either. Places where rocks had dropped from the slopes into the waters held a show for them. Rushing water over the rocks. Sometimes it was crashing sounds into a large stone. Other times, on older stone, it was a smooth sound. It had carved its path on some of the stones long ago.

Some places laid barren.

Only dirt and tiny rocks for the river bed. Nothing large to block the flow. Hesitantly she took a step into the calm waters here. Head turned to look over a bony shoulder at him.

A silent question in her gaze.

Perhaps he would join her, perhaps it would be for the best if he didn’t wet his wounds.

Much of the terrain was the same. It was sprawling earth lined with moss, fern, and scattered bark; clusters of pine needle mixed with the dry, discarded pods of seeds scattered among the exposed stone of the plateau. Sakhmet led him along until there came a more pronounced stone stairway which bordered a softly moving creek. This went on for some distance but as it dropped off one ledge, it pooled in another, then wound again to continue down the hillside and among a cluster of old growth.

Here was where she paused. Kigipigak took in the sight and smell of it. When she moved to enter the water she cast a look over her shoulder at him that was oddly demure; she looked curious to him, and as their eyes locked Kigipigak felt a stirring of some errant energy in his chest. The same warmth as when she found him, then visited him, then stole him away from Moonglow — only more concentrated.

Silently he moved to follow her. He wasn't silent out of choice but wonderment, lured towards her by that look in her eye. The water was cold but not unpleasant; the heat wave affecting much of the valley was not so pronounced here, although something certainly burned between the two of them.

He followed and she, unexpectedly, found strength in that. To have lured him with no words. Confidence rooted in her chest and in turn made her wish to tangle him with those roots.

She did not understand any of it.

Only that it was a very real, tangible feeling within her.

So when he neared into the waters she made sure to stick close to him. Mindful not to apply too much pressure to his wounded sides. Yet still she wished for at least their fur to mingle. She might have found it unbearable with such heat already present around them, but there was something comforting in the heat he provided. Much different than any ray of sun.

When they stood together on the bank Kigipigak had towered over her, to a point. Now that they were in the water and bobbing in a deeper section, they were on the same level. Her efforts to guide him were welcomed and with each touch Kigipigak thought that he might melt in to the water entirely. Sakhmet lingered to one side of him as they moved together through the depth of the creek's central line.

He pivots with a few paddles of his feet, catching the bottom easily. From his new angle Kigipigak can study her face; the water has drawn the tufts of red fur back along her cheeks, given a new gaunt quality to her already thin features. The shine of her eyes isn't exactly white, he realizes — more like the underbelly of a cloud on a winter's day; glacier ice striated with cracks.

Kigipigak realizes he's staring at her intently and with a bashful smile, turns slightly so as not to spotlight her any further. The quick motion causes a little splash with the length of his snout, and this gives him the idea to try that again but with purpose — sending a little wave right at her nose in boyish jest.

She didn't mind the spotlight, perhaps enjoyed it with the sense of confidence she currently held. Any turn of her head was in coy shyness. Almost inviting him to see the different (sharp) angles she provided. Truthfully there was more depth to her, physically, than there normally would be. Run a touch lean from all her travels.

In the coming weeks she would maintain some weight once more.

Although any attempts at coy or allure where quickly diminished when she was splashed! A small gasp before she laughed. Droplets hanging off of her nose, lips and chin.

She tried to mimic what he did. Granted she used a paw in a paddling motion to try and send a bigger wave back at him.

The trill of her laughter was abbreviated by the slosh of water, first as it smucked her nose and then, with her sweep of a paw, a greater wave lapping at Kigipigak. The water shot up his nose but he was laughing too much to care.

A devious look crossed his features next. Using some of the leverage found with his heels on the creek floor, he pushed himself up and then sagged down with his chest, creating a flub of water around himself that could sweep Sakhmet up if he timed it right. The bulk of his body caused a spray as well, until he sank to his shoulders in the water once more.

His movement created waves back at her. Along with another splash. She was entirely drenched by that point. Paddling to stay afloat in the waves his large, strong figure created. It felt good against her joints. Some relief from all the rocky travel.

Kigipigak! She declared through laughter when her nose was finally free of water. Quickly she tried to swim her way over to him. Unsure what her goal would be when — if! — she reached him but knowing that it was her current goal nonetheless.

She sputtered his name; there came the flare of good feeling again, buoyed by his focus on staying above the water.

You mean hawk-in-snow. He jested.

As Sakhmet made her way towards him, Kigipigak pushed off the floor again and tried to drift further away, so that she would have to work for it; but she was quick and agile even in the water, and he was too heavy, so he did not go far.

Her maroon figure smushed against his pale side. Kigipigak turned slightly and became a crescent of ice around her, at first trying to reach for a grip of her damp ear, but instead when he missed, he nosed at her cheek. It was completely by accident and led to a hesitation on his part, no longer feeling the chill of the water even as it dripped from his chin.

Hawk-in-snow!

She might have gawked at him had she not been so focused upon reaching him. Only when she did, he curved around her. An easy feat when he was larger than her. Although she did not anticipate the way he was suddenly against her face.

A feeling of his damp nose against her wet cheek.

Hawk-in-snow. She timidly whispered. No need to be so loud when they were so near.

Sun ember. How apt that name felt with the heat in her face rising.

She didn't draw away.
Softly she repeated it; more serious than he, and all eyes.
To be suspended in this long awaited, perfect moment with her — unsure of what to do except to drift.

The woods were almost silent for them. It felt, to Kigipigak, that they were completely alone together. No longer a valley apart, or even worried to be found here; like they were the only two beings in existence.

Kigipigak wanted to reach for her again but was suddenly too bashful.

But she reached for him with her newfound confidence.

Nose along his jaw, if he did not shy away from it. No words escaped her now. No need to hum different names for him or even use the one she had always had for him. There was comfort in the silence around them.

She had not dreamed of this moment, she had not pictured his return home anything like this, but how grateful she was for it all the same.

Gone is the shy girl, as someone new seeks him out.

Boldly playing at the edge of his jaw, brushing a cold nose against his neck. Her breath is warm there. Warm everywhere —! Kigipigak feels himself melting against her and is struck by how apt Kukutux' names have become for the two of them; but in thinking of his kin, he tenses.

It is a confusing time for Kigipigak as he separates himself from thoughts of the outside world.

"Your mother wants a warrior for you to marry?"
Kukutux' knowing look surfaces in his mind.

Kigipigak's jaw tightens and he draws back from Sakhmet — meaning only to draw himself away from the memory and unaware of what he is doing. Water drips from his shoulders as he finds purchase on the creek bottom again and rises partway, stepping on to the bank.

She knew nothing beyond the surface level.

He pulled away and while she felt inclined to drift after him, she did not such thing. She might have felt confident in these moments but not so confident as to reach out twice! He is on the bank and it almost seemed as though every ripple between them created a lake instead of a river.

Too much, her mind whispers.

Slowly she drifted where he did, following his wake, but not to touch as she had before.

Just to linger near.

As he turns, water trails beneath his chest. The browning left over by Kukutux' pond has started to fade.

He turns sharply and watches as Sakhmet follows him. Kigipigak isn't usually a quiet creature. He is not introspective; surface level was apropos; but not in this moment, as he is distracted. Looking upon Sakhmet tethers him to the present again.

Sakhmet— he starts to say something. Her name is so light on his tongue. The breeze begins to cool where the water hangs upon his skin. Kigipigak doesn't know what he's about to say. The bashful boy returns.

I'm glad you waited for me. No, that wasn't it, but — Kigipigak gave a smile anyway, feeling a fluttering in his chest.

"Sakhmet —"

She wonders what it is that will leave his lips next. Unsure what she wanted to hear, even more unsure of what he might say. Nothing about him was predictable and perhaps she enjoyed that the most. It meant she looked forward to each moment — each word!

It was not the same when you were gone. A bit coy yet serious. Kigipigak had been one of the first to be by her side here and when he had gone away — attacked by a cat, she reminded herself — it had been felt deeply.

So I am glad you came home, hawk-in-snow.

The more she calls him the hawk, the more nervous he feels.

His newest scars, twisting pink and brown and bare perhaps forever, bring humility to Kigipigak. He feels less like the proven warrior and more the fool; unworthy of the praise his mother had bestowed upon him and the name he thought he'd earned.

A piece of that doubt matches with the confusion he feels over Sakhmet; a strong attachment, yes, but something new there. Something he doesn't know what to name.

He remembers that there are other places within the boundary of Sakhmet's claim that he has not seen, and brightens suddenly. Anything to distract him from how he truly feels. Kigipigak is eager to return to a semblance of normalcy after his accident; but roaming far and wide does not sound appealing now that he's home, with her.

Where will you show me next? A smile, and he is striding again.

They are off again. A pair of soaked bodies making their way through the woods.

The, ah, wall. She settled on as she gently guided them that way. It's to the east. Where the woods back against the mountain stones. We. . . might find somewhere there. Perhaps a cave was in the mountain side would be cozy and silent enough for the two of them to declare their own space. Something secluded, sheltered, from the rest of the ground.

A hideaway was what she wanted, even if she did not mind being seen with him in the woods like this.

She wondered if conversation would be nice. A distraction from her own thoughts of them in the river. So fresh. Replayed in her mind's eye.

I crossed that mountain in my travels for you.

Although was it truly a distraction if she was still talking about him?

Together they moved; she was spritely, and as he tried to compare her to something like a fox, he knew that was not right. There was nothing and no-one like Sakhmet. When she cut ahead to lead him he was glad to fall behind, keeping half his attention on the twisting paths between the trees, inevitably following the shine of her red coat.

They sought a great wall. Kigipigak did not care where they went, really. He was glad to have this time with her.

I crossed that mountain in my travels for you.
It was almost romantic. The sentiment certainly boosted Kigipigak's ego. Would he have done the same? Probably, he thinks — but truly, he isn't certain.

As they crossed through a patch of open space, a meadow or some grazeland for the deer herds, Kigipigak thought he saw a shape dart between the trees. He did not think to investigate. Whatever it was, they had a canine scent and clearly no interest in the pair.

You said there were others here, Kigipigak references all that she has told him during their travel together, thinking of the dark shape and the feeling of being watched that now lingers upon him.

Your family. Do you think — he's panting a bit, and overshoots the path where she has nimbly turned, so he quickly corrects; Do you think they will like me?

Suddenly this feels very important.

His question struck her hard.

Not even in a bad way, it just hit deeper than the average types of questions that talking parties asked each other. She was silent in her momentary thought before she started with a gentle nod.

I think so. And she did. She had no reason to think why they wouldn't. My mother is kind and smart. We have been through plenty together. My mother would like to see me this happy, she thinks internally.

Yet she knew that hardly anyone would see them like this. Kukutux had seen her weep tears of relief but even when the young pair had been before her, they had toned down their private personalities.

Always mindful of present eyes.

Her mate seems nice, too. The children are. . . children. I'm sure they'll like you.

A little sway to her tail.