Ouroboros Spine itluatsaik ⨶

in the month of tinnivik, kukutux called for @Shikoba to bring @Kiliutak down from the mountain, to her ulaq. inside, @Samani and @Kausiut sat. she knew that @Sialuk would look after them, but wished the pack to gather here at their home. the duck nosed @Aiolos softly. 

keyni had left them. alduin had gone missing. the wolves of the saints had come to them, but he had run away. kukutux knew that it was the time to judge the boy who might be her kin.

she tilted back her head and called for @Zane, who had spoken on behalf of nuak. she called for @Adrastus and @Kigipigak, adding a note for her cloudberry sister at the end.

when they had gathered, the wolves of moonglow, kukutux shook off her shoulder's-pelt and stood before the boy. 

"kiliutak."

her voice wavered only a moment.

"you have stolen from moonglow and brought pain among us. you have made a path with a demon against us, after i gave to you a place in our village."

the green eyes were hard.

"your life can belong only to you. not to moonglow. but from the end of this day to the end of the last day you breathe, you will be marked, nuak. and the ones who look at you, they will see what you have done, and know that you have shame in you."

a moment longer and she would have relented! kukutux nodded to the scarred warrior-woman.

---

this is the judgement of nuak! excluded are 
@Lótë
@Lómion
@Inkalorë
@Vairë
& @Wilwarin
(also tagging @Aventus in case he is accepted by now!)

please feel free to assume someone would come update Lótë & co, or feel free to have she and adrastus switch up who attends :D

There came a summons but not for him, not until the shape of the angry woman appeared before the crevasse where he had slept for the passing of seasons. It did not take much goading for Kiliutak to fall in line this time; he was broken by the solitude forced upon him, and afraid of her teeth, and equally afraid of what may happen when they reached their destination. The thought of escape might have apperaed in his mind for a breath or a heartbeat; he was not cognizant of any such plan, and moved silently as directed by Shikoba.

As they moved there was another call - for the guard, Zane. There were others Kiliutak did not recognize. He tuned them all out and focused on moving with his head down, hastening as the plateau gave way to a descending path towards the ulax and, presumably, the gathering that Kukutux had called together.

He stopped when prompted by Shikoba; eyes on the dirt just shy of the white toes of Kukutux until she spoke, and at first Kiliutak did not know what she had said. Having limited contact with others had cooled his temper and also made him forget himself; he did not know if he was Nuak any longer or Kiliutak or if any utterance could really be used to identify him - he was nobody among the village, the unwanted leftovers of some trying time in their history.

Kukutux went on to say much, in her curt way. Kiliutak felt compelled to look upon her and when he did, the rigidity of her expression caused him to flinch and drop away again with his eyes. She spoke of his mark, that his crime would be known by those that looked upon him. The tension in his shoulders grew. He heard someone moving among the crowd and yet he lacked the will to truly look.

Shikoba had led him here, but Kiliutak had missed her side-stepping for the sake of Kukutux' judegement, and now the warrior woman was again close, too close, and so fast that Kiliutak could do nothing but accept the wounding she provided.

Aiolos was tense at the prospect of bringing the omega to their densite, pups close by. He knew however between himself, their mother, sister and the rest, the wolf in question would not even have the chance to get near the pups. Still, the Sun man is on edge even as Kukutux nudges him gently.

As Sialuk took her place in guarding them close, the Greek assumed his position at Kukutux side, settled there and watching quietly as everyone began to gather in heed of their Moonwoman's call.

Kukutux steps forth, shaking off the skin she is drapped with. Aiolos remains placed, offering the one being judged a hard stare. Their little warrior, Shikoba, was tasked with forever marking the youngest for what he had done. A rumble stirs in Aiolos chest, urging the scarred woman on.

Well, well, well! Father would certainly want to hear about this.

Aventus lingered somewhere in the back. It was not fitting behaviour for Arctos Melonii, an outgoing and friendly storyweaver, but he hoped the others would chock it up to newcomer nerves. After all, this was a gathering of pack. He presumed they were tightly knit in the way Ursus was, bound together by blood and the will of the bear as they were. This Moonglow likely had cords of its own to tie its members together, and he was still very much on the outside.

The young man they brought forth was larger and rougher than Aventus remembered, but that stonehewn coat with the pale pricks of light across the face were unmistakable. How had Tuur come to be among these wolves? Aventus had long written the boy off for useless, perhaps even more useless than Ashlar. His departure from Ursus was as insignificant to the Bruin-jaw as a fly on a pile of shit, and yet, here he was. Alive.

Being marked for bad behaviour, it seemed. Aventus watched silently and gathered all he could about the marking of Tuur and the pack's culture surrounding it, hoping that his commonplace colours would allow him to blend in and avoid recognition.

Sparing Lótë from the judgement call that Jumutux would make and whatever punishment came with it, Adrastus made his way to the meeting, leaving his wife and children at the den. Silent as a pillar of ice he sat, with an apathetic gaze swept toward the wolf in question. Did this have something to do with the day they'd cornered a trespasser? He wasn't sure- he'd have to learn the details afterward. But all that mattered now was that he simply upheld the standards that Kukutux set.

He was slightly surprised that it was the female guardian that Kukutux chose to be the one to mark the criminal for their crimes- but then again, the tawny female did seem quite married to her job, and would have attacked him had Lótë not called her off. Perhaps she was best suited for this- so he sat, watched, and waited, interested to see how he received his punishment.

apologies for coming in late! this is written under the assumption that shikoba has been given the right to choose the marking as she sees fitting. if anyone has an issue with the way this is written or completed, please pm me <3 

her pace to reach kiliutak is quick, and thankfully the boy knows now that the woman's teeth are not gentle against his skin. their size difference could be laughable, but the dominant energy that exudes from shikoba as she escorts the boy down the mountain gives any onlooker enough visible evidence that he holds no power over the native. her entire posture screams power, her head and tail remain elevated and even her hackles threaten to start and uprising in her coat. thankfully, nuak goes quietly thus far.

she guides him to his place to stand and steps away only for a moment as the moon woman announces what is to be done with the boy's sin. after the nod, the native turns to the boy. shikoba must decide whether the mark he will bear is to be surface or deep and damaging. and for a moment, the woman thinks before she can hear the anxious grumblings of others encouraging for her to make a move. with the fierceness of every pheasant tail wolf within her spirit, she surges forward.

teeth open to snap against his muzzle; this attack is intended to scare him more than truly damage him. but her teeth merely graze against his face, the bridge of his nose is not the goal. she intends to bring the giant down by grabbing ahold of his left ear, in hopes that she may tear flesh and spill blood against his dark coat. it is painful yet cosmetic; it is demoralizing in many ways as this will be a permanent mark of nuak's sins against moonglow. with his lack of experience and seemingly acceptance of his fate, the boy crumbles under her as she tears a piece of him with pearly daggers.

when all is done, when all the dust settles and the cries are heard, shikoba steps away with a stained mouth and a chunk of flesh between her teeth. forever now, nuak would bear her wounds.

adrastus, silent.

kukutux set her eyes upon him for a moment. why did he not speak? shikoba had taken his place as sivullik, at least in this moment. but the icehunter did not respond.

moonwoman wondered what had happened to the man who wore the parka of grandfather white bear, so far from the eyes of moonglow. 

perhaps it was not hers to know.

shikoba carried out their punishment. in a moment, like the tupilak, kiliutak had been marked. 

"if you show your face to us a third time, you will be put to death. and we will cut the joining of your legs, so that your spirit will always be bound to this world." it was as dire a threat as kukutux could give; she caught her breath —!

The time had finally come. He would bleed for his mistake; there was no fear in him during his wait, no apprehension as Shikoba took up her role before him, only a certainty that this was what he deserved. Kiliutak - Karst, Tuur, whoever he was, had always been treated with great animosity from every creature he came across. This was only different due to its delayed onset.

Shikoba came closer. Her face took up his full view; he could not blink or move, and grit his teeth as her's ground across his muzzle. Instinctively his body sagged towards the ground, chin tilting to protect the throat. He had not meant to lose cohesion - to melt like this before the wrath of Moonglow's law.

As soon as he'd shifted his weight Shikoba was grabbing for one of his already tattered ears. She bit down, tore, taking what was left of the left ear and holding it raggedly aloft like some hard-won prize.

Kiliutak lay against the dirt and realized he was quaking. He felt cold; that, or the intense warmth of the blood flowing down his face seemed all the more horrible and clear, while he drifted in shock.

Through the ringing in his head Kiliutak hears Kukutux' voice. He did not realize he had gotten to his feet but at some point, yes, he was up again, his head hanging while red dribbled from his chin. He watched it drip against the dirt.

The threat lingered in the air, and he did not move, unsure if he should - what if this was part of their plan? To give chase and then to run him down to death.

Pulling outta here to preserve my timeline in case anything major happens!

Arctos watched with an expression of abject horror as one wolf tore the ear from another, while Aventus struggled to keep a compelling and distracting heat out of his loins, where it always seemed to flare whenever blood-scent curled into his nostrils. If he stayed here much longer, it would become readily apparent that the wolf they knew as Arctos had a dark little secret or two, not to mention the possibility of the downed Tuur noticing him.

He felt nothing for the bleeding boy upon the earth, no brotherly surge of indignation nor even an ounce of pity. Tuur had ever coasted beneath Aventus' regard even in Bearclaw. The Bruin-jaw would have dispatched him and eaten flesh from his bones if given half the chance. Obviously not here, not now, but at home, he had always viewed Tuur as little more than prey. The young man's condition was none of Aventus' business or concern, only these circumstances, which showed that Moonglow was not a den of toothless dogs like Easthollow had been, and like he had assumed on first impressions.

Interesting indeed. Feigning a faint look that might convey a delicate stomach, the wolf they knew as Arctos tilted quietly away from the onlookers and departed, as though his sensitive sensibilities could not abide the sight of the captive's bleeding head any longer. He waited until he was well out of sight to let a small grin unfurl along his lips. Soon he would need to return to father.