Duskfire Glacier Katimak

Hoping to have this set after Issor and Meerkat get back. Maybe after Issor has talked to his brother. <3

Tuuluuwaq had joined them and Issorartuyok was filled with warmth in his bones. It felt good to know that his brother was in the village. The youngest Tatkret had mentioned that Lane had spoken to him and had permitted him entrance into the lands until Issorartuyok had returned from his trip with Meerkat. It was pleasing to know that she had been good to his kin. She had carried on the needs of the village in his absence with great skill and generosity.

Issorartuyok sought @Lane out in hopes that he might get updates from the leader. He would like to know what had happened while he had been gone. Every day on his journey from the caldera, he had thought back to the glacier and hoped that they were thriving. The looming threat of the illness that had been found had left him uneasy.

The northerner hoped that Lane might be available to ease his troubled thoughts. He drew his head back and called to her.

Issorartuyok would find Lane looking rather haggard, which would likely not do much to assuage his worries. Lane was feeling the weight of her own responsibilities, which on a good day felt like constant, nagging anxiety and on a bad day, was nearly crushing. Since Issorartuyok left on his trip, Lane had had a few of those crushing days. 

"Welcome back," Lane said, brightening when she saw him. It was a fleeting joy, gone almost as soon as it had come and chased quickly away by the realization that she would now have to deliver the news.

I did not wish to be gone long, he met her words with a small bow of his head.

The haggardness upon her figure was noted. It filled Issorartuyok with a creeping sense of dread. Lane had been pleasant and joyous when they had departed the glacier. She had even offered a song of goodbye in their journey out. Now, she looked as though she had lost several nights of sleep, that her long days of movement had impacted her figure.

Tell me what has happened while we have been away, he requested gently of her.

We can journey to my storage cache. You look to need food, Lane.

Then he gestured with his nose for the woman to follow him. He had crafted a large store for meat near there. It would be the least he could do, making sure she was fed and had a moment of peace to share the news of their home.

He hadn't wished to be gone so long. Lane understood that, probably more than he knew. She was no stranger to the allure of the open road. She had succumbed to its enticement several times even with significant responsibilities back at home. It was a predilection she would likely never shake completely, and so it would just require balance. 

He requested the news, and perhaps he took notes of Lane's overwhelmed expression, because he quickly offered her a trip for refreshment. She would follow him gratefully. How long had it been since she'd eaten? She really couldn't say. She existed on autopilot. 

"Tatkret.. Wintersbane and Tzila are both dead," she voiced the worst of it first. "He finally passed from his wounds and she.." Lane's expression darkened. "She took poison to follow him to the grave." Lane shook her head as she walked. She simply couldn't understand it. She knew Tzila had "demons" or whatever, and these made her want to do bad things, but she had children. How could she do such a thing to Arius and Ensio?

Lane’s words visibly shocked him. Issorartuyok slowed his steps and swung his head around to look at her. Worry was etched upon his features. The brown of his eyes was filled with sympathy for her, for the loss that the glacier had suffered. He felt guilt overwhelm him. While he had been off venturing through the wilderness with Meerkat, Lane had been left behind to deal with the death of two members.

Tzila had willingly gone, too. His shoulders tightened as he thought of her children. They would never understand. They would never know why their mother had gone. The man felt sadness fill him up. The weight of such news must have been a difficult load for Lane to carry. He wished he had returned to the glacier sooner. The trip to the caldera seemed more and more frivolous, the longer he thought of it.

She left behind her children with intent? There is no honor in this. May her spirit know forgiveness for such a terrible thing… he muttered coldly to the open air.

Lane, I am sorry you were left alone with that. How are you faring? Please, I will take you to eat. You must stay strong. The nudge he offered to her shoulder was one of support, from one leader to the other. He was there for her, to help in any way that he could.

No, there was no honor it. Those were Lane's thoughts exactly, and this was why she had so far put off holding any kind of ceremony for the deceased. She wanted to honor Tzila's memory, but she was struggling with the words she would put to it. She had never been the best with emotions, and this was a complicated one. 

"Oh, I'll manage," she deflected, "And I'll come with you to eat." She followed his lead, and she would take what was offered. No matter how sour the food was hitting her stomach, she knew she needed to keep her strength up to take care of her pack and her children, who had just lost their father. 

"It's the children I'm worried about. Arius and Ensio." Veteran and Wayfarer weren't doing great, but their loss was different. It was not their own mother laying beneath the earth, willingly departed. "Already, I can tell something has changed in Tzila's boys. Ensio's anger overwhelms him, and Arius has a.. hardness in him. Like Wintersbane did." Surely Tatkret would understand what Lane meant. Wintersbane had been good and decent, but he had also been severe and aloof.

The large male passed along the familiar course until his paws had taken them to his fullest cache of prey. It had been stocked as well as he could manage before his journey with Meerkat. He’d filled it with an odd assortment of meats that had been hunted or found abandoned. None of it reeked of the death smell that had been carried on the deer. As he unearthed the cache, the man listened to Lane speak about the boys who had been left behind. She worried for them.

Issorartuyok pulled out a meaty leg piece and placed it at her paws with a small bow.

I fear the boys will not accept me in their father’s place, now that he has passed. The Moonwoman who visits us told me that boys who have lost their father carry anger in their hearts, that they will not heal unless it is desired, Issorartuyok voiced to Lane. His eyes were fixed worriedly on the distant trees. He could not help but feel that the sons of Wintersbane would come for his position and they would not be happy that he held it. Why shouldn’t they, after all?

I fear they will not wish for healing, but to avenge their father. I fear they will be desperate and wild things unless they are shown that they are cared for by the village. That we are all one.

Lane assisted Issorartuyok in unearthing the cache, which was impressively stocked given that Issorartuyok had been absent for so long, and it would have to have been packed before the Moonglow hunters arrived to assist in the takedown of large prey. Lane was reminded of how lucky Duskfire Glacier was to have Issorartuyok in its ranks.

"Thanks," Lane murmured before tucking into he meal. She listened as Issorartuyok detailed his concerns, which closely resembled her own. It sounded like he had already sought Kukutux's opinion, which was good. She offered the knowledge of many generations of northerners, and she was wise in her own right. 

"I've spoken with Arius. It was pretty clear that he sees you and I as little more than placeholders for himself and his siblings. He called himself the heir." She took another bite, chewing on that thought (literally) for another moment before she continued speaking. She was still troubled that the boy had defaulted to that title for himself. 

"Truthfully, that's how I thought of myself too, when I stepped up originally: I was a placeholder for Wintersbane. I think I've changed my mind on that, though. I don't want another Wintersbane to lead this pack. I.. think we can do better." Lane took another bite, eyes trained on the meat. She knew the words she had just spoken would border on blasphemy in the eyes of Arius and Ensio, who would no doubt believe that their father could do no wrong. 

"I agree with you, we are all one. This is not a place for the Duskfire legacy alone. It's also a place for the Tatkret legacy. Your siblings showing up have convinced me of that." Lane's mouth pulled into a half-smile as she thought of Tuuluuwaq. "I think it's important to remain family-focused, but only focusing on one family is thinking too small."  All of their members should feel equally celebrated, and every one of their packmates deserved a chance to establish their name and build their line. 

And they would only be led by their best, regardless of surname.

"Arius asked me to mentor him, and I agreed. And I've asked Tuuluuwaq to reach out to Ensio." Lane fell quiet, mostly because she had just taken a huge bite and needed to chew, and not because she had actually run out of things to say. A lot had happened in Issorartuyok's absence, and she had done a lot of thinking. She desperately needed to get some thoughts off her chest.

The woman helped and then thanked him for the meat. Issorartuyok bowed his head humbly and stepped back so that she would have room to fill her belly and settle into the news they would share with each other.

When Lane spoke, Issorartuyok only listened. He believed her word was valuable. She had been a member of the glacier longer than he had. The northern man had only joined after speaking with Wintersbane and Meerkat for a short period. His face was still new to the natives. His place in their ranks was still fresh, still unfamiliar, and it was likely to draw far more attention than she would. Lane was familiar and welcome by all in their village. She was invaluable to them.

As Lane stated that she did not want for another Wintersbane to lead their group, the eldest Tatkret looked solemnly across the stretch of terrain. The words of Kukutux filled his head.

“Then they must leave.”

The Moonwoman said to me that if Arius and Ensio will not wish for peace, for healing, that they must leave, he admitted in a grave tone. These were words he felt were necessary to share with Lane. They meant a great deal. Issorartuyok had not been willing to accept them when Kukutux had first spoken, but hearing Lane share similar sentiment filled him with uncertainty. Were they really thinking that Arius and Ensio were not fit for the village their father had created?

I do not know if I would be capable of throwing the young men from their home. If it came to it, I would take my kin and leave the glacier. If it came to it… the boys would be forced to see that this land is nothing without its people. That it is nothing more than a glacier that their father claimed without those who remain to fill it.

It was a somber thought to share with her, but one he felt was necessary.

Lane nodded. She wasn't terribly surprised that Kukutux saw it this way. The North was a severe place, and it gave rise to a hard people. She knew that the moonwolves had rendered harsh judgement upon the treacherous nuak who was once their packmate, imprisoning him for a time and then disfiguring him upon his release. Kukutux and was not a woman to be crossed, and her pack was not to be wronged. She made sure of it. 

Lane's eyes fell closed as she sighed in contemplation. She agreed with Issorartuyok; she did not think she was capable of imposing exile upon Tzila's boys, but then she also did not know what secrets the future held. Makatza had scarred her own child, and when the girl ran off, Lane hadn't spared her another thought. If Arius or Ensio ever hurt someone she loved, would it harden her heart to them, too? 

"..It is nothing more than a glacier that their father claimed without those who remain to fill it."

"I've said as much to Arius. A leader rises not by strength alone, but by the will of his people. I encouraged him to spend more time getting to know his own people. I hope he takes my advice." Lane did not comment on Issorartuyok's solution to whisk the Tatkrets away, should he clash with Arius and Ensio in the future. She had enough to worry her as it was; it would not do to fret over distant possibilities. There were many crises still to overcome in the present, as it were. 

Speaking of which.

"Moonglow and Duskfire Glacier hunt side by side in the valley. Sapphique and Rivenwood wolves have participated too, I believe. Very soon, the sickness will be completely purged." It was the win Lane needed after an unbelievably long week. Light flickered into her eyes as he chewed.

If Lane had worries about the Tatkret family departing from the glacier, she did not share them. Instead, the woman went on to say that she had tried to teach one of the young boys about what it meant to be a leader. Issorartuyok could only hope that her lesson had struck a chord with the young man. In that moment, he found himself soundly believing that he should try to speak to each of the boys. It would do them well to have a man in their lives, to show them what it meant to be a man of honor and duty.

I would like for Veteran to hunt with me. I should like to ask Ensio, as well, but I am uncertain if I have done something to upset the boy. He seemed quite displeased the last I saw him. He should hunt with the others, as well, the northerner spoke his thoughts carefully.

The boys had found the sickness in the herds. Veteran had expressed his desires to hunt them and wipe them out, while Ensio had led with caution on his breath. Issorartuyok had been surprised that the glacier son had stalked away with anger, when he had been agreed with. It did not do well to dwell on these thoughts, so he pushed them from his mind.

We should hold a feast. To depart Wintersbane and his mate, and to share pleasures and foods with our guests who have helped, Issorartuyok suggested next, his tone thoughtful.

Ensio being upset was nothing new, unfortunately. 

"You think he's upset with you?" Lane clarified. "Veteran thought he was the one who had upset Ensio. It was..." Lane searched her memory. It had happened a while ago, before Issorartuyok and Meerkat left on their trip. "Veteran teased him about being afraid of the caribou, and Ensio stomped off." Lane recalled what Veteran had told her about the incident. She frowned thoughtfully. 

"After that happened, I didn't really see much of Ensio until his parents passed, and now he's inseparable from Arius." Lane wasn't really sure if Veteran had ever gotten around to apologizing to Ensio, but she wasn't going to micromanage the sibling relationships. Veteran would figure out how to set things right.

A feast was a great idea, and exactly what the pack needed to usher out this period of grief. Lane nodded in agreement. "Most of the meat is stored in Moonglow's camp, so it might be most practical hold the feast there," she noted.  "But before we depart these borders for the festivities, I think we should lay Wintersbane and Tzila to rest properly, with.. some kind of ceremony at the gravesite." Tatkret was more likely to know what would be best for this, since Wintersbane had also been of northern decent.

Veteran was strong with his words, but he learned a lesson. That caution is not a weakness or a sign of fear, Issorartuyok responded with a single nod of his head. I did not imagine the boy Ensio would be upset by this agreement, but he did leave the area swiftly, angrily.

Lane went on to say that she hadn’t seen much of the glacier boy until after Wintersbane and Tzila had passed away. He was not seen very far from his brother after that. The northerner nodded his head, understanding that it was likely their bond that drew them close. If his parents were to pass on unexpectedly, he would seek his sisters and his younger brother. It would only be natural to be close to them.

Perhaps it will help bring them some small peace if we sing the glacier man and his wife into the dancing lights, he mused. Then we can travel to where Moonglow is and feast with them. Sending the glacier man to rest should be a thing for glacier wolves, I think. The feast can be shared with all. In truth, he was not certain what would help the boys. Issorartuyok had both of his parents. He had traveled far from them, but they remained in his heart.

The northerner hoped that Ensio and Arius might carry their mother and father with them, as well.

Issorartuyok filled Lane in on the little lesson that Veteran had been taught, and she nodded appreciatively. "You're great with Veteran," she commented, "He'll be thrilled you're back." Maybe at some point, she would see if Issorartuyok could also help with Wayfarer. Her daughter was an aspiring ranger, and she could use whatever advice or skills Issorartuyok had to teach. 

Lane thought Issorartuyok's idea for the funeral proceedings was perfect. She would run it by Tzila's boys, and as long as they approved, she would make it happen. "This is a good plan," she praised. "How about the Cold Moon for the date?" The next full moon would be a full three weeks after the deaths, which would give everyone a chance to grieve privately and come to terms with the loss before the more public arrangements.

I am rather fond of him, the northern man admitted, glancing toward the boy’s mother. I hope I am not overstepping. He is a good boy and he will be a good man, I am sure of it. Issorartuyok was genuine in this. The boy had proven himself to be a child with great honor and love. It showed in the tasks he completed, the way he watched the borders of his village. Veteran would make Duskfire proud one day.

I think that is a very good idea. It will give the village time to grieve and give the hunters time to finish cleaning the sickness from the herds. Or, he had hoped. With the aid of the boys and his own fangs, Issorartuyok believed that they would have the illness wiped from the caribou and their numbers would begin to flourish again. To send off the glacier man and his wife, Issorartuyok would like to make sure his village could eat well and feast with their friends. They deserved more, but this would be a start.

Overstepping? Nothing could be further from the truth. 

"It takes a village," Lane spoke the age-old adage for raising children. It did not escape her that the saying used the Northern word for pack, leaving Lane to wonder if the saying had originated in the land of Issorartuyok's birth. 

Issorartuyok agreed to the date for the memorial and feast, and some small measure of relief settled over Lane. She would breathe a little easier, knowing that Issorartuyok was home to share some of the burden of leadership. 

"Ill run this plan by Tzila's boys," Lane offered. "You should get some rest," she suggested, "and your own meal," she added with her characteristic half-smile, gesturing down at the open cache. The haunch he had placed before her had been reduced to little more than a bare femur. She would take the bone with her when she departed; one of her children might enjoy the task of gnawing into it for the marrow. 

Lane offered Issorartuyok a friendly nudge, pushing into his shoulder with the bridge of her nose. "I really am glad you're back," she spoke sincerely. She would then take up the bone and depart, feeling more at-ease now that the Tatkret leader had returned.

fading here! feel free to write one more reply or just archive. <3

The man nodded softly in response to her statement.

Atautsikut, he said to her. All together.

Issorartuyok knew that Meerkat had taught things to Veteran, that she had taught the other children in the glacier, too. She had said as much when they had discussed her skills. He wondered how many other members of their group were fond of sharing their knowledge. It was a thought for another time, but one that clung to his mind persistently.

Lane would speak to the former leader’s children. The northerner was pleased to hear that she would be able to handle the delicacy of their news. He did not have a strength for such conversations. He could be direct, but there were times that a softer voice was better. Issorartuyok did not doubt Lane.

As she turned to leave, she offered him words that he did not expect. She was glad that he was back.

Issorartuyok bowed his head humbly to the woman. The admiration he felt for her grew.