Duskfire Glacier pisugnachuk

@Kukutux had told him, twelve days.

In that time she would have for him a pale skin cured and prepared. When he stopped by the camp to visit her and to see it, he was stunned; the stains which had marred the surface had been cleaned from it almost entirely, and the work had been done so well that he was told, 'it is ready.'

He took the skin, white enough that the hairs were nearly translucent, and heavy across his broad shoulders. Draped across him, the caribou skin gave Kigipigak a renewed look: pristine beyond measure, unscathed by the cat which had knotted his flesh, but it was only a temporary look. Beneath the skin he was his old self.

As Kigipigak hiked to the edge of Duskfire village he thought, 'this is only a thank-you for @Lane. She is a hunter, and a friend, it means nothing more.' As if he could feel Kukutux' eyes focused on him even at great distance. He had left her at the camp - but she had looked bemused.

Tilting his chin up enough to elongate his throat, Kigipigak loosed his deep voice and called for the woman of the glacier, and then settled to wait. He sank to his haunches after, to rest his ankle.

Kigipigak's voice boomed across the glacier, summoning Lane to border. He need not have waited in the outlands-- Moonglow wolves were welcome across the Glacier's borders during this time of hunting and feasting together. However, Lane knew that some wolves would be uncomfortable entering a foreign territory no matter how welcome they were made, and so she was happy to still meet Moonglow callers at the border when they needed her. Truly, she was just happy that the Moonglow wolves were here at all. They had made all the difference in saving the herd, and trekking out to the border every now and then was the least she could do to thank them. 

Despite knowing it was Kigipigak's voice which summoned her, Lane did not immediately recognize his somewhat misshapen form. It was only when she drew nearer that she realized he was draped by a skin. 

"Kigipigiak!" Lane greeted him enthusiastically. "That skin makes you look all the more ghostlike, Atka," she noted, grinning slyly as she dropped his new nickname. He had named her during their last hunt, and it was only fair that she returned the favor. Veteran had learned some of his father's language before his passing, and he had helped her brainstorm a good epithet. Guardian spirit. This was what he had been to her upon their first meeting, after all. 

"Is this really our caribou? Unbelievable..! It came out beautifully," she added, admiring its pristine, alabaster sheen. Kukutux had a real knack for this... maybe someday she would show Lane her ways. Maybe Lane would find the time to come out to the Moonglow camp and learn, before the moonwolves departed for their home across the mountain.

When someone came to the edge of the village Kigipigak turned to greet them, and saw that it was Lane.

She called out to him a name he had not heard in some time: Atka! It stunned him that she would know this word; within Tartok it was one of the Old Gods, the pale bear of good fortune, who was shunned by Siku, the first matriarch. Such a tale could have been carried by Tuuluuwaq, Kigipigak reasoned.

He would not think too long about this.

Kukutux does great work! He commended as he watched her.

She investigated the caribou hide that draped him and he strut a step or two, showing it off, before shrugging it from his shoulders against the cleanest snow he could find, so as not to mar it.

It is a gift for you. A thanks to you, and to your village, for letting Moonglow stay. So that when you look upon it you remember our hunts together, and good fortune. He was smiling, trying hard to remain at-ease while other thoughts brewed beneath his surface.

Kigipigak did not comment at all on the Northern name she had chosen for him. In fact, he failed to react at all, which indicated to Lane that he was hiding his reaction, because he should have been surprised. He should have asked her how she knew the word, or why she'd chosen it for him. 

The question that begged to be answered was why. Why would Kigipigak choose to ignore the nickname? Had Lane misstepped somehow? Chosen the wrong word with the wrong associations? This would serve as a stark reminder of why she shouldn't dabble with things she didn't understand, particularly languages. Hell, she was bad enough with words even just sticking to Common. 

He went on to direct the conversation back to the hide, which was indeed exemplary. Lane plastered on an impressed and appreciative expression, burying her questions for now. 

"Oh, a gift? Really?" Her jaw dropped in surprise. This animal had touched Kigipigak's soul; she remembered how transfixed he had been, in the moments before their hunt. That he meant to gift the hide to her was not just generous-- it was an act of sacrifice. "It will be displayed and well-appreciated here," Lane began, "..If you're sure you are willing to part with it." Lane would meet his eyes and seek his reassurance before bending to fold the hide carefully. 

"Thank you," she said sincerely. She meant to hang it in the caverns, in front of the opening to her bedchamber. It would not do to place such a beautiful and delicate skin upon the ground with the others, where it would be marred and soiled. 

Lane moved forward to press her cheek into Kigipigak's shoulder, delivering a quick embrace of gratitude. Surely they were friendly enough, by this point, to offer these small exchanges of warmth?

"We do make a pretty good team," Lane noted when she pulled away, agreeing with his assessment of their good fortune. A pause, and she added apropos of nothing, "I hope you know that you are more than welcome in the Duskfire lands." It would be reiterated to the Duskfire wolves that their borders were open to Moonglow, Sapphique, and Rivenwood guests participating in the hunt.

The village of Unnuakvik was a place of cold-hearted people. They cared for one another through acts of service rather than physical displays of affection, unless you counted sparring as affectionate behavior, and never once did Kigipigak see this absense as a problem. It wasn't until now, as Lane thanked him and pressed her cheek in to his shoulder, that he was confronted with a plethora of emotions.

Her surprise upon recieving the gift was to be expected. Perhaps she too thought it was a bride-price, and Kigipigak only began to connect the dots when he felt that brief embrace between them; then he was filled with his own surprise and a seeping warmth that felt far too alien.

It didn't hurt. It wasn't meant as a correction, from what he could discern. It was a warm and welcome feeling that Kigipigak could not compare to anything else.

We do make a pretty good team, Lane commented as she released the embrace, speaking candidly to him. Kigipigak saw this as a sign of something deeper; they were a good team, they had hunted together multiple times now and been successful. She was kind, and strong, and somehow a comforting mix of Kukutux and Sedna rolled in to one.

Ah, yes, and you are welcome within Moonglow. Our camp, our village. He murmured back, a little bit perplexed by the humming in his own skin from where she had touched him. The caribou skin had been presented and now folded up, so there was no reason for him to linger.

The words of moon-woman returned to him then: what do you want to say with this gift? is it only one for a companion? or do you mean another thing, kigipigak?

I wondererd... He started to ask something, and his voice faded. It was uncommon for wolves outside of Tartok to be made aokatti; practically unheard of, according to his village. He cleared his throat. Would you hunt with me again? Perhaps once our sivullik has brought together our villages.

It was not what he'd wanted to say, but Kigipigak was uncertain about how to broach such a subject that even the wolves of Moonglow did not fully understand. Or maybe it was Kigipigak who was ignorant: he did not yet realize that there was something deeper at play here.

"...You are welcome within Moonglow. Our camp, our village."

Lane smiled. She knew this already, but it was nice to hear it reiterated in Kigipigak's sonorous timbre. In fact, she had already been to the camp several times to collect her wayward son, who couldn't seem to stay away from hunt taking place in their backyard. Not that Lane would wish him to do so; he was learning far more from the hunters than she ever could have taught him. It would not surprise Lane a bit if, by the conclusion of winter, Veteran's skill had surpassed that of his own mother. 

Kigipigak mentioned a wonder, and then his words trailed off mysteriously. Lane tilted her head. Was he about to reveal the purpose behind this extravagant gift? Did he have some favor to request? Lane wondered if he still thought about leading a pack of his own, and whether the words he was about to utter would relate to this desire. Lane had once told him that she did not feel that the Duskfire lands were meant to be her permanent home. Perhaps he wondered if she still felt this way, now that she was alpha? 

"Would you hunt with me again...?" Out came the rather anticlimactic question.

"Absolutely," Lane agreed quickly. A pointed, questioning look did briefly cross her features before she recovered and hid her confusion behind a smile. She was not the most perceptive woman by any means, but even so, she was quite certain that was not what Kigipigak had meant to ask her. 

"After all, how will we know whether our good fortune continues on, if we don't routinely test it?" she asked, voice upbeat. It eased her mind, knowing that she would see Kigipigak at least once more before Moonglow departed the taiga. It also made her heart beat a little quicker, knowing he also wished to see her. 

Does Kukutux have her paw in this?  The suspicious thought appeared rather suddenly. It would not surprise Lane at all if the sly matchmaker sent Kigipigak to her with her own agenda in mind. Lane had so far turned down all of the matches that Kukutux had directly voiced to her. So it stood to reason that the moonwoman might have switched tactics and set about pulling on her puppet strings, arranging events so that her eligible bachelors crossed Lane's path in a more natural way.

Absolutely.

It was exactly the answer Kigipigak expected. This woman was a hunter and would never back down from the opportunity to prove her skill, like any decent woman of Tartok.

Apiruk Tartok. It had a certain ring to it.

Kigipigak was not one to be lost in thought, yet found himself there, tethered to this idea he could not speak aloud. He wasn't as attentive to Lane's words as he should have been, and only caught the tail-end of her statement.

He grunts and nods, his eyes far away.

I will see you again for the hunt, and for the feast. I am glad you like the skin.

A smile came after, as Kigipigak put aside much of what he'd come here to discuss. It wasn't the right time. They had their own commitments, he reasoned, with Lane being a mother and now the leader of her village; and Kigipigak was only a hunter, and a friend.

He took one lingering look upon the folded hide of the caribou before turning away, respectfully drifting back to one of the Moonglow camps.