Duskfire Glacier Kanimmasik

The man could not hold himself still for long.

Issorartuyok prowled the territory of the glacier with his frets upon his face. He could not stop thinking of his brother, of the litter they had lost to a terrible sickness. Tuuluuwaq was in the glacier and still, the threat of disease loomed over their heads. What if there were children in the spring? What could he do to keep them safe against an infestation of their prey animals and the herds that fed them?

The northerner hunted for the lady @Lane and he hoped he would find her with no issues. The woman’s scent was strong enough in the glacier claim that Issorartuyok believed he would have little trouble locating her. Nevertheless, the man drew his head back and called to his fellow leader. He hoped that she would find him, that she would understand.

Lane carried herself with none of her usual lightness or humor. The spring in her step from the night of feasting and festivities was gone, and the scene in the taiga weighed heavily on her heart. 

She made her way to Issorartuyok quickly, knowing that he must have settled on his recommendation for a course of action. Lane still stood firm in her previously-voiced belief that they could not remain here, but she would reply on Issorartuyok's guidance for how to proceed next. 

She approach Issoratuyok with a tight smile and a rather wan wag of her tail.

It was not long before the woman’s earthy colors were seen. The northerner slowed his pace and drew his head up to greet her. Worry was etched there, drawing his features tight and stern. Despite this, Issorartuyok was warmed at the sight of his fellow leader. It was good to see her, no matter the circumstances that drew them to meet in such hurried whispers.

Lane, the man greeted her with a bow of his broad skull and a rumble in his throat.

Lane, I fear that we cannot remain here while the prey is ill. I-

The northerner thought again of Tuuluuwaq and felt his heart cinch tightly. The idea of further children needing to be sung into the dancing lights had filled him with indescribable terror.

I may not have children of my own, now or when the spring is upon us. Still, I cannot watch sickness threaten our people, or risk the wellness of the young lives that will be made when the snow melts. Issorartuyok did not know how to meet her eye as he said this. It was a great dishonor to show her such fear, such trepidation. The man did not want her to think that he would not be fit to continue leading them.

Issorartuyok looked so dejected, Lane couldn't help but move forward and offer him a quick embrace of support. None of this was his fault, and yet it was easy to see that he was taking it upon himself and some kind of personal failure. Nothing was further from the truth. 

She pulled away, steeling herself as she leveled her gaze at her co-leader. He reiterated the conclusion she had spoken aloud at the meeting of leaders on the taiga. Her eyes were dry today; she had come to terms with this outcome as a possbility. 

"I have spoke to @Askari, a new recruit who has been advising me on this issue. She believes that given our current resources and needs, the pack can last another moon here." Fours weeks would fly by extremely quickly; it was truly a pitiful amount of time to find a habitable location and coordinate the relocation of an entire pack. 

Hope the reference is okay, Wither! Let me know if I need to edit. Or, PM me if you want to play out the thread where Lane asks Askari's advice!

The man was surprised at her touch, but it was not an unwelcome gesture. The large figure of the northerner sunk into her embrace, grateful for the support. It should have been his time to show the strength of his spirit, to help lead them through the hardship and to a brighter future. Instead, he was forced to place more burden upon the woman. This was not the path his spirit was destined to walk, he knew. Issorartuyok was intended to be fearless for his people.

When she spoke of the woman Askari – one that the northerner had met only briefly – she reiterated what he had feared. They would be without food in a matter of a moon. It did not leave them with much time to find another home. In addition to this, they had many bodies to take with them.

As Lane pulled back to speak, Issorartuyok was surprised to find that he missed the warmth of her presence. The emotion was swallowed swiftly, leaving him with nothing but troubled thoughts.

I would like to go in search. I can cover much ground and will not need to stop for many things. If it is agreeable to you, I should like to ask the boys if they would wish to go. Veteran, Ensio, perhaps even young Arius. Though, Issorartuyok had not spoken with the other glacier brother since his parents had passed. He wondered if the boy would be as angry as Ensio had been.

Issorartuyok spoke again, and the semblance of a plan came to life.

Lane nodded. Veteran wouldn't miss the chance for the world, of this she was certain. "Wayfarer may wish to join your search too," Lane noted, recalling that her daughter had returned home from her most recent scouting trip. "It would be right up her alley." Her daughter @Wayfarer, the aspiring ranger of the pack, had spent more hours outside of the packlands than any of the other pups combined. She would be an asset to the scouting party, and she would probably jump at any chance of putting physical distance between herself and her mother, truth be told. It seemed Wayfarer would not forgive Lane for the several weeks of her puphood that Lane had been absent, no matter how hard Lane tried to make it up to her. 

"Truthfully, Tatkret... I don't know if Tzila's boys will agree leave this place." It had only been three weeks since they put the bodies of Winterbane and Tzila in the ground. Would the boys agree to leave the remains of their parents behind?

Honestly, @Arius and @Ensio were old enough to make their own decision about whether to stay or go. While the decimated herd would not be able to sustain the whole pack and whatever young arrived in the coming season, there would still be small game aplenty to sustain the two young men if they chose to remain behind to keep the flame of Duskfire Glacier alive and flickering.

"I think you should go at once, as soon as you have gathered the scouting party." Lane sighed. Issorartuyok had only just gotten back, and now he was to be sent off again.

Tags for the references.

Then I will call to her, as well.

Issorartuyok would not leave any of them out, if they wished to accompany him. They had little time to respond, but he was confident in his own skills, and he had seen many places in the western mountains that seemed suitable, even passable. Even with the time they were left with, the northerner believed that he could make a scouting journey with the young ones and then return with news in a reasonable time.

When Lane spoke of the glacier boys, Issorartuyok breathed deeply. He frowned in a thoughtful way, turning his dark brown stare to the snows. After his talk with Ensio, he was not certain he could risk anything but perfect honesty with both boys. They deserved it. They deserved a chance to journey with the rest of their village, as well. They mattered a great deal to the northern man, though he could not say it.

I will honor him by asking. Both of them, he answered her softly. Even if they do not wish to go, I want them to know that they are still part of this village and they are important enough to search with me. The man hoped that she would understand this. He hoped that it did not seem like an honorable man’s foolish errand, but a heartfelt gesture. The boys had lost enough.

Lane…

The brown of his eyes returned to her face, searching her worriedly.

You will be strong while I am away? I will do all I can to return swiftly to you. You have my spirit.

The northerner bowed his head.

A scouting party made up of children was not ideal, but Lane felt that was it better than keeping them all here, where their diminishing food stores would be depleted all the more swiftly by the appetites of the adolescent boys. As apprehensive as she was about sending both of her children into the Wilds without her, rationing and denying food to growing children would pain her heart much more.

"You will be strong while I am away? I will do all I can to return swiftly to you. You have my spirit."

When had she become the one who stayed home, fretting and holding down the fort? Her leadership role had molded her into someone she hardly recognized. 

"And you have my spirit," she returned earnestly. It seemed their spirits had swapped, somehow. Lane had become the protector and defender, and Issorartuyok was the pupkeeper and explorer. 

"Keep them safe," were her parting words. They were not as pretty as the words Issorartuyok had spoken, but it was the sentiment that was upon Lane's heart. 

Now that their tasks were assigned, it was time for the co-leaders to part. With any luck, the next time they met the pack would have a new, potential home.