Moonspear Ikkik

Their journey had carved through the forest, where the violence had taken place. The northerner moved at a slower pace, making sure that he did not exert himself beyond what his newest injuries would allow. He could not help but to feel guilty, for their helper Antha had been captured in the fray. Issorartuyok had not told her, but he was impressed with her sharpness and her fearless display.

The mountains cut an imposing figure, but it would be a fine place to stop to rest a while.

Issorartuyok found a suitable cave – a site where dens had once been made, it seemed – and turned to see if the scout @Antha would be far behind him. He thought of the young ones. The children of the glacier were always on his mind.

just a cameo! tags for ref!

they had gone more places than she could count. there was a new wolf with them, a woman who traveled with issorartuyok. heda was curious about her, but not enough to ask. heartened now, she put herself into the role of seeking, and when they settled on the mountain, she went off in search of @Veteran and @Ensio, wondering if they'd be game for an exploratory jaunt into the higher reaches, maybe a hunt if they were looking.

the attack had unsettled her. in her mind, she saw the man from the mountains. mereo. war. the valley flashed in her thoughts then; a haven far from the promise of chaos.
issorartuyok. i can treat your wounds when the young ones have settled for the night, antha called to the man, forcing herself away from her thoughts. she moved to stand beside him, eyes turning to the cave he'd found. are there any aspiring guardians among your group? we should keep a watcher at the cave's entrance, in case the madman returns. when night falls, i can take over the watch myself, to allow you and the children a full night's rest.

Antha found him, mentioning that she could treat the wounds he had gotten. The man dipped his snout downward and splayed his ears – a silent show of thanks. He hoped that she would be able to tend to her own, as well. The northerner did not like how difficult their journey had been up until that point, but they had reached the second mountain range and all of the Duskfire youth had proven to be exceptional travelling partners.

Their guide and helpful scout mentioned that they should seek to find one of the young ones who might wish to take the role of watcher. Issorartuyok nodded his head. Yes, any of them would do well. We will ask which one would like the honor when they have all returned.

The northerner motioned for her to join him.

Come, rest for a while. Wounds and guards can be tended to soon enough.

he agreed easily, to antha's relief, and seemed to invite her to his side. come, rest for awhile, he said, and the words sent a sudden flush under her fur. she told herself it was the season, and stepped forward to join him. she tried not to think of raven's watch, and what it had meant to her.
we never finished our conversation, she said, suddenly remembering and grateful for the excuse to speak. thoughts were unwelcome right now. dangerous. she would have to focus on the task at hand.

Antha approached, taking his offer.

The woman brought up that their previous conversation had been left unfinished. Issorartuyok frowned thoughtfully, thinking back on what they had been speaking of before they had been attacked. It was difficult to recall when the heat of their fight filled his mind.

Ah, you had something you wished to tell me, he said with a small nod. She had been cut off by their attacker. The northerner looked to her intently. If she had tried to tell him something before and wished to return to that subject so soon after, it must have been of importance to her. Issorartuyok would give Antha his undivided attention.

it took him a moment, but issorartuyok seemed to recall fairly quickly the subject that had been interrupted so violently. his features took on a polite and attentive look that antha found strangely charming. despite his size, he seemed almost boyish in this moment. the witch was grateful for it; in a way, that made it easier to explain her plans for the near future.
i have many skills to offer the wolves of your village, if those skills are welcome, she began, wondering at the back of her mind how long it had been since she had told a man of her practice. but i have plans of my own as well, and before i intertwine my plans with your village, i would like to be certain that my practices will be welcome among your people. what do they teach you of witches in the north, issorartuyok?

Antha spoke of her skills while the northerner listened closely. When she had finished speaking, he found that he understood very little of what she’d implied. Witches were not things that were discussed in his land. He had never heard of such a creature. It was a curious word, though. Issorartuyok mulled it in his mind, wondering on its meaning.

I know nothing of such beasts. Witches are not of the north.

The answer was plain. He still watched her with intent to learn what she meant. If the witches were part of her skills, Issorartuyok wished to know of them. All the talk of plans and intentions made him uneasy. It felt like they spoke of things that were not welcome in the world, though he could not place why that was.

i am having so much fun with this thread

witches are not of the north. antha wondered if that meant women held more power in the ways of men elsewhere. or perhaps they had simply found a different sort of power...
in my homeland, many generations ago, a terrible curse took hold of our women. girl children were born weak, and grew to be small and frail. the men dominated for years, and proved themselves cruel tyrants, antha began the story almost before she decided she would tell him. it had been too long since her history had passed her lips. so my ancestors turned to magick. the women of my home took back their power, generation by generation. the practice was called witchcraft, and it soon became forbidden. men and women have waged a quiet war for years. it still has not been won. but the witches endure, and we are bound to pass on our practice to our daughters, to ensure that they never suffer the way our mothers and grandmothers did.
so that is my plan for the spring. i intend to find a man not of my homeland, a man of integrity, and raise children to carry on the history and legacy of my ancestors.

There was a great deal to be considered in what Antha shared with him.

Issorartuyok was not certain that he understood all of it. He had known those who fought only for power. They had always been bad spirits, regarded with wary and untrusting eyes. Power for the sake of power was foolish. Though, he did not know if that had been the case, or if it was still the case. The idea that they would continue to build families with the intent to claim power made him uneasy.

I am not certain I understand all of what you tell me, Antha Blackwood Mayfair.

The northerner’s voice was grave. The dark brown of his eyes searched her features questioningly.

You wish to have children and a family to obtain power? Perhaps she could clarify for him.

He's truly like talking to a box cut-out of a wolf heheh.

antha frowned at his interpretation, a little caught off guard by it. no. i wish to pass on my knowledge, so that my daughters can one day join the fight to free the women of my homeland from tyranny, she told him, wondering if she had been mistaken to tell him this story. softened, perhaps, by the reminders of her past in him. but he was not the wolf she had known in the wilds once. this was someone new, and only time would tell if meeting him would prove fruitful.

Antha frowned at him.

Issorartuyok’s ears fell to his head. He had made a mistake.

The sunwashed woman corrected him softly. The northerner nodded his head, piecing together this detail with the tale she had told him before. It did not seem an unreasonable thing. She wished for the women in her blood to be freed. While he did not fully grasp the concept of tyranny, he understood the desire to teach young ones valuable lessons.

Perhaps, I was confused… only because you approach this as though it is a bad thing. Teaching the young is important. They must learn to be strong and brave and true. Why did you appear apprehensive, Antha Blackwood Mayfair?

The man’s dark ears returned to stand atop his head. He tilted it slightly, questioningly.

issorartuyok seemed to accept her explanation, yet antha remained wary. thus far she had told him nothing more than the basics of the history she was duty-bound to spread to the women of the world, and for now it would remain that way. but she was open to his questioning, and sincere in her answer.
as i said, the practice is forbidden in my homeland. in my travels, i've found that it's rare to meet men as cruel as those in my homeland, but as a child i was taught to hide my witchcraft from all but my sisters. some men have traveled far to taint the reputation of witches among strangers. they tell them we are evil and must be killed, there was some relief in knowing that issorartuyok had not heard of the witches, but antha could see now that he did not understand the complexities of her birthplace, even summarized. there was a raw simplicity to her interactions with him, refreshing one moment and utterly frustrating the next. but he knew respect, and there was no hatred in his heart that she could see. it was more than she could say of most men she'd met.
i realize it may be difficult to grasp the extent of the evil which has gripped my people. if you have questions, i can answer them.

I am not certain I would know how to ask them…

For, Issorartuyok still did not feel that he grasped the concept of witchcraft well. He did not know what there was to be afraid of. What was understood by him, was the desire to have a family and to build a foundation for children to grow into good people.

What can it do? Witchescraft?

The northerner felt this was a decent place to start, as far as questions went. If he could grasp some general idea of what kind of arts she referred to, he might be able to piece together the other details she had shared. Issorartuyok wondered if the bad spirits from her home village would seek her out, hope to harm her. It etched worry upon his face.

after some confusion, issorartuyok found a question to ask. antha watched him carefully as she spoke. witchcraft can be practiced in many ways. my own knowledge is limited by practicality. protection spells, fertility rites, charms to promote health and ward evil away and other necessities, she omitted, of course, those spells which would bring death and disease. witches did bear some of the blame for their own reputation, after all.
most witches in my homeland are healers. i am one of them, and an herbalist as well, would a man know the distinction? antha thought it unlikely, but she told him nonetheless, and waited for more questions.

Ah, you are like a shaman!

The northerner’s features spread into a grin. The things she described were like the shamans work in his home village. They made matches, they sang to the spirits, they were capable of all kinds of things that the others were not. It was a revered role. Issorartuyok wondered if Antha could commune with the spirits, too, or if her own abilities were limited.

She spoke of healing and herbs. The man knew little about such matters. They were still valuable skills. He believed that Lane would be pleased to have another healer among them.

I still do not think that your skills would be unwelcome, Antha.

a shaman. antha knew this word, though only in passing; she knew that shamans held power similar to that of witches. she had not known that shamans were of the north. regardless, there was relief to be found in issorartuyok's belated recognition of her practice. he spoke again, reiterating her welcome in his village.
but.
i'm grateful for that. but what of my desire to have children? she kept her voice cool and polite, despite the sudden jolt of electric nerves in her limbs and chest. the thought of searching for a husband, after all this time...
for all her prowess, antha felt like a young girl again.

Issorartuyok looked to her, baffled.

Well, yes, that too. The glacier is a good place, Antha Blackwood Mayfair. You would be able to have a family and grow that family.

Did she not think that to be possible? Had he said something that implied it? The northerner sat and thought hard on what he might have said to her. Duskfire Glacier was to be a place for families. A place to grow and to be supported by those who filled its lands.

We share that desire, in fact! I wish to have a wife. Have many children. To fill the lands with small Tatkrets who will grow to be larger and better than even I have been. The man smiled to her, hoping it might encourage her to consider his offer. The glacier would be no better place.

Or, well… wherever it was they traveled to would be.

he seemed shocked that she might have thought otherwise. antha found she could not help the soft smile that curved her lips or the gentle sway of her tail. her impression of issorartuyok increasingly spoke of a wolf distinctly lacking in cunning, yet oddly charming in his simplicity. worries about her homeland and the reputation of witches slipped away from her. emboldened, she thought of a question.
are there many men like you in your village? who have the same desire? she asked, perhaps a bit coyly. she fully expected it to go over his head.

There are not many men in the glacier.

The northerner sobered a bit. Their numbers were strong, he knew this much, but the only men he knew to be there were his brother and a wolf called Rye who had been searching for his missing wife and child. The children were too young to be considered such things, and they would not be ready to have families for many moons still.

My brother, who has joined us recently. He is called Tuuluuwaq.

It was clear by the way that he spoke of his sibling that Issorartuyok loved him. He brimmed with pride thinking of his brother, his survivor. Tuulu was a good man.

He is a fine man. There is another called Rye, but I believe his wife and child went missing and he has been searching for them. I have not met him. As he explained these things, the northerner thought that it might be unappealing to Antha, that she would look at the few offerings and find them measly. If it came to that, he believed that he could have her speak to the Moonwoman. She was a matchmaker and could do many things.

not many men in the glacier. issorartuyok mentioned a brother, but for some reason the thought was a little repulsive to antha. it wouldn't be until much later that she would realize why. for now, she was simply having some harmless fun. flirting as she often enjoyed doing with beautiful strangers, men and women alike.
not many men, hm? so that means i'll be joining your pack just to court you, she teased, although there wasn't much humor in her tone. from what he'd said, issorartuyok was the only truly eligible bachelor in his pack. but was that really such a bad thing?

The northerner chuckled nervously. He was not certain if she was joking. He had never been good at these kinds of talks.

I have no wife. But I am a man of the north and that has a culture. It is important to me that my children be good and learn some of the ways of my people.

Would that not conflict with the ways of witchcraft?

Issorartuyok frowned thoughtfully at the sunwashed woman. He found it curious that he should find himself in these conversations with so many scouts. The man wondered if she had meant it. He thought of Meerkat and surged with guilt, frustration. What a terrible mess it all seemed.

I… apologize, if your words had been in jest. I am still new to these things.

this time, the shift in mood was expected. curiously, he spoke of his own culture and its importance to him; antha wondered if he was accustomed to cultures that required exclusivity. or perhaps his was one such?
intrigued and inclined to explore where the conversation might lead, antha decided against backtracking. it was not a jest. children learn from their mothers and their fathers both, don't they? both parents pass on their legacies, she watched him carefully. the conversation had taken a turn she hadn't foreseen when they had first broached this topic, but antha was ever a practical woman. this was an opportunity, perhaps, and she did not mean to pass it up.

They do, yes.

The man nodded his head. She did not lie – children needed a support system on which to grow and flourish. That could not be done well when they only took from one half of their parents. That had not entirely been what he’d meant, though. Issorartuyok had no problems if his children wished to become shamans. Perhaps it was a simple matter, but it still carried in his mind.

You would wish for them to carry the name Blackwood Mayfair, would you not? For your blood is a thing of honor. I have that same wish- for my own. The Tatkret wolves are honorable, and they are loved. I would like for my children to carry this, too.

The northern man wondered why that was.

Perhaps so that they have a part of me, no matter who they become or where they will go.

Issorartuyok thought of his mother and breathed deeply.

ah. so it was about names. antha almost laughed at the simplicity of it, but she only smiled in the end. yes, that was what issorartuyok was. he was a simple man. but she found she appreciated it for many reasons.
my name is my way of remembering my parents. but it is my hope that my children will remember me through carrying on my skills and traditions, rather than through a name, her smile became slightly shy, more genuine than her earlier coyness. i wouldn't mind if they were called tatkret.