Ouroboros Spine Egilra

Maybe @Mojag if you have the availability for it? ^^

The moon child journeyed back into the boundaries of the spine with a freshly captured hare clasped in her teeth. Samani had heeded her mother’s words about the prey that they hunted. She had bowed her head respectfully when the springy creature had fallen to her fangs, and she prayed that its spirit would journey to the dancing lights without difficulty.

Once inside Moonglow, the peachy figure paused. She was going to deposit the hare in a prey cache, but her stomach stirred with the prospect of meeting some of the young children who had joined their family. Firm in that idea, Samani trekked to where the mothers had their dens and searched the area to see if there were any children who might like to chew on her prize.

Yes please!!

It had been a few days since Mojag had last seen his father. He didn't think anything of it — even though his mother Shikoba's vibe was off in an obvious way — and went on with his usual routine.

That routine involved many things: rolling in the dirt of his ulaq, venturing to the neighboring ulax where he'd seen the other children, maybe even pestering Kukutux, or tracking down his mother in an effort to spy learn from her.

He was in the middle of his sixth dust-bath of the day when the smell of fresh meat permeated the air. The boy rolled to his chest where he rested in a starfish-pose, sniffing, using his snout like a dousing rod, when he saw a flash of gold outside.

Mojag promptly got to his feet and bolted for the door, in to the sun which blinded him (and quite possibly Samani, since she was pretty radiant herself).

A dark figure appeared, squinting harshly against the sunlight.

Samani looked at the boy with softness upon her face. He was beautiful – adorable in all the ways that she believed children should be. The moon child felt her heart soften on his expression. The decision to visit the young ones had been a sound one. Her peachy frame inched a few paces closer to the dark-furred child. She placed the prey at her paws and then nudged it toward him.

Hello, her voice hovered just above a whisper. I am Samani. And she had heard the name of the young boy, but she did not recall it well enough. Despite her hesitancy, the moon child lowered herself into a resting position on her belly and watched the young figure.

Come taste brother rabbit. Another nudge at the prey’s body.

He-oh! The boy parroted back in haste, missing a sound.

Samani had brought something to eat. Maybe it was something to play with? It smelled like food and the boy was eager to see it. While the girl sat down and watched him, he rushed over to inspect the offering.

It was a little bit smaller than himself. The fur on its body was very soft, so for a few minutes Mojag burrowed his nose against it, then began mouthing at its head or its belly, or its little feet, as he investigated the different textures.

Why is he cold? The boy asked with genuine fascination.

Is he asleepin?

Young Mojag approached the rabbit fearlessly. Samani watched him with warmth upon her face. He nosed at the rabbit, testing the different portions of it with a few tentative bites. His curiosity would prove something special, she thought to herself.

When the young man had finished his inspection, he presented a query that the moon child was not prepared to answer. He wanted to know why the rabbit was cold. He wanted to know if it was sleeping. Samani’s face softened, eyes growing wide. She was not in the place to share the stories of life and death with the child – she feared his parents would be upset with her.

His spirit has traveled to the dancing lights. His body is left behind so that we can grow strong and make our own path. Gently, she pulled away at the flesh of the prey animal and revealed the tender meat inside. Taste this with your tongue. Thank him for what he gives you by leaving his body.

Surprise allergy!

The dancing lights? Mojag had never heard of this before. He thought of the rain immediately, and how it glimmered as it fell. He thought also of his mother shaking the rain from her pelt; that was like a dance. He did not understand spirit, but pieced together something from these little bits.

The woman moved to the rabbit and opened its belly. The smells were stronger but the skin was still cold. She told him to eat, and Mojag was too hungry to question things further. He tasted the meat and then began to eagerly pull it apart whether it caused a mess or not.

It had a weird taste. After a few mouthfuls Mojag began to slow down, and within a few minutes there was a strange feeling on his tongue. He moved as if to yawn without sound and stuck his tongue out, smacking his lips around it.

It taste like bugs! He announced; meanwhile, his tongue had begun to enflame in patches. The sensation spread quickly to his soft palate and down his throat, and so he coughed.

The boy’s reaction to the meat was curious. Samani believed that he was merely getting used to the taste of it. She laughed softly when he stuck his tongue out and smacked his lips around it. At least the pup did not respond to her rabbit with disgust. She would consider that a win. The moon child did not understand that his body had reacted to the meat in a different way.

It taste like bugs.

Another soft laugh. Samani lifted one of her paws to conceal her snout. She did not wish to chuckle at his discovery. She only enjoyed the way that he spoke – so bold and clear.

Do you like the taste of bugs? the peachy girl inquired gently.

Mojag didn't want to eat any more of the rabbit. It was barely torn apart where Samani had exposed the meat for him, but as the sensations worsened Mojag was put-off. He shoved it aside.

His cough came again, this time a little bit more wheezing in nature, and he still stuck his tongue out. The girl was laughing and making light of his reaction to the meat, which the child took and internalized immediately.

I don feel good, he admitted. The burning sensation was getting worse. His tongue had begun to swell up as well as a section of his lower lip, but above all the struggle to swallow was becoming worse.

I wan' anaa! He spewed between wheezes, dry-heaving.

Something was wrong.

The dark-furred boy continued to stick his tongue from his mouth. He spoke to her, saying that he did not feel good. After a moment of coughing and wheezing, he called out that he wanted his mother. Samani felt fear spike within her. She rose from her belly and pressed her nose to his cheek. A lump formed in the back of her throat.

It’s okay… it’s alright. But it was neither of those things. Fear had filled her head and made her feel dizzy with the effort of trying to figure out what she might do next. She looked to see if his mother would appear, but she did not immediately show herself. Samani thought to call the only individual she imagined could make this go away. She called loudly for @Kukutux.

pulled away by the cry of her daughter, kukutux came at once.

her eyes fell to mojag, to the swelling of his face. "what did he put in his mouth?" she asked samani firmly, though she did not wish to scare the girl.

she kissed mojag to soothe him somewhat. "look up toward the sky and breathe." she imagined that his mouth was filled with an uncomfortable sensation. "samani. go to the ulaq. bring me the green plant beside the entry-way, just inside." she described it, then sent her daughter off, keeping mojag close as she crooned encouragingly to him.

The woman called for Kukutux, who was one anaa but not his. Mojag would have corrected her properly but he found that he could not do much more than wheeze, and the sensations were worsening to the point that he was beginning to truly struggle.

The lack of control over his own breath was frightening. He did not like the burning sensation in his throat. His tongue was getting thick with irritation; his eyes prickled with tears.

When Kukutux arrived she rushed to his aid, speaking quickly, and then directing him to look up. As Mojag moved to tilt his nose at the sky he felt the tears there sliding down the sides of his face, but at least he could breathe a little bit better.

He was sucking in gummy breaths. His eyes shined with worry.

The pale figure of her mother appeared. Samani was grateful that Kukutux had hurried to them, for she felt tears pricking at her own eyes when faced with the idea that she might have hurt him. He was still so young. Perhaps he had not been ready to try meat from the rabbit.

When the Moonwoman arrived, she asked her daughter sharply what he had eaten. Samani stiffened slightly, drawing in a breath to steady herself. I only gave him a taste of rabbit… I didn’t know, anaa. I didn’t know. The fear that had filled her was present in her answer. She felt that she had done a terrible thing to the boy, that he might never forget or forgive her. Worse than this, the moon child feared that he would die.

Kukutux instructed her to bring a healing leaf. Samani looked at Mojag before she nodded her head.

The girl turned and raced to the ulaq where she searched for the desired medicine that would help the boy breathe again. Tears tumbled from her eyes as she looked.

she listened to his breathing. it was not well. the moonwoman called for @Shikoba. her voice said that she must come, but that mojag was safe for now.

"our bodies do not always enjoy every kind of meal," she told him softly.

they would wait for samani. she had seen her mother's medicine work on such things, and now knew it must be stocked for the months to come.

The boy was breathing a little easier with his head up. It did not lessen the effect of the rabbit meat, nor would it in the long-term as the meat digested and his body continued to fight against it, but it was enough to stop him from passing out.

He felt light-headed. That staved off some of his panic. So did Kukutux' words to him, and her presence. He was still very frightened and wanted his mother desperately.

Once she had found the herb, Samani wasted no time in returning to her mother and the young boy.

As her figure raced into view, the moon child padded toward Kukutux and placed the herb at her paws near to where Mojag sat. He still looked as though he struggled to pass air through his throat and into his lungs. Samani felt her chest grow heavy with worry. How could she have done that better? All she had wanted was to share a moment with the young boy, to offer him a taste of something he’d probably only tried once or twice before.

Shame burned at her cheeks. Samani waited for her mother to complete the healing so that she might apologize to the dark-furred boy. Based on the limited talk they’d had, she wasn’t even certain that he would understand such words.

mojag had gained quite the sense of freedom from his mother, who believed that independence was important for the youth to learn and grow. of course, her guiding hand would always be there to offer support when needed. shikoba enjoyed the fact that her son was not chained to her at the hip all the time and instead enjoyed learning more about his home.

but when a call rings in the air, she can feel her heart drop. the woman was off doing her rounds of border marking, but the call of her sister causes a great panic within her. galloping from her recent post towards the voice of the moonwoman, shikoba can hardly breathe.

when mojag comes into sight, she barks toward him, letting him know that his anaa is here. she would forever hate herself for being what felt like miles and miles away from him without any supervision. shikoba still has much to learn as a first-time mother, and this would be the first mistake of many that she would make during the time of mojag's life.

"what happened?" she would ask frantically to kukutux and samani, sniffing reverently over her little boy and plating hurried kisses against his cheeks. no wounds were present, but his own grimace of fear tells her enough that something occurred that shouldn't have.

mojag's breathing was easier. this brought much relief to kukutux. shikoba came. the duck licked up the herbs and passed an affectionate, encouraging glance both to her daughter and to firsthunter.

"he ate rabbit with his sister. but his body does not care for it." she chewed swiftly. "mojag, i will give you medicine now."

she pushed the ground nettle-plant into the corner of his mouth, encouraging him to swallow.

There was a lot of activity around him. Mojag wanted to tilt his head down to watch the adults go go go, but when he tried he felt his throat constrict and it scared him; plus, Kukutux was there to keep his nose elevated. His neck was starting to ache.

Samani came back, then Shikoba arrived; the scent of his mother filled his senses and his terror resumed in full, feeling confident with his mother present and not afraid to experience the full dearth of the experience.

Anaa! He called out to his mother, who was there and frantic in her own right. Mojag wanted to be away from everyone suddenly; he didn't like this feeling any more. Kukutux said she would give medicine and so he had to stay still while she gave him bitter plants to eat.

He wanted to spit! A pitiful sound came from Mojag as he fought against the discomfort, but he did swallow it, and blubbered a little longer as the nettle settled in to his stomach. Soon maybe it would take effect.

Shame weighed heavy on her heart. Shikoba appeared to check on her son, fretful that something had happened. Samani watched her mother prepare the herbs for the boy. He appeared unwell, still, but Kukutux was working to make it better. The moon child could not comprehend what might have happened if she had been left to face Mojag’s allergy on her own. Would he have suffocated?

Chills raced up the length of her peachy legs. Samani lowered her head and turned her gaze from the three of them.

I am… sorry. I am so sorry. I only wished to- I only wished to give him a treat. Apologies would not have saved him if Kukutux had not been there. Samani was grateful to her mother. Her heart felt painful inside her chest.

she can hear the explanation from both, though it does little to sequester the concern and anger she feels. had it not been for the presence of kukutux, shikoba might've nipped at samani's rump in an angry manner, similar to giving a spanking to a child who had done wrong.

but it was not her place to discipline the child of moon woman, so shikoba would know her place. despite her anger, she knows to value kukutux's relationship with herself more than her own feelings. even more so, samani was a good daughter, shikoba knew this. the girl would never hold intentions to harm him, and this is something she must force herself to remember. accidents happen in the scariest ways at times. shikoba knows this firsthand from her own mistakes as a child.

samani would be shielded from unbridled rage in an effort for an adult to behave accordingly. shikoba stays close to her son and watches him carefully, hoping the medicine does take effect. rabbit is not an allergy heavily presented in her bloodlines, but perhaps she ate too much of it during her pregnancy.

either way, it would be a hard life for little mojag as the rabbit was a staple food in times when the deer and elk no longer run. 

"thank you, kukutux." she says breathlessly. now she can only fear what else he is allergic to, and what would have happened if moon woman was not here to administer the medicine. 

shikoba would keep her son close, for however long it would take until his throat didn't swell and he didn't feel scared. it was in a moment she prayed for inutsuk to be here, to know of his son's allergies and to calm her worried heart.

"you did not know, samani." her voice was gentle and filled with love. she did not wish for her daughter to carry such worry inside her heart. mojag lived and would be all right. "go, find ariadne and callyope." her dismissal was gentle, and meant for both the girl and shikoba.

"i think that he should only have meals of deer meat for five days. it is easier on his body, while he becomes better." 

the duck looked at mojag now, listening for his breathing.

The adults were all focused on him but not in a way that he liked, the way that he craved most often; as much an entertainer as a boy could be, they were not gathered for his singing or his dancing, but for the terror in his eye and the swelling of his throat.

Thankfully the remedy that Kukutux offered was the real deal - also, that he had not overwhelmed himself with too much of a bad thing. Mojag remained afraid. He would know never to touch rabbit meat again, or anything like it.

Gradually the feeling in his mouth and throat began to ease, and he could breathe a little easier. As soon as he was allowed to - and a able to - hug his mother, Mojag threw himself in to Shikoba's fur and wept. The worst was over and now the boy was letting go of his overwhelming emotions.

Samani was instructed away from the scene by the voice of her mother. She did not bat an eye at being told to go find her younger sisters. She still felt the stinging of those words in her heart. The moon child hung her head slightly, casting one last look toward the young boy she had nearly killed. She hoped that he would be able to forgive her mistake after some time. She hoped that she could bring him a gift of another sort without fear sparking in his eyes again.

The girl did not say anything. She departed from the scene only when she had seen the young pup dive into the comfort of his mother’s plush coat. All had been saved, thanks to Kukutux. Samani contemplated the horrible experience for many days after.