Ouroboros Spine ivaluilinik ☼

she stood before firemother.

she lifted her voice in a trailing song, a prayer for continued strength and wealth and fertility to moonglow and to natigvik.

soon it would be time to seek an ugi for @Samani.

she called her second-oldest close to her, to gaze at the single red tree.

The young girl had been searching the wooded area, analyzing the sparse tracks of different animals. She had all but learned the tracks of each individual member to their pack. Every member shared a different gait, a different pace. Samani was pleased with all that she had learned on her own. She hoped that it would improve upon her hunting abilities. 

When her mother’s voice called, the peachy girl turned sharply toward it. There was no hesitation in her abandonment of the track-learning. Samani sniffed at the breeze and began journeying toward Kukutux on swift legs. 

Upon arrival, the girl drew her gaze to the pale shape of her mother. She smiled softly. Mother, hello, Samani offered politely. Only then did her eyes lift to the red tree with interest.

"it is good to see your face, samani."

kukutux embraced her daughter. her jadestone gaze gestured to firemother. "what do you feel when you see her?"

sialuk had not been prepared at this time. she would give the same slowness to samani.

Samani returned the embrace with a gentle touch. 

When she was asked how she felt when looking at the red tree, she looked to it and frowned softly. She was not certain what she might have felt. There was no immediate flurry of emotion. 

She is beautiful. I feel… 

The moon child glanced toward Kukutux. 

Calm.

kukutux smiled softly. "you have always been calm, samani. firemother shows us what is in our spirit."

she looked at her daughter. how tall she had grown. it seemed she had been given three months, and then in an eyeblink she was woman.

"in amigaiksivik, you will have twelve moons and be child no longer."

how much of this had already been told to samani?

"it is time for you to find a ugi: you will meet many young hunters and shamans. you may take all time to choose. the next twelve moons belong to you. but if you have the wish to travel away from moonglow, or to go to the sleeping-places with those that you want, this is your right. you will be in the time of becoming."

aiolos would not like those words. it was why they must be kept between women.

The peachy girl listened patiently. Her mother shared many important things with her. It had come time for Samani to find an ugi. This should have been pleasing news. The girl did not feel any different, though. 

Giving time to consider the words, Samani returned her attention to the tree. She wondered how Kukutux had felt when her time had arrived. She wondered if she had been able to share more than Samani had. The summer wind brushed the hair at her ears. She listened. 

I have been learning the tracks of wolf and others. This had little to do with her finding of an ugi. Samani still wished to share what her spirit had found magnetizing. It was what interested her. 

I do not know of the things you speak. How did you feel? What did you do? For Samani considered her mother to be wise in all things.

"when i first came to this land, i thought women could not be hunters. but this has changed in moonglow. if you are hunter when you go, then you will not need to seek food from others. it is a skill you will bring to another ulaq."
samani asked.

kukutux' heart ached.

"when i had nine moons, my mother and father met with those who had made seal hunter boy. they decided we should eventually make a marriage. but for now, i would live in a small ulaq with him. he was very handsome and he was kind. he would have been a good husband."

the rock-falls.

kukutux was silent. she breathed. "i still felt like a child when this time came. i felt that i was not ready. i was glad that seal hunter boy did not live in a village so far away from my anaa."

she sighed. "i know that these ways are not the ones that everyone chooses. but they are old ways. older than me. older than my mother. and it is my task as moonwoman to hand these things down to my daughters, samani. one day you may be in my place."

The Moonwoman was full of tales. Her life had been lived well, from the point of her daughter. Samani knew that she could always listen to Kukutux, and that she would share insightful tales of her own life that would enlighten the moon child.

Something in Samani told her that her mother had loved the seal hunter boy. Perhaps it had been fleeting, maybe they had been too young, but there had been something between them. The girl wondered if she had ever created a bond between someone that wasn’t her family – something lasting. She had met with the boy from the glacier. She wondered if he remembered her.

After a moment of thought, Samani glanced toward her pale mother and tilted her head curiously.

You do not wish to make a marriage for me?

kukutux was surprised.

it showed upon her for a moment.

"i wish that you be part of this choice. but if you say to me, anaa, do this thing, then i will choose for you, samani."

already she thought of kivaluk and akkuma. they would be her first choice, as kin-without-blood. and it would formally bind their villages if one of them took samani as wife.

she thought of the sons belonging to wintersbane. she did not know arius, but ensio had already been more than a boy by that time.

with another year, she had much time to gather names.

Samani considered her mother’s words for a long time. Her eyes were drawn to the ground in a pensive stare. If it was what she wished, then Kukutux would arrange something for her. It seemed that this request had been a shocking one, though. The moon child did not know if it reflected poorly on her. She knew only that she did not want to disappoint her mother.

No, the word was spoken softly. No, I will see if there are any who I find appealing in that way.

Samani lifted her head to smile at her mother. The peachy girl only wanted Kukutux to be proud and to feel that her daughter followed the right path. She might have carried a calm mind but there were things about the world that left her feeling confused and uncertain.

If I am unable, then I will ask you… anaa please to find me a marriage. She nodded softly.

she nodded. "this is a good way."

she smiled. she let out her breath. "you must understand, samani: when i had your moons, women did not choose their own men. she might have last say, but her father and mother chose this hunter for her, a man who would bring honor and status not only to their family, but to the village."

"but not all of these marriages were happy. that is why i learned i must give my daughters choice. you must know what you want before you become wife. not every woman is meant to be anaa."

she kissed samani's cheek, pleased that her sea-girl was ready to make such a choice. "you may have many ugiq, not only one. i will stop my words now. they are many." she laughed but her eyes shone with a mother's love.

Samani nodded her head. She understood most of what her mother said to her. The moon child did not believe that Kukutux would arrange a bad marriage for her daughter. If she was considerate enough to have her children decide for themselves, to abandon the traditions of her homeland, there was little chance for a difficult marriage. The peachy girl was pleased that she was trusted so much with this choice. If Samani could not find someone suitable for herself, her mother could step in to assist.

I understand. Thank you for giving me the choice.

The girl brushed her snout to the underside of the Moonwoman’s chin. She was grateful to have such a wise and considerate mother, such a loving father. Their traditions were important to her. Samani knew that if she could make Kukutux proud, she would be pleased in her own choices.

And I do not wish for you to stop. Your words are a treasure, to me.

Samani’s smile widened. Her tail waved with love.

can fade or keep going!

she let out her breath, content. "it is good to my heart that you follow our ways. the old ones have smiles on their faces today."

kausiut lived with the walrus women. she missed her daughter greatly.

but it was a place where she could grow. samani's place was here.

"no? then i will tell you a story about yellow bird water woman," she said, chuckling. samani had heard this one many times before.

They had arrived at an understanding. Samani was pleased with how their conversation had gone. She would consider the words of her mother for many days. It was an important time, she knew. If she allowed herself to open to those possibilities, she might find that she was surprised with what could happen.

At the mention of yellow bird water woman, Samani chuckled softly. Her eyes sparked with love. It was a tale that she had heard many times from the Moonwoman. It was one that she could listen to a thousand more.

One of my favorites, yes. Please.

The moon child made herself comfortable and gazed at Kukutux warmly.

You could fade and I would be happy to make us another? <3

sounds great!

"one day, yellow bird water woman woke with a loud voice!"

through inflection and tonal shift, through expression and singing, she would show samani the way of wisewoman: and the wisdom held in each old story.