Ouroboros Spine grackle's song

For @Kivaluk <3 all/any other tags for reference!

Her sons had grown here in Moonglow as much as they had in Natigvik.

They seemed like miniature adults now, not fully grown but developing personalities and eager to join in tasks. She had informed @Kigipigak she wished to have the boys with her today. At least for a while, that they might be sent back to hunts later.

She had doted on Akkuma as much as her shadow could handle and when he grew with a need to isolate, she let him be. Encouraged him to move through Moonglow and explore every place he could find.

Now she sought out Kivaluk, who she hoped to tempt away with the offer of adventure — or perhaps a hunt with her, instead of the other boys and men.

Kivaluk, She hummed warmly. Will you accompany me on a scouting mission? Her eyes shined with excitement.

kivaluk was finishing up the breakfast he'd been given; salmon colored tongue sliding across his jowls in an effort to clean himself up the best he could. he was used to his brother and parents dispersing to ...visit whomever they deigned to visit during their stay in moon glow — though sometimes he stuck close to one or the other; observing their interactions.

though he was not as turtled into himself as akkuma, he was growing prickly and knew that in the here and now: among an extension of family, there was no place for that kind of attitude.

it was his mother that approached him and he peers up from the carrion leftovers he'd hastily dug and hid; greeting her with a furious wag of his tail. before he can speak she presents him with an offer — one he cannot ( nor would he ) refuse. yeah! he chirrups eagerly, paws smacking the ground with sudden and unbridled itch to go exploring. moments ago, he'd been pondering how he was going to spend his day but had immediately decided that her offer was a thousand times better than anything he would've came up with.

He had grown so much and so had her love for him.

She had loved them both plenty from the day they were born, that would be no question. Yet they bloomed into growing men with personalities all of their own. Akkuma was a swath of one kind of personality and Kivaluk was a proud boasting of another.

Come, come. She informed him, intending to trail them towards the spine's outer edges. The rugged paths would be good training for the journey back home. Will you tell me what you think of Moonglow?

eagerly, kivaluk follows along at a trot half beside and half behind sakhmet. though over the course of their stay here he has explored plenty on his own there is an ingrained sort of hesitation. moonglow might be family but it is not perceived as his, like natigvik. thus, kivaluk restricts himself on what he can explore by his lonesome. with sakhmet at the helm, though, he follows along without that held hesitation.

his ears perk, before fluttering back in contemplation of his answer to her question. i like it and everyone i've met, kivaluk hedges, weighing his words and true feelings carefully; as osiris weighs one's heart against the feather.

but it is not home. the truth, he decides.

She appreciated the honesty from him, leaning some in their movement to briefly nudge against him. Soon he might outgrow her entirely.

It's not, is it? But it is our family's home. Kukutux a respected figure, her children looked upon as fondly as her own. Natigvik would not stand if it was not for the kindness they had been given by Moonglow time and time again.

I miss home too, though. And you know, when we get back, you're big enough to explore further now. I bet the land will be bountiful too with our absence.

perhaps his feelings of 'not home' spawn from the fact that he was not born here: but kivaluk does not think too much about it; content not to look too deeply into it even as he bobs his head in response to her words. some day, he might outgrow the rooted attachment to natigvik ... or he may not.

perhaps in time, he would come to see moonglow as a second home.

such things, only time would tell.

kivaluk offers her his attention as they walk, though his gaze searches the curving rock spine, taking in sights that have grown familiar to him. i'm gonna explore all of it! he announces in an excited chirrup, eager to return and unravel the secrets that the river held.

Will you take your hunting skills back too?

This she asked with true curiosity. Her son had so much potential! So much ability! He had wished to be like his father, she recalled. Surely that held true through his time in Moonglow and his desire to return home.

The taiga has larger beasts than here.

Perhaps true, perhaps not entirely.

yes! kivaluk puffs out his breath, letting the word ride the exhale. and guard skills too! the truth was in his young, overly eager stage of life at the moment: he wanted to do everything but wasn't sure if such a thing was possible. he grows quiet for a moment, then letting the contemplation linger upon his tongue before parting his lips to speak. how many trades can i have? he asks his mother, realizing that in his go-get'em attitude he hadn't once stopped to ask if there was a limit.

the idea was a bit disheartening but he doesn't linger in it long.

are they more dangerous? not that, mind, he was old enough to take on dangerous beasts but the mischevious question sneaks out nonetheless and he is, if nothing else, curious.

She cherished his excitement, his learning. Her heart bloomed each time they asked such things! Although she dared not to think about how they had outgrown their uncles already.

Such a tragic thing that they'd never know them.

Pick one or two to start, hm? But if something else calls you, there's no shame in switching your focus. Once she had thought she might be a devout priestess, a slinking beast of shadows. Now she was Issumatar. A fierce leader and wide ranger.

They can be. She lowered her tone, hanging her head closer to his own. Some carry horns bigger than you! It would be here that she pounced some, diving in front of the path they were cutting across Moonglow. Perhaps the scouting endeavor might become a scuffle.

kivaluk takes her suggestion with a firm, sage nod. it made sense to pinpoint his focus as opposed to run the risk of overwhelming himself with all of the options — because, to kivaluk they certianly felt endless. like scout! he has already learned so much when it came to scouting, so he gravitates upon pushing his focus upon that first.

his eyes widen as she mentions that some of the prey in the taiga have horns that are bigger than him. wow, he breathes, ears cupping back atop his skull as he tries — and fails — to imagine it. can we go see 'em?! he asks in a whisper threaded with thinly veiled excitement.

You are already nearing being one! You have traveled so far, seen so much. She praised, a soft kiss to his head before she continued down their trail.

We will see if they are near when we return home. By then you will be big enough to accompany me on such a mission, hm? One pale brow raised as a small smile broke her features.

as kivaluk grows older — what feels like by the day to him! — new concepts occur to him but surprisingly, the fact that he was ( almost ) halfway to being a yearling hadn't. it's mildly perpexling and he blinks slowly. she was right, of course. he and akkuma were well on their way to becoming yearlings ...and he supposes he had not noticed the time flying by because he'd been so wrapped up in their trip to moonglow and all the excitment and homesickness that had came with it.

wow, he breathes, as if he cannot quite believe it. soon, he'd be considered an adult. sort of, at least. quietly, he takes a moment to relish in her praise, in the soft kiss she places upon his forehead. yes! he exclaims with unfiltered enthusiasm; tail giving a soft wag at the idea.

wrapping in favor of our newer thread? <3

He was lively, bustling with the idea.

She cherished him deeply and greatly. How wonderful it was to have been blessed with such a healthy, loving son. One who showed so much joy and promise for the world.

She would pepper him with tales of great beasts and hunters alike, content to spend the rest of the day with him, if he so desired.