Qeya River envy
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Ooc — ebony
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#1
All Welcome 
lestan mayfair was to instruct. but he had not the faintest idea how to be a teacher.
yet sakhmet asked this of him. and so he would do it. he loped to the common grounds, where the dens stood, and there he howled tentatively for @Kivaluk, offering a day-trip toward the glacier in search of natigvik's resident herd.
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#2
the howl for him rises, cutting thru the air. at first, there is confusion if only because kivaluk cannot immediately place the voice with a name. it wasn't one of natigvik that he spent a fair amount of time with. despite this, he makes his way towards where lestan's howl had risen above the treeline; ears pushed forth with unbidden curiousity.

you called? inquires kivaluk, greeting the older male with a tentative half wag of his tail.

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#3
"hello, kivaluk!" lestan's voice was friendly, but he remained respectful. this was the son of leadership, and he would remember that.
"i was going to scout the herd. would you like to come?"
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hello — kivaluk pauses for a moment, trying to recall the older male's name. it takes him a moment. lestan. there is a small pause between his intial greeting and the man's name and kivaluk eases his own guilt on temporarily forgetting lestan's name by offering a sheepish smile of apology.

of course! kivaluk replies eagerly, giving a wag of his tail.

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#5
lestan and kivaluk. he liked the sound of them, off to be adventurers.
"well! the issumatar sent me off to the glacier before, and that's where i found this herd. there are seven adults in all and i think — two younger ones. they're male but the rest of them are female. though i think i did see a buck once, so maybe eight?"
he laughed as the air grew colder. "one thing about me, i will talk forever. apologies in advance."
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#6
kivaluk is quick to notice that lestan is a chatty beast, even before the male admits as such, tacking on an apology. even so, the information lestan offers kivaluk is helpful: detailing out the herd so there were no surprises.

seven adults. two fawns. maybe an eighth.

it's alright. kivaluk attempts to both reassure and brush away the unneeded apology. you've been watching the herd for a while, then? he inquires, placing the detailed pieces given to him together.

you are a hunter? follows in its wake; though it felt like a foolish question to kivaluk as it hangs in the air between them, unable to be snatched back despite how the young boy wished he could.

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#7
"yes. honestly, since i got here. i've been back and forth since. if it ever got to be bad out here, with the winter, we could go to the glacier."
he stopped short, examining a deer's muzzle, which lifted to strip bark off a nearby tree. "she's got blue eyes," he exulted to kivaluk. "i call her boysenberry." he snorted a laugh. "hunter. not at all! i do enjoy tracking, but the killing part — it isn't as pleasant."
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if it ever got to be bad out here, with the winter, we could go to the glacier —

these words, kivaluk plays over and over in his mind; attempting to make sense of them. what did it mean if it got bad? that they would run out of food? too exposed to predators that lurked in the neighboring territories to the river? relocate? his head spins with the questions he does not have the answers to; torn between stubbornly rooting in his paws and saying no like a captain going down with their ship or deducing that there was merit to it.

he was not sure what exactly to expect of this winter ...but the way the adults spoke it sounded like it would be strenuous. testing natigvik in a way they may not have been tested before.

lestan goes on to mention about someone with blue eyes. for a long moment, kivaluk assumes he is speaking of a wolf and while is a bit perplexed by the sudden change in subject realizes with a twitch of embarrassment that lestan was talking about a deer.

having had nothing to add to the grim-esque speak of winter kivaluk has remained quiet; breaking it only to let out a soft laugh. it occurs to him in the moments later that it had been rude; but noticing a deer had blue eyes? naming her? that meant an attachment that made kivaluk side eye lestan.

why? he blurts out, unsure even if it was explain to him if he'd ever understand. they are prey and i am the hunter. kivaluk says as if it explained his behavior moments ago. why make it more complicated than that?

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#9
kivaluk's silence grew and grew and lestan shivered in the cold of it. he knew the boy was thinking of many things; he sensed it, but he could not know that his off-hand comment had shaken the young wolf.
it had not even occurred to the amaguk that the boy was too young to know what was coming, and to the already-chilly taiga.
kivaluk's words were sharper than he expected. lestan blinked several times. "why, i —" but he had nothing to say, and so shut his mouth lest he gape like a fool.
"i suppose getting to know them makes it easier for me to count each one of them. if we're to rely on this herd for food, naming them means i — we — will know if someone kills one or if they die through other causes."
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#10
in the aftermath of his question does kivaluk feel guilt began to gnaw at him. that hadn't been very gracious of him, especially as lestan was taking time out of his day to teach him. he lets the silence linger for a bit longer, stewing before offering a soft, ashamed, i'm sorry. that was rude of me. just because he didn't understand didn't mean he could be a bully about it. how easily that line had blurred for him!

now that you explain it, it makes sense. they were being named and remembered with a purpose and not for being whimsical.

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#11
he shook his head quite gaily. "think nothing of it. we only come from two different places, you and i. and there is a privilege to studying a herd like this, one that would not be afforded if we were starving."
he smiled at the boy and inclined his head, leading one.
here he found tracks in a patch of shorn grass, marks from the hooves of the youngest deer. "what does this say to you, kivaluk?"
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#12
there is soft reassurance given that soothes the worst of kivaluk's worries about potentially crossing a boundry line he had not intended to cross. it is easy, sometimes, to forget that he is old enough that, that sort of behavior wasn't acceptable ( if it ever had been ). he was hoping by showing accountability and making an effort to be more open minded that he may be able to prove to the adults of natigvik ( mostly sakhmet ) that he was grown up.

kivaluk stops at lestan's side when the older male stops, studying the small hoof tracks in the short, trampled grasses. he draws in the scent too; trying to deduce how fresh the soft indents made in the dirt were. but he studies around them, too, looking for larger hoof tracks but spotting none. that one of the young ones might've gotten seperated? he surveys, looking up at lestan then for confirmation.

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lestan nodded. "there's at least one with them. a late fawn or yearling. a bit thin." the aspiring naturalist dreaded what that meant: that the animal would not survive the winter.
it hurt his heart to consider, but maybe it would be best if natigvik took the creature before it began a slow starvation. "the bucks and stags will come down from the glacier to fight soon, and mate with the does. in early spring, they will drop new fawns and young ones like this will be chased out if they are male."
the hunter went on, looking toward the boy.
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#14
kivaluk lets out a small contemplative noise in his throat. how can you tell it's thin from its prints? kivaluk inquires, soft furrow wrinkling his brow. or... do you know that from watching them? he adds a beat later, having forgotten for a moment that lestan has been watching the herd for a while despite that they'd just spoken about it.

they chase the males out? kivaluk asks, surprised. this is news to him; useful news even if it meant that there wasn't too many bucks to deal with while hunting.

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lestan stooped closer. "a print is only as deep as its wearer, correct? these should be heavier for the age of the fawns," he explained. "they should be as deep as an adult's by now."
the hunter nodded. "yes. too many bucks cause for a horrid time. always fighting and harassing the females. it is peace to throw them out and continue on."
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#16
oh, kivaluk breathes as lestan answers his question, feeling embarrasment brush against his cheeks. right. makes sense. so much sense that kivaluk feels like it should've been common sense; but he tries to assure himself that he's still learning, that his questions aren't stupid and that it was perfectly ok to ask when he wasn't sure. still, in his plight to want to act like an adult he cannot help but beat himself up ( even a little bit ).

huh, he drawls in soft contemplation. so herds are mostly doe?

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#17
"yes. a lead doe and her daughters. but in this herd, it is her son who supports her." and fiercely so. "he will get to mate with the other females save her. that way the herd grows larger and stronger with more daughters."
he smiled. "nature has industrious ways, kivaluk."
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#18
huh, kivaluk drawls in quiet contemplation, letting that information sit. his attention strays from lestan, alert for the presence of the herd they were tracking. is that usual? kivaluk inquires, figuring if lestan didn't want his questions ( which might just be repeats of information already given ), he would tell him not to ask ...but as that hasn't happened yet, kivaluk feels comfortable enough to ask them.

even if he felt a bit sheepish about it.

for herds, i mean.

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#19
"yes! statistically you will kill more females than males." he said it with the great confidence of a field scientist, and looked warmly to kivaluk.
"let's go back. i would like to see you track something, if you do not mind. and i'll help, of course," he said with a laugh.
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#20
this seemed like a good place to archive this. <3

huh, kivaluk murmurs, contemplating lestan's words. it seems like useful information, so he tucks it aside. he has no issue hunting does ...for the simple that bucks' antlers look like something to be weary of.

ok! he chirrups in response to the task lestan has given him. he finds and follows a fox trail — that has unfortunately gone stale and leads to a dead end when they get back to the qeya river; but he is proud of his attempt all the same and parts ways with lestan with the hopes they might be able to have another lesson soon.

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