Qeya River kinnaktuk

Tulukiri was not settling in to the village well. The man did not expect her to, given the way they had been received, and given what he knew of her temperament. Still, she was a skilled fighter that he had spent time in training; it would be good to have her around, Kigipigak thought.

He had not seen her since their return to the village — but word had been shared with Kigipigak that she was still as abrasive as ever, and that she had at least been tended to by the medicine wolf. It struck Kigipigak that he did not know all the faces that populated his village. It was very much Sakhmet's village in these moments, rather than his own.

For now he would seek out his sons, and he called for @Kivaluk first, then @Akkuma, and lastly as he rounded upon the riverside he found the scent of Tulukiri, so he called for her as well. It would be a fine time to introduce them together; the girl could serve as some sort of guardian to them, or a trainer.

kivaluk is not far off when his father's voice rises; calling for him first and then following up for akkuma. a soft frown tugs at kivaluk's lips as he makes his way towards where his father's call had originated from, unsure if akkuma would make an appearance. his brother had been receeding into himself a lot. more than recently, in truth. perhaps notably after their father's departure but also during their time in moonglow as well.

still, kivaluk worries about him even as he tends to what he has taken upon himself to tend to.

father, kivaluk greets upon his approach.

The call is one she knows well enough — it is the rallying call of her tutor, and Tulukiri is more than happy to oblige him. She had spent many hours working alongside Kigipigak to better herself and the unit she was pledged to, and to be called by name in this way bolsters a sense of pride within her, as well as feeling very familiar.

When she does appear, she is not alone. There is a gray-brown boy standing before Kigipigak who she does not know, and she is immediately on her guard; but also, her tail is raised with the same prideful bearing she carried before Amalia, and she cast a possessive glare towards the boy. He couldn't have been much older than herself, although he was broad-shouldered and growing in to his legs.

Reporting in, sir! She cajoled of Kigipigak, standing to-attention as she had been taught by Tulimaq a month ago; but this was clearly in jest, and she side-eyed the boy. Whose the runt?

Spotting Kivaluk first, Kigipigak feels the same intense need to close the distance and hold him, like the way he felt for Sakhmet; however he knew it was too strange, given that he was never before so forthright with his sons, so he holds off.

The boy stands before him looking almost grown: tall, stalwart, having matured to something between boy and man. Akkuma does not arrive alongside him and for a moment Kigipigak looks for him; but he remembers how withdrawn the other son could be, and does not fault him for that. Perhaps he is busy with other lessons.

As Kigipigak opens his mouth, Tulukiri arrives; she makes her usual jests, and when a verbal swipe is made for Kivaluk the man clears his throat, giving her a look of reproach. He knows she is not serious and would rather explain their meeting rather than deal with her attitude.

Kivaluk, my son, he says this specifically to watch Tulukiri shrivel a bit, this is Tulukiri. She is a warrior of Tartok, as well as a peer close to your age. I have been training her — so I have decided she will be your training partner.

Given how different his two sons had grown to be, and that Akkuma was not present, this would have to suffice.

And when your are equals in your skills, I will take over training the pair of you myself.

akkuma's absence continues and though kivaluk is used to it, there is still a slight sting that his brother is missing, well, everything. for the moment, kivaluk tucks thoughts away — not wanting to bring up his brother's isolation in front of a stranger. well, no. not a stranger to his father but a stranger to him.

he eyes her with a small scoff as she calls him a runt.

it's a little insulting, as thus far he's always been treated like the princeling he was ( or so he believes ), but she reminds him of sadey and thus he doesn't take it too personally.

kigipigak introduces him and then her. hello, kivaluk offers, unsure what quite to make of her just yet; though he ( and by proxy she ) was told she would be training him. at any rate, kivaluk is eager to learn as much as he can: wanting to be as useful to natigivik as he could be.

Shrivel she did, on the inside. Nothing betrayed her feelings on the outside except for the slightest twitch of her tail as its pendulum-motion came to a stop. Her eyes also quickly averted to the dirt while she felt her face flush with warmth, and by happenstance she stared at the dirt in front of Kivaluk anyway, so when he said hello Tulukiri's eyes lit upon him and she gave a small smile in return.

This was news that Tulukiri had not expected. When she had been training with Kigipigak before it was a solo venture, or with every recruit at once; that he wasn't willing to train the two of them at the same time was not above his ability, and Tulukiri wanted to speak up about that — but a glance at Kivaluk made her rethink things, not that she knew why.

Nice to meet you, kid. Was her terse reply.

If I'm your tutor, I guess I gotta know - what you know. You know? A touch of her usual annoying mannerisms came out in that moment and when she recognized it of herself, Tulukiri's ears flickered. What training have you had so far?

Of course, she could go with Kigipigak's style — a brawl right off the bat, but given how the wolves of the village had treated her on arrival (and the fact she now sported a fresh wound) made Tulukiri a little leery of them all.

Kigipigak trusted that his son would be on his best behavior, more-so than the new recruit, but over time they would bond as fellow warriors; it was the way of things. He wondered to himself if this was what @Kukutux felt when making a match and immediately regretted the mental image that emerged of the two which flashed through his mind: side by side, issumatar and sangilak. Clearly Kigipigak had other things on his mind that were interfering with this arrangement.

I will leave you two to discuss your plans. He announced, as Tulukiri began engaging in proper conversation. Tulukiri, you may be older and more experienced with things, but do not underestimate my son. It will be your downfall in this training if you rely too strongly on your pride. That was a good warning to them both, but he leveled it against the golden girl for all he knew of her.

And Kivaluk — he did not quite know what to say to him, as he looked upon his son and felt somehow an absence, not of love or pride but of something he could not name. The boy truly had grown in to himself while Kigipigak was away; but he could not become maudlin (he was not built for it, nor was it appropriate) and so he cleared his throat.

This is a good chance for you to grow ever stronger. She may be an unconventional teacher at times, but I expect you to listen and to learn, and to show me in time that you are her equal, or her better. With that said he looked proudly upon his son a moment, and then moved like a father might to grasp the shoulder of his son, a rare moment of physical affection that was on the side of awkward.

I have work to do now, to catch up on things around the village. Good luck to the both of you.

Away he went, then, to leave the pair alone to hash things out properly.

if there is one thing kivaluk has learned: it was to adapt as necessary; and if he was ever going to boast about anything it was his adaptability. kid lingers in the air to prickle against his skin but he holds his tongue. despite everything, he knows he is still a kid. soon, he would not be considered such, but for now it was simply the way of things.

though kigipigak was quick to tell her not to underestimate him.

it is only after he watches kigipigak disappear that he turns frostbound gaze to tulukiri, where it remains.

he wishes, fiercely, he could tell her he had a lot of experience with fighting but the truth was beyond tug-o-war and typical tussels with akkuma — which have not happened in a long time — he has neglected mercenary training. mostly, i have been focused on hunting, kivaluk tells her honestly. with my father gone and unsure of when he would return, learning to help the pack in that way seemed most pressing.

The man held some words for his son, and a warning suspended in the air for Tulukiri which she balked at; but she listened, more-so because she could not rend her ears from her head in time to stop the sounds. Some aspects of Kigipigak's training were things she did not appreciate (such as the constant brow-beating over her pride) but she'd learned to live with it while abroad.

He dispersed, much to Tulukiri's disdain; however her focus was now upon the boy and his answer. It sounded typical of the son of a hunter, and less involved than she would have liked. If this really was Kigipigak's son, should he not have the drive to fight? Would he not have been born among those of Tartok and made to train, as she did, from the start? Evidently not.

Everyone can hunt, she states flatly. If you couldn't you'd starve. That isn't exactly a major skill. As if the potential starvation of the boy's family weren't a motivator or anything. Tulukiri did not know the history of this village nor did she care to learn it.

Right, well. Guess I have my work cut out for me then. She let her eyes wander over him. Her assessment was limited but she gave no clear indication of what she thought as she observed him. You wanna show me what you can do?

The medic had warned her against moving too much, or irritating the dried poultice that caked her neck and shoulder. Tulukiri did not think that Kivaluk would threaten her recovery time in any way and did not think about her wounds.

Lets play pretend - maybe that's more your style. A cheeky smile appears upon her face as she says this, and she ducks in to a defensive play-bow. Ah! I am the great villain Taggakgiit come to eat your dinner and pee on your things!

her flat statement — while true — prickles at kivaluk; threatening to rankle him despite his best efforts to keep it from getting beneath his skin. i disagree, kivaluk says quickly, drawls in a breath and lets it out. but i won't argue. that wasn't what they'd been told to do and he didn't want to waste energy defending his trade choice.

a soft scoff leaves kivaluk's lips. i'm not a child.

it wasn't true, at least not entirely ...but as he hasn't felt like a cub in a long time he doesn't like being treated like one.

i'll 'show you what i've got' but don't treat me like a cub. that was all he asked and as far as he was concerened: wasn't asking too much.

She held back her laughter this time but it shone in her eyes, as she leaned her weight from paw to paw, waiting for him to do something entertaining.

Prove you aren't one, first. Then, maybe, he'd have earned his place as something more. That was the way of the world - you keep what you kill, and all that. He hadn't done anything to earn himself any titles so far as she knew.

Her attention was focused upon what he might do, and she was ready. Shoulders squared to him, head low, her body like a snake ready to strike.

though it embarrasses him, his only experiences fighting stem from play wrestling with akkuma. which, obviously, hadn't been serious. but one had to learn to get good, to gain experience ...and if he was going to trade scout for mercenary then he had to start somewhere. she tells him to prove that he wasn't — and while he would readily argue his points — he knows telling wasn't what she meant.

she wanted him to show her.

kivaluk accepts the challenge, studying her posture; assessing. he does for a few moments longer before finally lunging clumsily and with his body language telling, for her muzzle.

She lets him get close enough, get his hopes up, and then snakes back and around and slap! Using her own clenched muzzle, smacks his nose with her chin and wheels around him.

Try again! She goads, slowing her pace so that he has ample time to recover and reach out for her again; or maybe he'd give up after failing that first try, and that would tell her a lot about him too.

kivaluk reels back when her chin smacks into his nose. for a moment, he's stunned having been so confident and sure in his attack. he plops on his butt for a second, blinking before gathering himself; not as quickly as he'd have liked. he gives his head a soft shake, nose still smarting though the needly shock was beginning to fade.

at her goading he pushes himself back to his feet, steels his shoulders, studying her again and tries again, this time darting low in an effort to snap at one of her front legs.

We could close this here and have a more current thread if you like?

If it were possible to cue a training montage, this would be it. Tulukiri and Kivaluk together: hard at work, teeth occasionally flying, more than one miss-step on both their parts. It was all meant to test the boy's progress so far and help the anneriwok discover what needed to be done in the first place.

The boy had heart. He was the son of an established warrior, a fact which Tulukiri resented but saw the merit of. In time he could become something strong, with skills to rival his own parents. The only things in the way of such a life, according to the juvenile trainer, included two things: Tulukiri's own low level of patience, and Kivaluk's tenacity. At what point would the girl's games become too irritating? Or perhaps the training itself too harrowing for the both of them?

For now, they would perform this basic dance. Tulukiri did not often look to the future, yet with each step made by Kivaluk or slice of his teeth through the air, she counted how close each near-miss came to grappling her neck, or her leg, and knew one day she would be no match for him.