Ouroboros Spine Eira

Warmer tides washed through the wilds, melting the snow and turning snowflakes into icy raindrops. Quu disliked this weather - her fur was wet and did not dry for days and the skin on the lower part of her crooked paw had turned red and inflamed. It did not help that she had slipped and fallen on an icy path, thus rendering her already incapacitated body nearly useless.

The little den she had occupied at the foot of the mountain had filled in with muddy water, so the young wolf had decided to seek a new place of residence somewhere higher up. Her progress was slow - she was limping and she needed many stops along the way. After an hour or two of fruitless search, she sat down for a longer rest.

To think too. Moonglow was her birth village and she had made herself comfortable since her return. Still - the fact that her path here was so difficult compared to the relative freedom at the coast, felt as if the place itself was resisting Kausiut's extended presence here.

Sandy was not a fan of the rain that clung to his pelt and made it stick to his muscles and bones. It bothered him if he was honest. He felt soggy and tight at the same time and it was disgusting. However, he continued on a slow plod towards the borders of Moonglow. He had already seen Moonwoman. Now he would look for Rodyn.

He lifted his muzzle high into the air, calling for his little brother. He settled near the borders a hen at his paws. As was customary of the male to bring food to a border meeting. He had little knowledge of what his brother did and truthfully Rodyn was probably out hunting. So he settled more firmly in his seat under a tree, near those borders and waited. Quietly. Patiently. Eyes closed.

Kau's pleasant silence of her mind was interrupted by a call near the borders. She looked to the side, waited a little to see, if anyone else would respond or come to greet the visitor. No one appeared, therefore she for lack of anything better to do got to her feet again and limped towards the caller.

Her gaze met a man, who looked somewhat familiar and at the same time was entirely foreign. She hesitated, realizing the inequality of power here, if it came to a physical confrontation. But a pleasant smell of food washed those doubts away - the stranger had not come alone. He had brought a gift.

Encouraged by this she closed the distance between them, stopping, where she felt safe and comfortable, regarded him with mild curiousity, waved her tail in a polite greeting and then looked down at the bird, recalling now that she had not eaten today yet.

Pretty pelt of roses and gold came upon him, he blinked and smiled. There was a golden eye that matched the hue of her pelt. She gave him a soft tail wag, so for the time being at least it was a nice interaction.

He pressed the bird forward. Would you like it? I'm Sandulf Ardeth. I came to see my brother Rodyn, but if you don't mind passing the time with a stranger I can just chat with you while you eat. Or i can let you be too.

She smelled like Moonwoman, so he felt comfortable enough to share information with her and have a small chat. He wasn't sure what he needed or expected from any of the last few interactions he had. But he was searching for something, but unsure what it was.

Kausiut did not have to be told twice. She lunged forward, grabbed the bird and just as quickly retreated back to her earlier spot. There she put it down, sniffed it over and then looked up at the man. Gaze serious and muzzle almost forming a warning growl. In case he changed his mind and wanted the bird back.

She had every intention to leave this guy - for he had fulfilled his purpose - but he had started to talk and Kau felt obligation to reply. Especially, if he was someone Kukutux knew. Stealing from visitors may have been an acceptable behaviour with the Walrus hunters (they did not have friends, they had interests), but it probably would not be looked upon favourably here.

"Kausiut," she told. "Brother?"

Two steps back as the girl lunged, his tail curled around his paws and immediately on guard. But she didn't look to attack him, just wanted the food. He froze inbetween indecision and propriety. As it dictated he be mannerly, and he had been. However, she no longer seemed amenable to company and his ruff rose.

She spoke her words short, miniscule, and to the point. He frowned, ruff still raised, though he settled a little firmer into his paws, instead of poised to run further away. He looked her over, waiting for her to lunge again. Clearly she was not one for small talk, so he spoke precise to the point.

Hello Kausiut He gave a firm nod. Yes younger brother Rodyn. First Hunter.

Kausiut had surprised him and it did not appear he was entirely fine with the behaviour. She watched him carefully for any sign of him mirroring her actions or do anything else and eventually expressed some calming signals to tell that she was not endangering him in any way now. However, a pointed glance down at the bird, then back at him reinforced, what she had told earlier - the food was hers.

"Rodyn," she repeated, thinking now about the man, who were to become Samani's husband and who had brought gifts to her to earn that right. Kau looked over her shoulder, as if expecting him to arrive any moment, but no one came. "Away," she looked back at Sandulf. "Husband?" she asked, wondering, if the bird he had brought had been meant for someone else inside Moonglow.

She had indeed surprised him and though it took some doing. He slowly calmed down, finally his ruff settled and his ears perked forward to catch her words. While his eyes traced along her face and then down to the meat she pointed at. 

Yes it's yours. She seemed a wolf that relied on her instincts rather than speech and he had no problem with that. IT would just take some adjusting on his end. But they all had instincts for a reason.

Yea he's due to get married to um. I'm sorry I can't remember his future wifes name.

He shook his head. No I'm no ones husband. I'm no ones anything. You can eat it.

He tilted his head and looked up at the sky, tracing through the treetops. He shivered at teh wet feeling and moved further under the tree. He motioned for her to move if she liked. 

I can't pass your borders, but if you're getting to wet, would you like to share the tree shade?

"Samani," Kausiut spoke her sister's name, then leaned down, picked the bird and placed it further away from the strange. Even with his blessing to possess it, she did not fully trust his words. Words could hide truth in a way that body language never did.

When he declared that he was a free man, Kau immediately thought of her mother, who had been out of the village recently and when she did return, she brought scents of other wolves with her. Of male gender - their scent had a particular edge, common to all.

"Wife?" she tilted her head to the side, wondering whether besides to visit his brother, he also intended to mingle with the village women.

Sandy let a small smile grace is face at her movements. He really wasn't planning on taking it back, but he had no other clear idea how to make her know that. So he simply pointedly looked away from it and instead focused on the girl in front of him. His body language loose and neutral.

He shook his head. No I didn't come to find a wife. Just visiting. Was he adverse to the idea. Well he wasn't entirely certain. He thought of crowfeather, of silvertongue, both who he had attachments too, but he was so unversed in the ways of love and relationships with the exception of one brief interlude, that he didn't know how he felt about the two.

He eyed the girl and then motioned at her. Husband? Was she the daughter, Moonwoman was looking to find a man for?

Kausiut snorted at the implication in quite an unladlylike manner. What would she do with a husband? Though there were practical aspects that came with marriage, it also involved an investment from her. And from watchin her mom and Aiolos and spying on other village couples, she realized that she found the affectionate nature of their relationship something she would never tolerate. So - in short - she needed a free-for-all-and-forever restaurant, not a living being to form an attachment with in exchange for food.

"Village?" she asked next, wondering, which place he called home and why was he not here with his brother.

Sandy chuckled at her quick snort and dipped his muzzle. Placing a paw along his snout. I guess that answers that. I apologize if i overstepped.

He wondered why she acted thusly. It seemed that most of the females he knew, with the exception of maybe Silvertongue liked forming the attachments. And Silvertongue liked them too, but for an entirely different reason.

Riverclan. My leaders are Crowfeather and Silvertongue. He turned towards the way he came and motioned down the  mountain. 

He slowly painstakingly drew a crude map in the mud near her border. To do so he had to move, but he did so slowly and without any intent to harm, so he didn't cause her fear. Once his map was drawn, he backed away from her and returned to his spot.

Kausiut was still a character in making. Most of the time she preferred her own company - it was the easiet way to exist without the unnecessary complication of understanding people's motivations and feelings that came with forming attachments. Yet... even with her quite asocial nature, her time with the Walrus hunters had not only given her the gift of speech, but also a glint of curiousity. Her travel had shown that the world was a much bigger place than she had made it to be. And that other people could be interesting even if it was for purely pragmatic and practical reasons. To conclude it - she was wary of getting attached to anyone (did not feel an inner necessity to do so), but at the same time she had scientific interest in people.

Riverclan. Crowfeather. Silvertongue. Then Sandulf did something she had never seen before. With the help of his paw he drew lines in the mud and she followed his movements attentively. When he finished, she had not figured out, what it was, therefore she placed one of her paws on the line, looked up at him and asked: "What?"

Sandulf was not averse to spending his time alone. He had done so for a chunk of time, much of his adult hood. It had been lonely at times, but also peaceful. He didn't have to worry about anyone, but himself. He had been able to grow and spread his wings so to speak. And he wouldn't trade it.

Her small paws were placed on the lines he had drawn and he followed her movements. He met her gaze and smiled. He motioned for her to move her paw, and he slowly traced what he had written. 

It's a map. This here is your home yea, this is how you get to my home riverclan. Through the trees and pathways hidden by most things. There are two packs on either side of us too. Swiftcurrent Creek and Kvarsheim.

 He made their small spots and showed again how to move through them. He spoke at length, but tried to be simple. Giving her basic landmarks of a physical nature, small stories for her to remember the places he spoke of. He hoped he didn't confuse her further.

"Map,"Kausiut repeated to herself, watching closely, how Sandulf retraced the lines he had drawn and told, how they would lead to his home. Truth to be told, such visual aid would be of little help to her, if she ever decided to actually go. What attracted her was the fact that you could create shapes, lines and figures - up until then she had thought that creation had been a final process - nothing was new. You could simply arrange, what had already been made in a different formation. Like her games with the treasures.

"More?" she asked, looking up, eager to see, what else the man could draw.

Sandulf nodded thoughtfully at her words. Yes Map.

She watched him closely and he grew a bit shy, one ear laid to his skull as he tried to reorient himself. He wasn't used to be so closely watched. He was usually the one listening or paying attention. This was a new experience, and he wasn't entirely comfortable, but he tried not to let it show. Because she was not being harmful and she seemed to really enjoy the lines. 

A soft smile lit up his face, and he turned his face away from her the scarred part, and bent to the task. Paw pressed down, a furrow between his brows, tip of tongue lolling out as he concentrated.

He pressed flat down and then moved in shape. The lines of a tree formed beneath his paws. Fatter than most trees, because paws. He drew riverse, and small animals with a claw tip. There were flowers. He tried hard to show her. He wasn't an artist by any means, but their mother had shown them how to put pictures on rocks with squished plants and water. He hoped he was showing her something fun.

Had Kausiut had the capacity, she would have asked the meaning of this ritual. Was it anything like, what Sialuk liked to do with her bones? Or - she dimly remembered a tall, brooding man naming his set of bone fragments. Did Sandulf also connect with the spirits this way - like shamans of villages could? Yet - she found odd that rather than chanting and talking in detail to try and explain, he said nothing, letting his paws do the work.

To be honest - expect a Da Vinci from a dog, whose paws are not meant for the task of art, is naive. It took a while for Kau to recognize a tree in, what he had drawn, because her mind had first sought more complex, deeper meanings. And when realization came, she huffed, sat back and eyed the image somewhat skeptically. She looked briefly at the man, saying: "Spirits?" Pointed at the drawing and then looked up to the sky.

There was no meaning behind the shapes and the things he did. It had been something he had learned to do when his mother and sister's were busy. When he didn't have duties with his dad. And again when he was alone, after his sister had stayed with her mate and he had moved along.

Sandulf tried his best. He knew that it wouldn't look great, because paws, and claws did not good pictures make. He supposed he could have used a tree branch, that would have made the lines a little bit slimmer, but he didn't like to hold it so tight for so long. It made his jaw hurt.

Sandulf huffed a gentle laugh and shook his head. Practice and time. Fun.

Warm Yellow eyes met hers for a brief moment and he smiled, before averting his eyes. He didn't wish to upset her, or get attacked for staring into her gaze.

Sandulf had not understood Kausiut's question, but she correctly assumed that the answer was "no". No particular meaning to doing this other than "fun". It should not have felt odd to her - after all Kau too had once been a child and had spent time playing with things. Yet even then it had felt as if there had been a particular purpose. This... this was different.

She focused on the drawing again, tracing the lines and shapes, then lifted one of her forepaws and drew an awkward line in the snow. She furrowed her brow, not satisfied with her progress, sighed and looked over her shoulder at the food. All this talking and drawing and concentration had made her hungry. The girl got to her feet, shook her coat and stretched.

"Go," she told him, indicating that the conversation was over and that she wanted to leave. "Rodyn," she shrugged, thought a little and then added, "Call. Two." Call him again.