Moonspear girl

maybe @Njord? <3

nasamik's time grew near. the grieving of the first family upon the mountain had finally drawn the attention of the seal hunter.
they were not his people. they were not northern. and yet sialuk cared for them. therefore this day he brought the fatty meat of a fresh-caught beaver.
a chuff a fair distance from the den he hoped would catch the ear of the other man.
chakliux, always prepared to prove himself against another hunter, waited, the offering at his paws.

The new additions to the Sveijarn-Corten family were thriving despite a turbulent entry into the world. Njord barely wandered from their ulaq and his wife’s side. He made sure Meerkat and their daughters would want for nothing – perhaps in an effort to repent for last year’s absence (something that would never leave his heart and mind completely).

So focused was he, that Njord neglected to pay much attention to Chakliux and Nassamik. It wasn’t anything personal – just the way things panned out. Yet, perhaps a part of him had outgrown the need for validation from others. Even though Moonspear was his village, Meerkat and their children would always be his home.

The thought of Mireille, Sobo, and Loko speared him from time to time.

On this day, Njord left his trio napping and set out to source some old meat from a cache. It was then, the pale man caught his attention.

the man who chakliux knew now to be meerkat's husband was a well-built wolf with scarring to show what he had done in his life.
at once did he gain the seal hunter's respect.
chakliux let out a low whoop. "we are both new fathers in moonspear. i have brought fat meat for your lodge." he indicated the beaver, turning his vibrant eyes upon the man once more. "i am called chakliux."

Njord’s expression was open with interest when he met the wolf who had welcomed Quennell into his lodge. For that, Njord already owed him a great debt – for he felt responsible for the red-backed young man.

The bright cherry of Chakliux’s eyes stood out against his white pelt like blood on snow. His build and name reminded Njord of Kigipigak. Another northerner… perhaps they knew each other?

Then, he learned Chakliux’s wife had given birth. Oh! Njord’s face widened with the realization, unaware she had been close to her due date. At once, Njord felt sorry he had not welcomed the trio more warmly… and Chakilux’s gift made the seawolf aware he had become reticent.

“Ah thank ye, Chakilux… this is a gran’ thing tae do,” he said, the burr of his voice deep with gratitude. “My wife, Meerkat, will appreciate this meal over ol’ meat from a cache.” He fell silent for a moment. “We lost one son in tha birth… I ‘av not strayed far from ‘er since,” he explained thoughtfully.

As if not to dwell, Njord’s expression brightened. “M’name’s Njord… an’ now I ken I must repay ye for yer kindness.” A cordial laugh. “How is yer wife? Yer wee ones?”

And then a realization: Njord had never known another father before.

chakliux felt himself appraised and stood tall, still beneath the scrutiny of the older hunter. and then there were words again, an accent he could hardly parse. but he knew his own was heavy; the seal hunter tones weighted even the other northern dialects.
something tightened his eyes; he cleared his throat to hear of loss.
"nasamik and i lost two children."
sons. daughters. both. chakliux had not wanted to know, not even as his senses recorded that knowledge forever. he would never speak it.
the seal hunter's voice was hoarse with grief for a moment. "the oil father, sometimes he takes back what is given." always for a reason.
he pushed past; onward. "you owe me nothing, njord. but if you want a trade, then i will trade hunting for the skins we take." more for nasamik. more for her lodge.
"my son, raiyuk, he is strong. his mother heals. his voice is small, but already i know its sound." the berry-bright eyes, radiant once more. "and yours? and how is your mate?"

Njord’s good ear fell to half-mast to telegraph his empathy. Chakliux’s oil father sounded a lot like Meares’ Atlan, and his proverb reminded Njord of the ocean’s ways: a cycle of give and take. But there was no sea in Moonspear’s high forests – and for a moment he longed for the comfort of the coast’s briny air.

His head bobbed and acknowledgment and agreement with a stern look. There was no room for ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ here… Njord simply stood in solidarity with Chakliux, knowing they had both gone through the same ordeal as husbands and partners. The small comfort of having a cohort eased his heart.

“Ah trade sounds good,” Njord continued. He was reminded of Rodyn and Sialuk’s gifts. “Tae trade hasnae been part of my life a’fore. Seems tae be a common thing here, hmm?” he observed. “I have seen wolves of these mountains curing skins an’ makin’ crafts,” he laughed, lighthearted. “Ah ‘ave much tae learn.”

Then, the conversation turned back to family. Njord saw the way Chakliux’s demeanor changed when he spoke of Raiyuk. A father’s pride and joy.

“Meerkat is tired, but well,” he shared. “This is our second litter ta’gether, but her pregnancy wasnae easy this time.” The trials of the bear and Sapphique had added so much stress. “We were blessed with two bonnie lassies, an’ ‘ave named them Orca an’ Seal.” Then, Njord smiled. “Ah’m lookin’ forward tae them growin’ besides your Raiyuk.” A village with children!

upon moonspear, this small congregation of grieving fathers convened, and chakliux did not know that he had ever felt so seen. "sialuk's people — well, her mother speaks what we call sunshine words. i am a seal hunter, as are those in my lodge. we speak different. but all people trade and craft."
chakliux was fiercely grateful that njord did not dip further, that they only looked upon each other in knowing as hunters who had suffered the same together. it moved the man higher and higher in his mind.
there was humour on his mouth. "what is a boneelassee?" he asked in interest, thinking already ahead of marriages made. but that would be his wife's choice. raiyuk was still so new, still vulnerable to spirits.
"i think of this future also," chakliux said carefully. "maybe you will walk with me some small minutes, njord?" they both had wives and families, but the delta was eager not to be alone again, at least not for now.

Njord would have pursued discourse about the thrills of seal hunting had the conversation not steered back toward their children.

He made a breathy, laughing sound. Njord often forgot others were not accustomed to his cultural jargon. “Tis two words,” he explained. “Bonnie means beautiful an’ good. A lass, or lassie, is a girl.” He pondered for a moment. “An’ on tha other paw, Raiyuk,” the roll of Njord’s R’s was noticeable there, “would be a braw lad. Braw meanin’ handsome, brave, or fine an’ lad meanin’ boy.”

Chaliux invited Njord to shift their pleasantries to a longer conversation. After receiving such a thoughtful gift of good meat, joining the seal hunter was the least he could do. “Aye,” Njord agreed, “Meerkat willnae wake for a wee while, at least. An’ I wish tae ken ye better.”

Njord sidestepped, as if to start their momentum.

the man followed. "ah!" chakliux exclaimed, gaze clearing as njord gave the meanings of these words. raiyuk, a braw-lad. he could not help but run the words together, but it was clear from his expression that chakliux was quite pleased with this exchange.
"in the seal hunter words, for beautiful, it is inikuk. and for girl it is niviatsiak. for boy, we say nukappiak."
he laughed, for these sounds were very different from the ones given by his new friend. "when a girl is beautiful, we say she is like soft water or new grass. when a boy is strong, we call him dark cloud over still water, or hunting shadow."
chakliux turned to show the scars upon his shoulder. "it is best to be strong."

Njord found the Northerner’s jargon quite poetic. Descriptive phrases like soft water or hunting shadow made a wolf’s achievements feel more meaningful. Tangible. A direct correlation to nature’s forces. On meares island, Njord had been named for a distant Atlantian god… and he always felt it couldn’t have been more abstract, or detached, from who he truly was. If Njord had been born among Chakliux’s people, what would he have been called? Or his children?

The man’s pelagic eyes turned to see the healed wounds upon his cohort’s shoulder. On his face, too. It was clear Chakliux was proud of these marks. Njord had never garnered the same sentiment about his own. Shame, sadness, and loss were the only emotions evoked whenever Njord peered upon his marred reflection in ice or water.

“How did ye receive those scars?” Njord asked. “Was yer strength tested?”

the seal hunter lifted his head. "a boy, when he can walk, he is taken onto the ice by the older hunters. he watches them hunt the seal and the walrus. he watches their success. but he sees also that they can die."
the man's voice was reverent, a thing between brothers.
"a boy, when he can see, he understands life is a gift from the oil father. and one day it is his turn to go first onto the frozen sea, and kill a seal with the other hunters. to know life. to know death."
his lips were proud. "my mother is k'os. she is a shaman. a boy, he is taken to the shaman. 'hold him,' she said to my brothers and my milk-cousins. 'do not make a sound, chakliux. it is weakness.'"
a pause, a grin. "with her teeth, then ground abalone shell pressed into the new wounds to blacken them as they healed. i did not cry. nothing has hurt so much since. i saw death. then i saw pain. now i know only life."
another silence.
"and you, njord?"

Chakliux’s people had harrowing rites of passage for young men. It reminded Njord of Meare’s Island’s harsh ways and its Atlantian religion. As a younger man, it was something the redtail despised… maybe because he could never quite live up to the accomplishments of his siblings. The rigidity of his people’s ways did not nurture Njord’s different skills… Valtyr had always been empathetic to this fact.

Yet, as a father, Njord could look upon these ways with a newfound appreciation. It was evident they were meant to weave young wolves into society’s fabric… something that Njord felt he had neglected to provide for Stingray and Swordfish. The latter had attempted to find this on his own… and it had led to calamity. Njord had given his children food, shelter, and love… but had he helped them find meaning?

He reflected silently, imagining if Stingray had what it took to endure such rites. Would Chakliux attempt to establish something like them at Moonspear? He thought of Quennell…

“Och,” he made a rough Scottish sound. “Ah wish my scars ‘ad gran meanin’ behind em…” There was disappointment laced in his tone that he permitted Chakliux to hear. “They dinnae come from a good time in my life. My sons ‘ad jus been born… Meerkat an’ I lived up tha coast, then. I swam back to my family’s island tae tell my clan the good news. But there was a coup… an’ I let myself get involved.” He shook his head. “My father didnae survive it and… I killed a young man. He’s tha one who put tha marks on my face.” The other wolf hadn’t been much older than Stingray. Njord’s mouth became dry at the thought.

njord's story was also one of a boy thrust into manhood.
but it was not with so much celebration. chakliux was solemn until the end and beyond. "but there is still meaning in them," the seal hunter said with muted man's insistence.
"you returned home and defended the name of your father. you shed blood on the land you were born, to hold it. there is no shame in that. only the warrior knows the weight a scarred heart carries."
some silence.
"my father said that. i do not know if he lives. he was old when i left, and my brothers all wanted to be chieftain. oil father led me onto the ice and then into a long snowstorm. that is how i came to these lands. i do not know how long i walked in the great dark."
but chakliux blinked, nodded at njord. "we each know the meaning of a wound."

For a man half of Njord’s age, Chakliux possessed special wisdom. Perhaps it was a result of being born into a culture with a distinct life path. With traditions and milestones. It felt pure. Simple. Uncomplicated. The opposite of Njord’s complex feelings – and he was envious of it. As a young man, Njord had shunned such a way… and now, he regretted being the type of person who could not conform to the way expected of him.

Yet he found comfort in the fact he was not tainted in his cohort’s eyes and passed the man a wry smile. Chakliux’s words helped stitch Njord’s invisible wounds.

The meaning of a wound. “Mmhm,” he hummed in agreement. There had been no joy or glory in the coup of Meares Island. Of the bear attack and his abandonment of Sapphique.

“Do ye miss her,” Njord asked. “Do ye miss tha Sea?”

"always," the seal hunter man said solemnly, and looked toward the sky as if he might see the reflection of the ocean there. "i wish my son had been born on the ice, that his first breaths had been the cold snow winds, that he learned to walk on the stones and the lichen where i did."
his chest swelled with a breath.
"but we cannot live with so much regret. this is a good place. sialuk is a good woman. this is the home of my son. i will wet his feet in the sea when he is older."
raiyuk would know it, for that salt sang in the blood of all seal hunters. "you call her a woman. so do we. the sea gives life. how could she not be?"

Last from me!

cannot live with so much regret.

These words were like the first crack of a frozen lake in the Spring. Njord couldn’t help but chuckle in a self-deprecating way and wondered if he possessed the fortitude to ever let go of all the regret his spirit harbored. The man reminded himself to permit his spirit grace… for all the adversity Chakliux had endured on the ice, the man had never seen the skull of his son cleft open.

The red-tail couldn’t help but wince at the thought and was thankful that Chakliux continued to take the lead in the conversation.

And there was a moment when Njord wanted to invite himself and his daughters to go with the seal hunter to see the ocean… but Njord knew what it had taken from them and his wife. The husband would not cross or undermine his partner in that way, no matter how much he craved to be by the endless salt water. He chuffed a laugh at Chakliux’s comment about the sea being a woman… it was appropriate he would not choose it before his paramour, then.

“Aye, Moonspear’s a rich land,” Njord agreed. “An’ our clan thrives.” New pride nourished his soul. “Ah’m pleased we can raise our wee bairns ta’gether. It is good Raiyuk, Seal, an’ Orca will ‘av one another… an’ they ‘av good men and women tae look up to.” He passed a smile to Chalkiux, pleased to know Moonspear harbored strong-spirited citizens like him.

The conversation seemed to reach its natural conclusion and Njord felt he must return to Meerkat’s side. “Ah thank ye again for this gift,” he praised. “An’ I will be sure tae return tha favor,” Njord assured.

<3 thank u for the wonderful thread!

this communion between men had been greatly missed by chakliux. he had become husband. he had become father. but he had not grown out of his restlessness, nor the words in his spirit he could not share with nasamik.
to give them to a man of scars, a man who understood them — this was a great blessing.
he felt too it was good that his son would grow up beside the hearth of njord.
"our clan thrives when we are brother-hunters," he murmured, thinking of kannoyak. "i will come to you again, njord."