Ocean's Breath Plateau babcia

moontide waited.
chakliux hunted on the shores, often alone.
nasamik did not return. raiyuk remained withdrawn.
the seal hunter missed the mountain but he loved the sea.
this day he stood upon a pointed rock, fishing in the foaming surf as salt plastered his fur to his shoulders.

Moontide remained small, and Marina remained devoted wholly to her children. After a time the fear had started to wear off, and now she had settled into something of a routine. In many ways this was preferred. In a lot of other ways, it scared her. She loved them, and her life, but it felt lacking. She hoped that things would improve as they aged.
She took a rare break to walk the shores, and found one of her packmates fishing. Someone she didn't know, but Marina supposed that couldn't be helped; she was always busy, always trying to make sure she thought of everything. Rodyn and Samani were a blessing, but she wanted to be self-sufficient as much as possible. And that made her something of a hermit.
Hey, Marina greeted, stopping a few feet away from the rock he stood on. You're new. She didn't have conversations with many outside of her children anymore, and it showed. Almost apologetically, she added. I'm Marina.

this was marina, then. he had lain many rabbits outside her lodge, but he did not think they had spoken. she was small-statured, the shade of a snowstorm. her eyes held the sea. chakliux was intrigued, for he knew she had no mate while already proven as mother.
but this was not a place of seal hunters. "i am chakliux. i come down from village moonspear to live here with my son and my wife."

She managed a somewhat tired smile when he introduced himself. It was a cute story. Moontide is a good place to raise children. Samani and Rodyn are good people, Marina offered, though her gaze turned distant and drifted out to the sea as she said it. Better people than she had anticipated. Better than she deserved, but it wasn't about what she deserved anymore. It was about Carl and Broccoli.
Who is your wife? I haven't met her yet, Her eyes turned back to Chakliux, curious now. Maybe his wife knew more about motherhood than Marina did. And if not, at least she might have someone to complain with!

"she has the name nasamik. but —" he looked out to the lash of the waves once more, "i think she has gone away."
he watched marina. "you have no man at your lodge." not a question, one that observed.

Marina's heart fell a little to glimpse his grief, but mostly she felt awkward; like walking in on someone half-dressed, not quite scandalous but certainly uncomfortable. I'm sorry, She offered; her tone was genuine but she still felt it was lacking. Chakliux's blunt observation gave her pause, however. She wasn't sure what to make of it.
Yep, She said after a moment. Well, he didn't stick around. None of them had. Marina had come to assume at least one of her suitors knew exactly what would come of their union, and felt no small amount of bitterness over it. But she didn't want to linger on that. But we have plenty of support. And I'm grateful for your help, too. She'd noticed his gifts, guiltily, though she hadn't had a name or a face to associate with his scent until now.

had any man whom chakliux had known been possessed of three wives?
it was a daring and overt offer. he felt it dishonored tullik. 
but the seal hunter thought of the large and empty lodge he had built here for nasamik, unadorned, and waiting for his wife's touch.
he looked to the horizon. "i am happy to bring meat for you and your children." his eyes found her own. "if there is more you need, only ask it."

Marina smiled, warming as their eyes met. Company would be nice. If you can spare the time to visit, She said quietly, thinking that he must be lonely now that his wife had gone. A friendship would be good for both of them, and maybe their children, too. She could not have known his thoughts of marriage, and had long since given up on the idea that any man might want to raise another's children. She was prepared now to see this through alone — but that didn't mean she wanted to.
How old is your son? Maybe he'd like to meet my kids, She continued, brightening as she thought of the potential in it. They're still young, but they already have so much energy.

"raiyuk almost has the age where he will go on a long hunt with me," the seal hunter explained, pushing at last from the rocks and standing opposite marina. samani had rodyn to protect her children. heph would not have them in this year, it seemed. but this cloudwolf was a mother alone.
"i will come with you now, if you would like this. what sort of home is your lodge?" he asked, taking the moment to glance into the dark ocean gaze.

He was lonely, then. His son was a bit older than Marina might have hoped, but she didn't comment on that. Maybe Raiyuk would take a liking to the younger children anyway. Yeah, I'd like that, She beckoned him with a gesture and led him toward her den.
It's nothing fancy. I haven't had much time to decorate, She admitted, ears folding a little. They take so much of my attention - Carlisle and Brockleigh. I don't mind it, but it's difficult to get anything done. This is the first real break I've had - since they were born, actually. Marina knew she was over-explaining; he was a father, and knew how demanding parenthood could be. But she'd never quite been able to shake the sense of shame, the weight of being the only one held accountable for these things.

brockleigh. carlisle. the names were decidedly not northern, but chakliux had learned to adapt in this world. "when they are young, they demand their mother much. when they do not need milk so much, i will sit at your hearth and you hunt," he offered.
she had no other women around for now, and chakliux would have a chance to affect himself as dominant in the face of young hunters.

They're almost weaned now, Marina supplied with a grateful smile, beckoning for him to follow her into her den as they approached it. The space Rodyn had dug out for her beneath the rocky overhang was only sparsely decorated, as she'd told Chakliux. Two flowering bushes stood as lone sentinels outside of the entrance, and within, Marina only had the pelts brought to her by the alpha.
Things were, for once, tidy in her den at least. She'd straightened it up a bit before sending the kids off with their designated babysitter. Sit! She urged him. I have fruit, do you like fruit? Marina procured some berries leftover from what she'd brought to Brockleigh and Carlisle, and offered them without waiting for Chakliux to answer.
It had been a long time since she'd entertained any guests, and maybe it showed.

it showed, but chakliux had little expectation to be waited on. marina was unmarried and lived alone with her children. her lodge was modestly appointed, but the seal hunter appreciated the work that she had done, or so he assumed.
still, the one he had built for nasamik was much larger, almost the size of the one upon moonspear. he had meant it for he, for her, for raiyuk, and for the children he had hoped would come again in spring.
"thank you," the man said with heavy heart, and politely took a bite of her offering. "is there anything you need here? for you?"

For her. Marina paused and glanced briefly at Chakliux, wondering if he could tell how long it had been since she'd truly thought of her own needs. She didn't know how to tell him that though the answer was yes, she wasn't certain anymore. This life was not what she'd pictured for herself. The disconnect had taken with it any wants she'd once had.
How could she want anything when she already felt that she had more than she deserved?
A second set of paws, She said lightly, and then she felt bad for her deflection. I haven't thought of myself in such a long time - but it's good of you to ask. Kind of him. Marina thought then of the last time a man had been kind to her, and looked away. You said you came from Moonspear. Does Sialuk still lead there? Is she well?

"then i will bring you half of my kills." he shrugged. with only himself and raiyuk at his lodge to feed, and without a woman to divide the meat in pleasing ways, chakliux often took his meals afield. the larger his son grew, the more his kills became his own to keep. "and when you wish to hunt or be alone, i will watch your home."
a lodge of only men and boys was considered to be a place of diversion and little responsibility, but in this place, without the company of so many other men, chakliux found it only to be a quiet home.
"sialuk leads. she is well. when i came to moonspear, i was hurt. she healed me, and i repaid the debt when she asked me to her bed. now she carries children that are perhaps of my spirit." the thought clearly pleased him, though it was perhaps far more than marina had requested to know.

It was definitely more than she'd wanted to know. Marina blinked, a little startled by how open he was with the admission that he had slept with Sialuk. Presumably with his wife's knowledge. Hopefully? Marina understood by now that there was some kind of cultural difference between herself and the wolves of Moontide and Moonspear, and there was no judgment in her, but what she could not understand was why Chakliux had chosen to share this with her.
Maybe I should be offended. She didn't ask me to her bed when she helped me, She commented finally, resorting to humor. What else could she even say to that?

"go back to sialuk," chakliux teased. "her arms are wide and her furs are warm." a wink, a laugh, and the man was straightening.
"i must go back to raiyuk."
but chakliux lingered, a moment.
"call for me again, marina."