Moonsong Glacier crush

set for mid-morning. attn: @Dutch, but all welcome. :)

Sialuk slipped between two packs. One she knew nothing of, and a second that once was her sister's. Ariadne had fled the village, taking the wolf Sialuk knew as Kigipigak with her. She had not heeded the advice of her elder sister, nor had she been willing to shoulder the judgement that had come from others. It pained Sialuk, though that was not what was on her mind as she came to the borders of the moon village. Instead, her fever-ridden instincts knew only one thing: it was a man who had taken up the mantle here.

What better way to solidify this new village leader into their sprawling family than to make him one of their own? There was no hint of bashfulness in her voice as Sialuk called for the leader who had stepped in as her sister stepped out.

:o :o :o

The weeks stretched long. When Dutch allowed himself time to think about it, he could acknowledge that life was just as enjoyable at the glacier without Ariadne as it had been with her. It was he who had changed most of all, his desires realigning out of sync with such things as his priorities and responsibilities.

Things weren't bad, though. Rather, the panther was discovering for the first time what it meant to really want something. As uncomfortable as the experience was, there was a newfound joy in it as well.

The call of another drew him down from the mountainside. His hip had healed almost entirely by now, and it was at an easy lope that he approached the pale figure soon identified as — "Sialuk,"

They hadn't truly met. Or, if they had, it had been in the midst of his drugged and fevered reception at the healing camp. Somehow, the panther knew her scent and her face without recognizing the sound of her voice.

"What brings you out this way?" he asked, slowing to a jog to close the last several yards of distance between them. His hackles were half-raised already; a combination of reasonable concern about what bad news she might bring and the less reasonable urge to posture. "Is everyone alright?"

He knew her name, and yet she did not know his. Curious, but not alarming. Often, the starwoman had found that her reputation preceded her. She assumed also that the wind blew in her direction, for he did not react in the way that many men did during her time. Either that, or he was merely good at controlling the urge that many men had. She had seen it with Towhee's brother the year prior, and she also knew that he could be like Etienne, not wishing to couple with any woman at all.

Your name is not known to me, but you are head of village Moonsong, yes? she asked, bringing herself closer to him. Surely he could not ignore what was in front of him, the thick smell of her body's readiness enveloping her. He was handsome, large, and strong. He favored a hip, but did not appear in pain so much as to refuse the warmth of another.

Curiously, his gaze lifted to scan over the woman's shoulder. None seemed to accompany her, although she carried the scent of strangers with her alongside the heady cloud of her season. His mind darted at once to the evil one he had failed to kill; the rut whispered to him that Sialuk was not safe, and therefore should not leave his sight.

"I am," he replied, "Although we are no longer a moon village without a moon daughter to lead us. My name is Dutch, of the Morningside line."

He was fairly certain their lines did not intersect, and it was the same unreasonable instinct that urged him to point this out to her. He pushed such thoughts away, doing his best to focus on their conversation.

"Is everything well at Moonspear?" he pressed, unable to decide if she was being pointed or evasive by not jumping right into her reason for coming. He assumed it must be dire, if she was here in the height of her season rather than in the embrace of her family.

Am sneak. Cameo.

a stranger called for her man, dutch.

she lurked, following him silently; weaving along the now familiar paths, and finding her way, leaving distance so that dutch and the woman would believe they were alone together.

the scent that the wind carried was like the red woman when they were upon the plains. it was not their missing leader - a woman, though.

sulukinak was wary. she felt her fur pricking and an edge of possessiveness creep along her spine as she spied.

He did not send her away, but he did not truly approach her, either. A curious man, and one Sialuk found herself intrigued by. She did not know his village Morningside, but she had assessed that he was an able-bodied man. She smiled coyly at his question of Moonspear. I am not here for Moonspear, she replied, but you know this, Dutch.

The starwoman reached her muzzle forward now, close to his ear. There is a way to make this into a moon village once more, she said sotto voce. Let me warm your bed and strengthen the bond of our villages. The sons and daughters she bore would know Argent and Talisman as their father, but they could know Dutch, too.

The panther's head tilted just a fraction to the side. He was ignorant for a moment longer, and then he was only confused.

Him?

Not only him, he was sure. Sialuk had a husband and a wife back at Moonspear. Was it tradition of some kind that brought her to the glacier? He felt wrong-footed, and reluctant to do something that might sour relations between the two tribes. But his own heart, he decided, could not be sacrificed for these things.

"I am honored by your consideration," he said, haltingly. "But I want to be where my children are — and Moonspear is too far for my heart."

Moonspear was too far, and Sialuk was too unknown. She had his admiration almost by default, but he did not know how she would treat his children. They would be raised well, surely, but he did not know her heart the same way he knew Chakliux's.

A less confident woman may have felt scorned or tossed aside, but those emotions did not permeate through Sialuk. However, she did not have time to waste. She nodded knowingly, spun around, and headed toward the coast, thoughts of the seal hunter and her late sister's husband on her mind.

The mountain queen turned without another word to depart. Dutch watched her go with a keen sense of loss and a slack look on his usually intelligent features. It would only be later, lying awake with Sulukinak's fur mingling with his own, that the panther would begin to wonder if he'd caused some offense.