Ouroboros Spine without a compass

@Aiolos , @Kukutux , @Vairë , @Shikoba visiting! srry for the @s! on the edges of the territory most likely, pls let @Raiyuk post first! <3

finally at moonglow. the quiet journey comes to an end with a call to its leaders. she lets raiyuk step forward as the one who can enter freely. unsure of what to do, the nebet sits with her head held unflinchingly high. the last thing she wants to do is disrespect a potential ally.

the gifts sit by her side. with her height, she takes a peak at the territory and observes how different it is from akashingo and moontide.
anything to pass the time, really. the flower field tickles her arm, and just for a moment she returns to the isle before briskly dusting the thought away.

They reach the edge of the village and Raiyuk crosses the boundary without thinking about it. Those of the villages moved so freely that he had never stopped to think about how that might confuse a visitor like Racharra; and when he noticed she had not followed, he stopped and turned to regard her.

Then, doubling back, he gave a sheepish look. He didn't say anything but his gaze lingered a moment - her dark coat, the flowers, the spring sun, she looked --

I'll announce you. Uh, blushing, he looks towards Moonglow and then raises his chin to call, Racharra of Akashingo has come for a visit. I'm here too, hello.

It wasn't as drawn out or complex as it perhaps would have been if it was spoken by her own entourage. He did his best, though.

life settled into a near-pleasant rhythm for kukutux.

she had not yet sought to visit the ulaq claimed by her daughter and her husband. that time would come.

for now, she asked nasamiituuq to take her place beside her mother, and went to answer the call.

"it is good to see your face, raiyuk," kukutux said. the young man was dutiful and polite, a credit to his far wilder seal hunter father.

the young woman was strong and fine-built. "i know the name of akashingo. you return to to moon villages so soon?" kukutux asked, her smile warm.

she's never had an entourage call her name out before, so raiyuk's attempt was as close as she could imagine. she didn't have any fancy titles to prattle over anyways.

distracted by the peeks at the territory, she only catches the fleeting moment as raiyuk spins his head around from her and called for moonglow. racharra didn't dwell on it, far too embroiled in preparing her words for when a leader arrives.

a pale, older woman emerges from the territory and racharra clears her throat. first, the matriarch speaks to raiyuk in tongue she can't understand, before referring to racharra. the nebet acknowledges the warmth with a smile of her own.
yes, but for different matters entirely. i came here in hopes of speaking to the leaders of moonglow. golden eyes flick to raiyuk briefly, and racharra adds in hushed voice: privately. her smile twitches a wider, nervous, smile before relaxing.
it's about allyship between the moon villages and akashingo. though she's careful not to specify the means.

"come to my ulaq, racharra of akashingo," kukutux invited after a moment. "raiyuk, there is elk meat in the cache beside the healing ulax. eat and rest there," she offered with a soft smile. she did not know him as well as she might have liked, but he had grown into a dutiful seal hunter man.

an alliance between moon and akashingo. was she not looking upon it now?

she turned, inviting the noble girl along the smooth-packed path. "was your journey difficult?"

raiyuk is dismissed, and she watches as he separates from the women. the words ulaq and ulax ring strange to her, but then again so did Ra when she first learned of him.

the well-used path stretches onwards through the territory. the invitation is accepted, racharra picking up the gifts.
no, not at all. it's part of my duty as nebet to visit. raiyuk and i have brought gifts too.
she'll show the skins in their beauty once they arrive at what the moonglow woman calls an ulaq.

forgive me for not asking sooner but, what is your name? i can't recall you mentioning it.. racharra intrigues, though she already has her suspicions

the girl was hospitable. the ulaq was a large densite built from the rock of the mountain behind, and square-topped with a flat ledge of slate. always meat was laid here in strips to dry, and today was no exception. "i am kukutux."

stacks of hides in various stages of preparation were neatly arranged around the small clearing. new skins still glistening with fat and blood lay stretched upon branches nearby.

the clearing was wide and half-circular, of dirt now, all the grass having been worn away over the years. 

kukutux took a strip of birchbark and filled it with lengths of dried salmon, caribou fat, and crushed rosehips.

this she pushed toward racharra. quietly she settled across from the girl, pulling the deep pile of a stagpelt across her haunches. 

"among the sunshine people, marriage is often the first way we are bonded to one another. however, i have the knowing that akashingo village wants trade first. is this right?"

with hesitance is how racharra enters the ulaq, watching as a meal is prepared for her by the moonwoman, to which the nebet utters a gentle thank you. wine would do good with this, and racharra wishes she'd taken fermented fruit from the isle or from home.

kukutux stands before her, and she is as sharp as racharra hoped she would be.
trade is part of our deal with moontide. marriage is what akashingo offers to all of the moon villages. racharra begins after a swift bite of food.
i am looking to betroth to a man from either of the villages. a man of strength, preferably. i came first to look, to see my options, before reporting back to the palace and making frequent trips from then on. but i've been told that you are a matchmaker. is this true?