Ouroboros Spine nunatak kiviuq

a joining thread, perhaps? ... should all go well. 

Tagging leadership ... @Kukutux, @Aiolos, @Vairë

on moves the mountain traveler. 

in a place unknown, but not far from similar to his homeland, there is a comfort here. one unexpected, be it put in simplest terms.

a nose to the air is enough to alert of onward presence. Tulugaak is not alone here. but as for whom resides; it is left unknown. 

wary of what borders he may cross, he is careful to keep to the edge of what scent markers he can make out. though, he does not turn away. something in this place calls to him. it bids him remain

and so he does.

The borders had become his haunt when he wasn't with his family or the rest of the pack. He was patrolling, but he was working on a project, too. He wanted to keep the largest deer herd close within the territory, and lately, they'd been doing their best to move on.

So he was herding. Sort of.

Valiant hadn't been expecting to come face-to-face with a stranger that day, but he took it in stride when he did. Wolves were always coming to their borders, and Moonglow seemed to receive them peacefully. It was a little like being in Round Valley, where he seemed to share blood with every strange face that crossed his path. Only now, they shared his wife's blood.

"Hello," he said, his voice warm despite his wariness. "You've come to Moonglow. You need somethin'?"

his patience never waned, nor did it disappoint. for soon, an inhabitant comes to greet him. 

Moonglow... a peculiar name, but it is not a foul taste on his tongue. rather pleasant, in fact. 

I am a mountain traveler. this place... it reminds me of home. conveniently, he left out the part of just how eager was to stay in the hopes that someone would find him. 

it is home to you, yes? the man smells of the territory, but he can only be certain by asking.

It was just a little hair-raising, having caught the man on his proverbial doorstep, peeoping through the keyhole. But he didn't act as though he'd been caught, and the isbjørn sensed no I'll will from him yet. He sensed — something. Some emotion. But that was as far as his intuition would take him.

"Yes — I'm first hunter, here."

He was adopting their syntax, but he still did not speak the words with the capital letters he always seemed to hear them in.

"You lookin' for a home, then?" he asked, hiding his reluctance well. He knew that, with Arrluk and Kivaluk gone, they were in need of a few young men. Peregrine and Kyrell aside, they were running a little short. I probably forgot someone else.

so he lived here, then. and held an honorable title. or so Tulugaak assumed it was such. 

first... hunter? this name is new. but sensible. I supposed you could say I was first warrior to my clansman. second to my father, of course. they had one thing in common, then. first to their trade. 

I have left my home in search of a new one, yes. any place, really. so long as it was a reasonable one. 

this one seemed just that.

Valiant squinted at him.

"And a wife, right?" he asked, his tone tired but absent of censure. It was just the season, was all, and he wanted to know if he was talking to the next Bachelor or if he was just a guy in honest need of a home. Either way, Valiant supposed a spot would likely be open to him.

But he wanted to know.

"I'd like to see another warrior around, between you'n'me. And I ain't sayin' you gotta stay away from the ladies 'round here. But level with me, hoss. You lookin'?"

Truthfully, this was as much a test as it was a quest for knowledge.

and a wife.

the chuckle he gave could not be helped. 

I have not had thoughts for a wife. a man must be settled someplace first, yes? for it is his duty to provide for what woman he takes under his care. a lesson his father would never let him forget. nor would his spirit, in this time when he is not near. but it still follows him. 

perhaps soon. should I be deemed worthy of one's affection.

Valiant wasn't quite convinced, but he subsided, somewhat — "That's a more sensible take than I've heard from most," he allowed, though as much as he liked taking care of Vairë, he thought she'd probably done just fine without him, kids and all.

"So," he said, "You're a warrior. You hunt well, too?"

I can hunt nearly as well as I can fight. my experience comes more with the latter, though. all men were taught to hunt in my clan. the women kept to their spiritual teachings, and raised the children. men did most labor. it wasn't something he would ever complain about either. he enjoyed keeping busy. 

you, as first hunter... that must be an honorary title, I assume? no need to ask the same of you; if you hunt well. a friendly jest, if not too soon. spirits will, it wasn't.

Aiolos listened to the voices, a whisper on the wind as he made his way to the unfamiliar scent of a stranger at Moonglow's borders. More often then not, wolves traveled in and out freely among the villages, savor those who held still fast onto the custom of waiting at the door patiently. This man was not familiar and so Aiolos came. Though he had not heard all, voices turned to acknowledged words as Aiolos picked up the latter half of the conversation. 

The Sunman woofs his arrival, coming to them with a sharp fiery gaze and at attention as a guardian might. His silvering chin dips to Valiant and then his attention sweeps to the molted brown wolf. Welcome to Moonglow... I am Aiolos, Sunman, Leader, of this village. Your words whisper on the winds... You seek a place as guardian among us? Kivaluk and Arrluk currently in other villages, Shikoba now gone... they could use someone to filled the empty holes.

Valiant's head dipped in greeting as Aiolos arrived. He shifted, making a triangle out of the gathering so that the man would not feel too much in the hot seat. Warriors were needed, so long as they could be trusted. He listened to them speak, hoping to learn a little more about what was expected of him at their borders.

Skippable for the next few rounds!

someone approached. Tulugaak saw the way the man called first hunter greeted them. he would do the same in return, bowing his head in a show of submission. 

Sunman... yes, you speak true. as I told your first hunter, this place reminds me of home. I could not make myself turn away when I scented your borders.

Then this, maybe, would fit to be your [i]new home.[/i] Especially if it brought s fondness to him by reminding him of where he was born to and yet still was able to make his own place in life by being in a different pack. 

Moonglow is very open to those who wish to be a part of our village, in fact, all the Moon tribes are. Aiolos speaks, allowing to know that there were sister-packs in the area around them. We our known for our fine hunters and our medicine, another guard at our borders would prove useful. Though, he did not say allowed that two young men who guarded their borders were now gone as of now, thar Shikoba had passed away and Aiolos was getting no younger. It was not words for an outsider, yet he could proof himself one of them, in time. 

Come, allow us to show you around while we speak. His eyes slip to Valiant who may follow with and then Aiolos begins to move. Where is it you come from? Tell me of yourself.

moon villages. there were many. he wanted to see them all, soon. but first, he would make a home here. 

skirra iwir-mænn was once home to me. my father was a clansman, the chief of my birthplace, and a greatly accomplished warrior. and my mother was a tribalwoman. her people were very spiritual, and often taught their knowledge to others. outsiders and the like. they knew healing too, as you said your people here do. I took only a few lessons, but I know some. guardianship has always been favored, of course. I stood alongside my father, once he deemed me old enough, to help protect our clanspeople. it wasn't much of his life, but the basis that Tulugaak thought Sunman would need to know.

He hadn't been comfortable enough with the man to offer him a home among them, but he was comfortable enough with him that Aiolos offering didn't ruffle his feathers. He only looked to the man in interest, wondering what he might say to this.

The information he shared was duly filed away.

Can wrap up if you'd like! Welcome Tulugaak!

Aiolos listened, nodding as he spoke the name of his own village, his parents and their teaching, his own role among them. You have lived among villages and know their ways. Each Moon village is connected, yet differ in some manors. I think you will easily find your place among us. 

Aiolos pauses by the great lake which filled much of their land. I welcome you. Our Moonwoman, @Kukutux, will welcome you. Our daughter Vaire also trains to be Moonwoman in her place. Get settled and seek them in time. Tulugaak would be restless in his first days here and Aiolos would allow him time to himself to acclimate.

sunman welcomed him; and for this, he was grateful. 

I hope to bring much to this village, just as it will do for me. as I learn this land better, maybe soon you will join me for a hunt? for what better way to bond with they who lead a village, than to partake in a hunt? 

and with his final farewells, Tulugaak set off in search for a sleeping place to call his own.