7/11/2025, 9:46 PM
curator: 1/4
elk charm skinned with deft motions a rabbit. as her jaws worked, her mind went to samo; oft it did. he had become something to contemplate other than cloud lash, geirmundr, the seal hunters, and what kuy'aa had said. she would have her ceremony. she would be a sharadoii woman at last. her heart beat as she thought of it, and elk charm distracted herself by gathering dried moss and carrying it out-of-doors to line her cache.
but she was not alone.
riverdark eyes watched the too-familiar lines of grey cloud come up from wherever he had been. pulse jerked; eyes stung. she straightened, but she did not go to him. he had abandoned her. he had left her here, alone.
elk charm did not want to forgive her brother.
his back was turned. she stared at him.
why did you return?they would find one another older. changed. he wore scars along his legs. elk charm's disappointment had prematurely soured her expression.
and yet it was gentle when she looked at him. he deserved at least that, even if she was too shocked by his reappearance to even process its existence.