slowly elk charm was starting to understand, and this at once cast chakliux in a light of suspicion. but she kept this too against her chest, seeing in his eyes that he had much burdening him, much for her ears to hear. a shake of her head; you are good, samo.

then, quickly, i have -- i am long-walking. like a lanzadoii! she castigated herself, thinking coldly of those arrogant far-runners who had once come to the hills. no camp. ah -- i was waiting, beside the blue fire.

gesture now, for the dried meat. i make this there, then i carry it. then i find you, added elk charm, the same smile dancing to life on her cheekbones again. or -- you find me. her inhalation was soft, warm, but with those few words she veered into a territory of though that she was not equipped to navigate.

the story of what had happened;

she feared it, and yet she longed to hear it.

overhead, the gloom had deepened into an ugly scrawl of charcoal clouds. shivering, the sharadoii peered around, for here was as good a place to break for the night as any. she might have pushed on another hour, but saw no reason now. we will make a quick-lodge, the caribou woman decided, putting down her sachet decisively. it was a seal hunter word, yet it made sense for her purposes. a shelter of piled branches and large, peeled sheets of bark wrapped around, set between the two largest trees she was able to find.

silence marked her work, quick and precise.

mud would have suited for daubing, if they were to stay, but this brush-den had no strength for even a simple storm, should it arise. can put skins inside, a space far smaller than the one they had occupied in her wetu. and that too, was good for warmth, but not for the fact that they must weather the black hours in snug closeness.

why had samo almost wept? was that part of what he was to tell her? elk charm crouched, sliding her arms inside the quick-lodge to spread her deerpelt inside, piling the herbs and the rest of the meat into a corner for now.

Blue fire. He had heard of the strange new fires that now dotted the landscape, burning without anyone to tend them. They both frightened him and awed him. Acts of the gods, they had to be, but were they gift or trick? Elk Charm did not seem to fear them, though, so he let his own caution subside; probably the former. You find me. He smiled sadly. He had found her, yes. But far later than he had wanted.

A quick-lodge—yes, he remembered this from the seal hunters. Still, it had been a long time since he had seen one made. He helped to pull the largest branches, or else hold them in place. When the shelter was ready, he climbed in next to Elk Charm, careful not to disturb their work with his great size. He had lost much of the fat on his body. His muscles felt weaker, too; he would need to eat well and resume his daily training to return to peak condition. He thought he heard Ferox's laughing voice in his head again: Rufus, you are withering away! Still, it was good that Elk Charm was smaller than him.

Her closeness was a warm reminder of her, and the time they had spent together in the wetu. A part of him was tempted to pull her into his arms and hold her. He would not—could not—do such a thing unless invited. Too much time had passed, too much space had opened. But the thought lingered, even as he remembered, somberly, that he must speak. He watched snowflakes drift with a light breeze in silence as he gathered his words.

The first ten days were as you said, he began, hesitant, as if trying to convince himself to keep going. He did not have the same storytelling skill as the others had, but he would try. This is a time to remember what has been. We travelled for three days to reach the sea. It is so much greater than any lake, the water so deep and vast that you could believe it goes forever. The hunters looked almost like seals themselves, even diving underwater. I was much more clumsy. Samo chuckled weakly. The first beach we found had seals, but there were great black monsters in the water. Whales, each the size of many wolves. So, we travelled north.

We only caught fish that day. Chakliux said he would go back—to see if the whales had left, yet. I think. This was the last time I saw him.

Samo paused and took a deep breath, trying to focus his clouded thoughts.

The next day, we killed a seal. We were divided—some of us saw clouds in the sky and wanted to go back. Others thought it would be alright and that we should try to get another. I was among them. We were able to injure one; luckily it stayed close to shore so we could track it. As we followed along the shore, the sky grew cloudier, the sea angry. I thought I could risk it. When I dived down, something grabbed my leg. The current, maybe. Whatever it was I could not fight it, even though I tried.

Samo grimaced. Then...I don't remember well. It must have carried me far away. There was water in my lungs; something or someone pumped it out. I don't know who or what. When I woke up I did not know where I was, or who I was. That place was... He hesitated again. Perhaps she already knew the place he spoke of. It was very cold. Colder than anywhere I had ever been. The sand was black, and there was ice that never melted. To the south were strange wolves; I kept my distance from them.

But I remembered you, Elk Charm, and the Singing Hills. In time, other things came back to me. Chakliux, and the seal hunters. I looked for their scents, your scent, but for a long time I found nothing. At least I knew I needed to go south. I watched the sun and tried to look at the stars. I hunted and rested. Then, finally, I found you. Or you found me.

He smiled at her tentatively. His throat felt hoarse; he realized he had been talking a long while. I...did not speak to many others, while I travelled. Only a few. I was...afraid. I...I can tell you why. But it will be an even longer story then. He coughed, let himself pause.

You were not alone, here? he asked, turning the thread towards her, if she wished to share her own story.

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sorry for the massive wall of text sdkjfhg I took some liberties, hope that's ok!! lmk if I need to edit/adjust anything

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its perfect! sorry for this text wall lol <3

their breath mingled, coalesced into heat which sank down into elk charm's guard hairs. she still found it incomprehensible that he was here. acutely aware of samo's body next to her own, of his weight and warmth and breath, she found that the reddening under her cheekfur would not abate for anything.

he was thinner, not depleted as she thought herself to be. but the travails which he now described stood upon his face, or maybe she only saw them there through the vulnerability of his thoughtful eyes. this thought that she wished to touch him, to be embraced -- it returned in force and dissipated as foam upon waves.

for ten days he had traveled with the seal hunters, and he described the sea in its powerful expanse of beauty. elk charm, who could not remember the last time she had glimpsed the great water, found her mind colorful with the images he created. the hunters, leaping into the water, seals swimming before them. and he among them, not one of their clan but willing to swim these swells all the same. proud. yes. she was proud of him, a pleasant little flicker which elk charm put aside for the present.

whales.

why had chakliux said none of this?

a storm rose. she could hear the encouraging voice of that seal-man. samo had wished to continue hunting, only to be caught in the storm and drawn bodily away.

her brow furrowed. once she had fallen into a shallow stream, but the water had been deep enough to enter her mouth and nose. a child, elk charm had cried and screamed after being pulled from that place, and had not gone back for a long while. to sink within the sea -- ah! he had almost drowned, and her paw almost twitched toward his own in this. instead she remained as she was, cheek pillowed on tucked forepaws, rolled toward the aedui man as he said these things.

black sand. cold waves. elk charm shivered then, for all she could think was muradoii. he had stayed away, and

i remembered you, elk charm. even with his bearings lost and his mind gone, he had known her face. it was not surprising to the sharadoii that tears pressed against the back of her eyes now, that her throat had become raw and full. he had restored his thoughts and come back, for her. she argued with herself that he had tried also to find the seal hunters, but truth was not denied. it also limned his cheekbones and the set of his jawline.

but there was more to tell. he had not used his voice often. had he feared -- ? what, exactly?

in the darkness of that quick-lodge, she managed a moment of bravery and placed her paw upon his own, swallowing somewhat at the sinewy strength of that.

i am so glad that you lived, samo.

kuy'aa had said it must be chakliux, for militsik. she had gone with them to the sea, and perhaps she had sent back the seal hunter before the man before her had been lost.

how much fear must have been inside your heart to go under this water.

but he had come back. he had come back.

firstrite. it was not something she had remembered since meeting him again, but --

my heart, it -- goes fast, to hear you say this.

she too, had a longer story.

i was not alone. i stayed in the singing hills with grey shrike, the brother of my chosen-sister, cloud lash. i -- wait. the accent broadened, and she wanted to fidget, but did not withdraw her touch. chakliux came back. he and the others left soon after. i only -- stay because i afraid to go. in the hushed light of their shelter, elk charm shut her eyes. but i leave. trade with northfall. skies become black. land changes. i go and go and i meet nate-ronan. he brings me to blue flame and others. is where i meet chakliux. now, we are clan. group. he went to find a new place. i am going to meet him and those who follow.

but then she had found samo again, and all that seemed set had risen in unsurety once more.

silence now, save for their breathing. she discovered a steadiness inside herself, and asked, tell me the other story? perhaps in his telling she would find the strength to describe the end of militsik.

I am glad, too, Samo said softly, smiling as he looked upon. Oh, but he was glad to see her again. If he could have nothing else, he was grateful to see her face, alive and well—if thinner and more tired than before. My heart, it goes fast. His too, quickened partly by the feeling of being so close to her, of her warmth beside him again—but also from sharing these stories.

She had waited for him. It made his own chest ache, and he shifted a little closer to her without thinking, wanting to wrap her close to him. Oh, dear Elk Charm!

You have been brave, he told her with a warm smile.

It could not wholly bridge the gap between them, but he thought their hearts might be a little closer now. A clan, a group, led by a man called Nate-Ronan. A strange name. He would ask about him later, Samo decided. For now, he just nodded.

She asked for the other story. The full story. He took in a deep, shaky breath. She had waited here and thought him dead, he reminded himself. She deserved the truth.

Very well. I will tell you all I can.

I come from a land called Gaul. My tribe, the Aedui, were one of many. We lived in the lowlands around a great mountain, where the soil was fertile and we could grow much. Our greatest enemy, the Sequani, were jealous of our prosperity and sought to claim it for themselves. We called for help from our allies to the south, a powerful tribe called Rome.

Samo’s jaw clenched with a sudden flash of anger. Such emotion rarely came to him, but the memory of grief and betrayal still stung.

They did not come. My father and many of our men were left to die. I never saw him again. I had been too young to join him. If I had… He cut off with a sharp inhalation, fighting back the old ache that bloomed in his chest. He had been only a child then.

For some time we lived under the rule of the Sequani. But the noble families yet lived, and new chiefs was raised. I followed one of them, as my father followed his father before him. The Romans did come, eventually, in great numbers. But they did not come to us as equals. They wanted to rule us in all but name. First they left us to be butchered, and now that we were weak enough, they wanted our grain, our supplies, our men and women.

He fought back a snarl in his throat, muscles tensed under Elk Charm’s soothing touch.

Some of us were tired of fighting and wanted to accept. My chief opposed them because he saw the truth—that the Romans would ask for more than service. That in time, we would lose what made us Gaulish. I joined him not only because of my oath to him, but because I believed it was right. I was barely a man then, yet I felt ready to fight. And so I did, even when my mother and sister begged me not to go.

The anger in his voice dissipated as the story continued. He shut his eyes against tears that trickled down anyway. When he opened them again, they were dull and tired.

We lost. I was not ready to die, so I surrendered. The Romans took me as a slave, he said, his voice empty and quiet. They put me to work in their soldiers’ camp and gave me all the difficult and tiring tasks they did not want to do. I tried to escape, so they made this mark upon my face to show that I would always belong to them. It is called stigmata. I cannot read it, but I know it is the Roman numeral twelve. For the Twelfth Legion who claimed me.

He could not tell Elk Charm of the other punishments the soldiers had enacted on him. Of what a Roman legionary, presented with an exotic and handsome young Gaul, fair-skinned with striking red hair, might choose to take. The marks on his face burned like fire.

He focused on Elk Charm’s touch. The comforting, familiar scent of her, the warmth of her breath; he held onto these things when the laughter of the legionaries rang in his ears.

They did not execute me because I was strong and a good fighter. Too valuable, he continued bitterly, so I was brought back to Rome and sold. My new master made me fight. Not for war, but for entertainment. We shed each other’s blood in front of crowds who cheered us.

All was planned, of course. We tried not to kill each other… He did not speak of the few noxii he had executed in the arena. I prayed to the gods every day for freedom. Eventually, they heard me. Perhaps they brought me to you, and punished me when I left. And it may be why they saved me from the sea.

When he opened his eyes again, he turned his head to look to at Elk Charm, his gaze abruptly intense.

I met a Roman here, Elk Charm, while I was living in your wetu. He recognized my mark. He was only one, so I was able to slip away from him. I do not think he will find me again. But so long as I bear the stigmata, there could be others. If I could remove it…

He let out a deep sigh, his throat sore and voice beginning to rasp. Now you see that I am foolish, and that I am not a freedman. But I will go with you to meet Nate Ronan, if you still wish it. I do not want to serve a master again, but I will serve you. It is the will of the gods, and the will of my heart.

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omg <333

how samo inclined his body toward her brought a reciprocal racing to elk charm's pulse. shyly she wondered if he was able to sense that, grateful for the darkness which obscured her open expressions from view. but the sharadoii pulled thoughts from herself to reorient upon the aedui man.

it was not an easy story, to tell or to hear. it was horrible still to know that he had suffered all recited word in this recitation, and when she at last caught her breath, the inhale was filled with tears.

her paw had not left his own.

enemies came down to demand green land. a clan which called to others. a betrayal in silence. he had lost his father, and she thought of her own in that moment, feeling a spear of anguish slide between her ribs. the hurting boy still lived inside samo.

they had been conquered but he had not forgotten himself. he had spoken of keeping the ways of his people, for that moment of potential hope stamped out by these romans.

our women.

at that moment, hardness ran through samo as a current, but elk charm did not pull away, her silence still in listening. fighting wearied the heart and the mind as well as the body. if warriors had come to the great stag band, what would they have done?

the story -- a boy who now walked forth to glean the wisdom of forefathers in battle.

elk charm wiped at her own face, as she had done several times in the telling. half light showed the salt trailing across the man's muzzle. victory denied. a boy made into a slave.

stigmata.

twelve.

anger had roiled several times in elk charm by now, but now rage sparked, for all the denials samo had suffered in such a young life. a gaul who did not lose his pride through the indignity and torment and murder. she could not picture such entertainments and thus the scene took on a new sort of horror.

his gods must have been like her caribou spirits. elk charm found contentment in the idea that he had been led back, that he had been lifted from the long waters to live once more.

blue eyes widened as samo concentrated upon her with suddenness. a roman? here? in these lands? that this man had recognized samo clutched her gut with fear, and that at last brought her voice -- almost. his own had begun to fade with the strain of much talking, many things to remember and to feel, until the last

i will serve you.

will of the gods. will of my heart.

elk charm swallowed, her heart galloping now on the force of all said and unspoken.

there is no foolish in you, samo. and you will never be this -- slave -- again. her own eyes sparked with a refraction of that earlier ire, then faded. she wished to touch his scarring. but i not argue with heart. or gods.

almost translucent she felt beneath his gaze. it is will of my heart that i help with twelve-mark. stig-ma-ta, she said carefully, believing that she already  perceived how to cover the scars and also honor the gaul. and, her tones roughened, fell, maybe we make death wetu for father.

serve her! but in the directness of his eyes, elk charm understood samo meant each word, felt herself wanting to reciprocate in a way that restored him.

A part of Samo had always believed his presence would only bring trouble. A part of him had not fought against going away because he had felt that he would only bring sorrow; that Elk Charm should not have to bear the burdens he carried. He had feared she would shy away from him, if she knew. And though she said he was not foolish, he knew he had been, and he gave her a watery smile.

Will of Elk Charm’s heart, too, to help him. Never a slave. Never again. His heart beat frantically at the thought—perhaps, perhaps, the mark on his face could be hidden, if not erased.

I would like that, Samo said hoarsely. I think it would give his spirit peace. They had never recovered the bodies of all their dead from the Sequani. There were too many; at best they would have been piled into a communal grave, at worst left to the birds. Anything of value would have been stripped from them.

I…accepted my place in life. I forgot how to be—a man. Not a thing. You give me hope, that I can learn to be one again. Perhaps, Samo thought, he could still have a future. A future with honour. A future where he could be worthy of Elk Charm.

that did bring heat to her face, and a small sound in her throat gave away the rush of blood. elk charm wanted so much to say that samo was a man to her, that a great deal of her awareness toward him was in response to the ease of masculinity which he had brought into her presence and the wetu. she was not able to speak, pleased, overcome, and nodded quickly in the darkness. i will help you, samo. i want to see when you remember.

her heart raced so ardently that the sharadoii's chest hurt for a moment, mind unwilling to create any more of those lovely conceptions. her paw tightened once on his, numb from the holding but she was not willing yet to part, afraid that he might believe it was because of what he had said.

hope.

hope -- a flighting, glinting thing.

when we stop, elk charm whispered gently, you must sleep for -- many long time, yes? humour to glimmer the hour, and suddenly she was filled with a warm tiredness, reunited and basking.

The sound she made brought a sudden, warm longing, low in his belly, that he thought he had forgotten. I want to see when you remember. His own pulse quickened. He heard Elk Charm's racing heart, and knew that she felt it too. He nodded wordlessly, grateful and eager. When he remembered how to be a man, it would be for Elk Charm. I will show you, he answered quietly. He would show her Samo of the Aedui—as he had never been, taken too soon from his own people, but as he would become.

He might never be who he once was, but perhaps he could become someone new, Samo realized at last.

The path forward was as shadowy as the shelter. Yet for the first time, he thought he saw shafts of light. And he did not have to walk it alone. Elk Charm's paw upon his told him this, clear as day.

Yes, many long time, Samo chuckled. As the burden of fear and worry dissipated from his shoulders, the exhaustion in his limbs returned. He had slept poorly in the past few freezing weeks, wary of the drowsiness that permeated his body. He had heard too many stories of men lulled to sleep in the snow, only for that sleep to become the final silence of death. In the warm quick-lodge with Elk Charm, however, neither of them needed to fear that. He laid his head down between his paws. We should both rest. There will be more walking to do, tomorrow.

As much as he did not want the moment of reunion to end, drowsiness began to pull hazel eyes shut.

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maybe good spot to fade and do another in Lapis Nestle?