The Woman of the North [Simon "Ghost" Riley X OC]

1. A Big Family and Home

Family members will always be refered to as how they are related to Kayla.

Kayla loved the outdoors. 

If you were to take a look at her, you would be able to see that love as clear as black paint on a white wall. 

Her skin was a beautiful tanned brown, one that was not from tanning sprays or lights. It was a natural tan that lightened where the sun didn't quite have as much reach and darkened where it did reach. Occasionally after long trips on the water, she would have a ridiculous tan-line that was often made into a joke. She never had sunburn either. That she blamed on her Indigenous heritage. Often she was told it would lead to skin cancer as she never wore sunscreen, but she never paid any heed.

Another factor to her skin were the many scars scattered on her arms and legs. Some were quite strange and it was almost impossible to believe that they were caused by branches or falls. Some were so big or straight that it was almost as if she would have needed to go to the hospital for them, but she never went to the hospital after her trips. The Mongolian spots on her face tricked many into thinking she had been punched and caused problems every now and then.

Her hair was long and always in braids. Never had her nephews and nieces seen it down. Not in the lake, not when she was sleeping, not even to cut it although that was a cultural thing. Kayla claimed braids made her hair easier to manage and kept it cleaner in the bush...her sister-in-laws did not believe it. 

She was always dressed as though she was about to go ripping through the forest on foot. Indeed most days that is just what she was doing. Tough pants that were designed to last and were also water resistant, tough synthetic shirts that worked the same, good waterproof hiking boots, and an old baseball hat that had forty-two signatures in it from people she had met. In winter the gear was covered by a snowsuit and the hiking boots were replaced by winter boots.

Her eyes were also different. Compared to Charlie, her brother who lived in the city, her eyes held a spark in them. It was a light of life, something you could look at and say: "That woman is happy and energetic, always looking for adventure and fun." Her brown eyes were something that caught the attention of many men who she never liked.

It was very easy for Nathan, one of her Nephews, to spot her hopping out of a canoe one Fall day. He was walking home from school with his siblings and cousins when he spotted her in a group of paddlers who had just finished their last trip of the season. Now that Fall had arrived, the snow would soon come and Kayla needed to put away her canoe till the winter ice would melt. She would now spend her time planning hunting trips, hunting trips she had promised that her oldest nephews could come along on.

Nathan bolted across the road, ignoring the white crosswalk just a few steps away. Everyone in town drove slowly anyway, they wouldn't hit him or get mad. 

"Aunty! Aunty!" He yelled, his black braid swinging in the air behind him as he ran towards her.

The other kids picked up on it quite quickly and soon all of them were running towards their aunt. Kayla looked up when she heard all the yelling and braced herself for impact when seven kids came bouldering into her. They all went to the ground, now covered in wet sand and grass blades but all with a smile.

"Hey kiddos!" Kayla laughed and wrapped her arms around as many of them as she could. "I haven't seen you guys in years!" 

"Aunty! You were only gone for three months!" Lily said, hands on her hips. She was known to be a bossy pants and a sass queen, something Kayla insisted did not come from the Joewood family. 

"I was joking Lily." Kayla shook her head with a smile.

"Well then next time say it." Lily stomped her foot down.