Gifted Pelt

Chapter 7

The snow is lovely in the light of dusk, lit by both the descending sun and the rising moon. Astrila grins at the sight of the two solar bodies, but she is pulled away from admiring them by Kōri's tugging on her arm. She looks away from the dimming sky to look at Kōri.

"What is it?"

A smile tugs at the corners of his lips. "As much as I want to look at the moon, sun, and stars, we really do have to get back. Once we have arrived at my iglu, we can look at the sky again, but we need to get there first."

Astrila nods, torn between knowing they have to get back and wanting to look at the sky some more. "All right."

They start off again through the many igluit. Occasionally, Kōri waves to another selkie hurrying back towards their own iglu. They wave back, coat glimmering faintly in the light. Once they make it back to the iglu, Astrila stands just inside the doorway, unsure of what she should do. Kōri makes his way over to the side of the room nearest the door where there appears to be storage; a basket of furs, a basket of tools, another basket of tools, one of spare clothing, a basket of food, and lastly, the frame and skins of the iglu for the warmer season, when an igluvijaq is no longer needed. He pulls out the food basket and the one with furs. He leaves the basket of food where it is temporarily, coming back over to Astrila with the furs.

"Don't just stand there, you can come into the iglu."

Astrila frowns. "But it's your iglu, your space."

"Well, for now, it's our iglu. So please come inside. If you need something to do, you can help me with the furs for your bed or with the meal."

"Is there one you would prefer?"

Kōri shakes his head. "No, it's your choice."

Astrila nods. "I'll help with the furs first, and the food after."

"Very well."

He moves over to the original bed, which must have been his, and crouches beside it in the empty space. He places his bundle of furs on the skin-covered floor and spreads them out. The two work together to assemble the bed, layering different furs on top of each other until they are satisfied. Once the bed is fully assembled, Kōri collects his basket of food and brings it over. Astrila reaches into the basket to grab a piece of meat and pulls it out. She looks down at it and is shocked to find that the strip is seal meat.

"Selkies eat seal?"

Kōri laughs. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Aren't you worried about accidentally killing another selkie?"

He shakes his head and takes a bite of his own food before speaking. "No, we can tell when a seal is truly a selkie." Astrila opens her mouth to question that, but he stops her. "I don't know how to explain it, you'll just know. We eat seals because they are a food source here, and we are not truly seals. We don't kill them because we want to, but because we have to. They are food, so we eat them."

Astrila nods and finishes the rest of her strip, before grabbing another hunk of food. This piece is blubber and she demolishes it quickly. When Astrila is finished eating, she sits back on her heels to wait. It only takes Kōri a moment longer to finish his own food. He returns the basket of food to the lower area of the iglu, close to the door, to keep it from spoiling in the higher, heated areas. He returns to where Astrila is sitting, staring at the fire.

He hasn't even sat down when Astrila asks, "Could we go look at the night sky now? I want to see if we have any katiyana."

He laughs, a broad smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Yes, we can. Come on."

He ducks out of the iglu, followed by Astrila, who almost bumps into him several times as she rushes out. The sky is in that strange space between snow and clear sky, cool and calm, still in the starlight. There is some katiyana, some night snow, but more than that, the stars are visible twinkling high above them. Astrila sees a glimmer of color out of the corner of her eye and hurries over to the backside of the iglu, dragging Kōri along with her. The bit of color she saw was the Aurora Borealis, its green light dancing and waving through the night sky. A small and melancholy smile tugs at the corner of her lips.

"Do selkies have a different story for the lights?"

"We believe that the lights are the Aos Sí who have passed on leading human souls to the stars where they may watch over their descendants." A tear rolls down Astrila's cheek and she wipes it away before it can freeze to her skin.

"Do you think my mother is up there?"

Kōri looks at the lights and points to one spot of curling gold. "That's her right there, that gold."

Astrila sniffs, her smile weak. "My village believes that the lights are our ancestors playing a game of ball."

Kōri frowns, pondering that. "Maybe, but I think the selkie story is more likely."

Astrila laughs. "Of course you think that, you've grown up with that story!"

He hears the wavering sounds in her voice and turns his head to look at her. "Are you okay?"

She nods, bobbing her head up and down like an ice floe near the shore. "Yes, I just miss her."

He doesn't push it, instead saying, "Come on, let's get back inside before your tears freeze to you. It's getting colder anyway."

She nods and follows him back inside, curling up on her bed and pulling her pelt over herself for extra warmth.
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What did you think about those Aurora Borealis stories? The playing ball one is actually a real story. Should I put all of those Aurora stories in my legends book? What do you think will happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading, and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.