Gifted Pelt

Chapter 14

Kōri laughs again. "Tarkik, you've never had the role of an all-knowing being, and you never will."

Tarkik's scowl deepens into a true scowl, but his eyes still twinkle merrily as he groans. "Kōri, don't ruin my fun."

Astrila giggles at their antics then quickly stifles it, covering her mouth with a gloved hand as they simultaneously look towards her. She waves them off.

"Go back to what you were doing, don't mind me."

They are interrupted from finishing their fascinating conversation by Tarkik's companion, who has returned, fish clutched in his furry mouth. He spits the fish onto the ice and hoists himself out before shifting, standing up as he wraps his pelt around him. The pelt changes form back into a coat as he swings it around his shoulders. He looks between the two males and nods to Kōri.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was showing Astrila around the bay."

His attention shifts to Astrila, and he scowls darkly, his voice demanding. "Who are you?"

She almost flinches back from his anger but forces herself not to, raising her chin into the air. "My name is Astrila."

"That explains nothing. Who are you, why are you here?"

Tarkik lays a restraining hand on his companion's arm. "She's a new selkie, Arnauyq. Like I was so long ago."

Arnauyq's expression softens and he looks back to Astrila. "My apologies. We are so used to all selkies being born on the island that we forget there are those among the Inuit who have selkie blood."

Astrila gives him a grateful smile. "Thank you, but I do understand why you feel this way, even if it hurts to be directed at me."

His eyes shutter with remnants of pain, and Tarkik's hand on Arnauyq's arm turns comforting as he squeezes gently to pull Arnauyq back to himself. Arnauyq shakes his head and gives Astrila a small, apologetic smile.

"Again, I apologize. I have heard Tarkik's stories of experiencing what you are feeling now, but it's different seeing it in front of you and being the cause of that pain."

He gives her another small, sad smile as Kōri pulls Astrila away from the two to let them continue their fishing. "I'm sorry Astrila, we have to go and leave them to their work, or we won't have enough food."

Astrila nods. "I know. Tarkik is fun to talk to."

Kōri raises an eyebrow at her. "Why do I have the feeling you two are going to be teaming up on me?"

Astrila giggles. "Because we are already becoming good friends?"

He grins broadly. "That you are. What about us?"

She raises an eyebrow at him. "What do you think?"

He frowns. "I think we are at the beginning of friendship."

Astrila shakes her head and scoffs. "That is very wrong."

Kōri's face falls. "What are we then?"

"Very far into a friendship, silly!" She rubs her hand over Kōri's hair, causing friction to make it stand up on its ends and to the sides.

Kōri's frown fades into a light scowl. "You scared me!"

Now Astrila is frowning. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I thought you knew we had already become friends."

"I knew that you were a friend on my end, but I didn't know what we were on yours. Can you blame me for being a bit insecure about it? Especially with your reaction to learning that you are my Siqiniq."

Astrila stops in her tracks, her hand on Kōri's arm forcing him to stop as well. "I'm sorry, I was just surprised at learning what that meant. I've always wanted to control my own path, and at the beginning it felt like a tether, not an option."

Kōri pulls her into a hug, the top of her head level with his ears. "I know your life has been turned upside down, and I'm sorry for that. I can give you the space to work things out if you need more."

Astrila shakes her head. "You've been giving me lots of space to figure things out, Kōri, and it's already been a big help."

He pulls away from her so that she can see his grin. "Good."

Astrila feels a tendril of a blisteringly cold wind brush her cheek and her face pales. She twists away from him to look at the sky. It is steadily growing darker, but not just from the setting sun. Indeed, a shadow of dark clouds is spreading across the sky, warning of the approaching storm.

"Kōri . . ."

"What?" He looks up to the sky, following her gaze. "Oh."

He sends a whistling noise across the expanse of ice towards Tarkik and Aynauyq, who look up to where he is pointing. Even from a distance, Astrila can see them nod and signal to the other ice fishers, who only take a moment to grab their things and start hustling towards the shoreline and the group of Igluit. With a tug on Astrila's arm, Kōri pulls them into a run.
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Hmmm, what do you think they saw that was so dangerous? They seem quite afraid of that approaching storm. Speaking of the storm, why do I keep writing storms into this saga? What did you think of Arnauyq's reaction to Astrila and then to Tarkik's comment? Tell me your thoughts, and tell me if you want me to make a dictionary!

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

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.