Base Camp

Qannik's rounded face remained unmoving as the wind painted his cheeks a light shade of red. His nose stung from the cold, something that pressed the man to begin fiddling with the hood of his parka. He tugged it once against his head, black hair pressing down above his eyebrows, but otherwise offered his forehead temporary relief from the day's harsh temperature. Qannik's murky brown eyes shifted over to Tomkin's figure, his lips still holding their newfound happiness. The edges had twitched up in the slightest, a subtle hint of the man's current emotions. Despite Qannik's mindset, however, Tomkin's words were not pleasant. They came out rushed and overall detached, like the shaman was trying his best not to dwell on their current situation. Qannik himself would not complain to how Tomkin was handling the current events - distancing himself from the anxiety and fear of the unknown did not seem like the most unpleasant idea. And so the man nodded at his shaman's quick yet heavy words, chin dipping to show that he had understood. Without speaking he turned around, thick boots unable to completely block out the cold as snow moulded itself against them, and whistled for Injuquaq to follow. The dog slowly rose to his legs, tail wagging excitedly as his dark eyes locked upon his master's, and followed with the blind faith only a dog could possess.

"We're going to leave," Qannik told the dog, who, in turn, didn't say anything. Instead the canine increased his pace and began to jog ahead of his owner, tail now thrashing wildly (Qannik assumed Inju thought they were going on a hunt), and released a quick bark. The man chuckled lightly, eyes crinkling as he watched his dog jump around in the snow. Now quite close to his hut, Qannik gave his Malamute a quick glance before slipping inside, his breath fogging up within his face like a cloud. He still clutched his spear tightly within his fist, though he wouldn't look at it. The memories would most likely get in the way of his mood. Instead, he tilted the weapon to its side and leaned it against the wall of his makeshift home, eager to be away from it. Rather than dwell on the spear's futile existence the man proceeded to pick through his pathetic amount of personal belongings. He picked up a thick blanket made of wolf's hide that he slept upon, three of his best hunting knives, and his kudlik, or oil lamp. He contemplated on bringing the bone Injuquaq frequently played with, worried that Inju would eventually grow bored without it and destroy his owner's belongings, but finally decided against it. They would probably lose it on the journey anyway, and Qannik was sure he could find some other toys for the dumb mutt. The man placed his chosen belongings down within the center of his hut, breath fogging once again around him. He opted to leave them there for now and go help the others instead. The sled would not make itself. 

.: TAGGED: Shila  Tomkin  Silaluk