"++Walk any faster and you'll find the next fox hole,++" Aike called back, their poncho wrapped around their arms to keep their hands covered after the bout in the snow. They kept pace with Atsida and the little one, however, no matter Enoka's goading, comforting though it was. The tension was easing more and more, relief finally washing into the ground as they returned to the Taluvan camp.
Aike watched in curiousity as Lawona was looked after, their head tilted as they observed the ritual of gourd and powders. Their eyebrows rose steadily as they watched the child become more and more irritated, feeling what was coming underfoot before finally Lawona barked out her displeasure and ran off. Aike chuckled at the face she made to them. A very spirited little one, indeed.
The Governor watched as the same ritual was not done to the other adults, and they remembered the mask that had been left in the fox's den. In Cortla, there was the belief that the masks were there to hide true intentions, and Aike themself had believed such a thing when they were a young scout. This moment, however, did seem to call that particular belief in question.
Their thoughts were interrupted, of course, as they found themself face-to-mask with the old woman. They glanced to Enoka as he translated, and withdrew their hands from where they had bundled them into the poncho. The knuckles were still red with cold, but feeling and warmth had already returned, and they held their hands out with palms upward for the woman to take, taking their eyes from Enoka to settle on her mask instead.
