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Silna sat cross-legged in the warmth of her snow shelter from the polar storm raging outside. A collection of lit seal oil burnt near her as she worked on a block of wood, slowly molding it into the shape of the trapped ships nearby. The wooden beasts lay ensnared in the ice, looking like mountains on the plain tundra landscape. As a child she was curious about ships passing through her home with bizarre items to trade for local pelts and fresh meat. But now she was wary of their presence. They did not belong here, no one should be here.
Silna had given them their warning and yet they persisted on staying in their mountains of wood and further disrupting nature. They did not know the beast, yet they felt him with every boy snatched from the decks or ripped off the ice.
Tuunbaq
She would whisper his name in the dark of the night, when she felt the most afraid hoping for but dreading his answer. She had seen him from afar, chased him across his territory with the guidance of her father. They held a bond she knew only from seeing their interactions together before his passing. Silna knew Tuunbaq was her task now but she felt just as lost as the men nearby. He kept her here when she wanted to run back to the safety of her village and people. But that would only harm more in the process. The bond with the beast kept the Inuit safe since the first time they encountered the spirit. It was an honor and curse to tend to his kind but Silna felt ill prepared for her great task.
She was unwilling to give him the gift he asked for. Her father would tell her of how many before him had to sacrifice themselves in order to please the beast. They were jealous creatures and for now she was vain, clinging onto the hope that he may listen to her before she could no longer speak.
The Lady Silence, as the white men had called her was startled by her contemplation by the huffing outside her shelter.
He had arrived
Fear seized her heart as she backed slowly from to the edge of the shelter, knowing if he was truly enraged nothing would stop him from tearing at her and consuming her soul. Silna waited, hands shaking as something hit the ground with a loud thump. She waited for what felt like an eternity in silence before going to check what had been placed there. At the entrance of her shelter was a bloody fat seal, freshly killed and steaming in the arctic air.
“A gift or a trap?” She pondered, slowly moving towards the kill. A great mountain of white moved nearby causing her to stop all movement again. The Tuunbaq looked at her with his man like face, dark eyes unblinking as he tilted his elongated neck. He seemed almost curious, watching her and waiting for something. That something she didn’t quite know but she heaved the seal carefully into the shelter, she would process it later when he was gone.
The beast hummed in response, moving closer in a fluid movement akin to a seal sliding across the ice. She blinked, waiting to feel the pain of his teeth of the tearing of his claws but they never came. Instead he sat by her feet and opened his mouth to let out a noise she almost didn’t recognize. It was singing. He was honoring her.
Silna watched him, feeling a wave of relief rush over her as she offered her arms up to him. He moved his head down to place his twisted face into her bare palms. He was just as cold as the land he protected and smelled of the death he brought.
“Thank you, thank you, Tuunbaq.” She chanted quietly as he continued his song. For once Lady Silence was safe.