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Whatever prayers Hakoda had offered to Tui and La had worked, and he wasn’t sure that he deserved such luck. He and Bato- no, he, Bato, and Kya, had come back from gathering bits of wood to use for the fire that evening. Bato had invited her. She had walked up to the both of them like everyone had already known each other. Bato and Kya seemed to share an easy sense of comradery, and it rankled him. Well, maybe rankled wasn’t the right word. He wasn’t jealous that Bato had friends other than him. Hakoda had friends other than Bato, mostly through friends of his own mother Kanna. Bato and Hakoda’s mothers were friends too, but Hakoda and Bato were different. They clicked. Bato had been the first to ask questions, about Hakoda, about his family, favorite foods, whatever his tongue got to first. Not about the war. No one had to ask about that. Everyone in the village had been born into it, and the constant watch for soot colored snow showed no signs of stopping.
Normally, trekking across the tundra was something that Bato and Hakoda did with Hakoda’s father Silak as a guide. But Silak was still in recovery from a hunting accident three weeks prior, and the whole village waited in anticipation of the coming storm. The sky had gone completely gray, and it wouldn’t be long before the small flurries that were falling now would turn to much larger flakes and howling winds that would shroud the village in a thick white blanket. As a result, Bato, Kya, and Hakoda were now anxiously standing outside Kanna’s igloo, with one measly pile of sticks between them.”
“Remember, we were just gathering firewood like normal-”
“Uh-huh-”
“When we got attacked by a- um, you know- a polar bear dog-”
“But we didn’t get attacked by a polar bear dog,” said Bato matter- of -factly.
“Oh for Tui’s sake Bato you think we don’t know that? The point is that we definitely didn’t get lost trying to find Old Man Kiviuk’s magic bola.” Hakoda crossed his arms, looking back and forth between Bato and Kya. If it even existed. Kya threw him a glance. The light in the sky was darkening even more.
“Your mom is going to kill us,” Kya adjusted the small bundle of sticks in the crook of her arm. “Unless we freeze to death out here first.” Hakoda just sighed. Bato just rolled his eyes
“Yeah, probably.”
“Got attacked by a polar bear dog, did you?
Hakoda whirled around.The door flap opened to reveal Hakoda’s mother standing with her hands on her hips. She simply gave one exasperated glance at the three of them, and then shook her head. Kanna sighed.
“Just come inside.”
*******
There were nine of them in total on the floor of the igloo that night. Hakoda was sandwiched between Bato and Kya. Two kids who Hakoda didn’t know had come through the door flap, around his age, a boy and a girl. The girl had her hair in braids adorned with ivory beads at the end and a pointed chin. The boy had the same chin, but his eyes were a much darker blue than the girl’s. His hair was drawn back in the same wolf tail as Bato and Hakoda. Kya jumped up from her place at the low table and ran to greet them.
“Nini! Taluk!” Kya hugged them both at once and then pulled them towards the table. She resumed her place next to Hakoda while Taluk and Nini plopped themselves down next to her. The four adults in the room all placed themselves as far away from the door flap as possible due to the now raging storm outside. The central fire, though meager, cast everyone’s faces in a warm yellow-orange light. Hakoda’s father sat with his leg in a cast, propped up on a pile of furs. He, Kanna, and Bato’s father sat together cleaning the fish for tonight’s meal and the seal that would later be turned into jerky. He could hear his mother scolding his father that he should be resting. His father just laughed. Bato’s mother Uma sat next to her husband, one hand on her heavily pregnant belly. Bato’s father leaned over and kissed his wife’s forehead before continuing his work. It was all anyone could talk about these days and all Hakoda could think about was counting down the days until the baby came so that he and Bato could stop hearing about it. Well, I can’t really call a baby an it, can I? He remembered his mother saying that she thought the baby would be a girl.
“You won’t believe what happened when we went for firewood today, we-” Kya launched into the story of the three of them running around the tundra, with Hakoda and Bato occasionally interjecting with a “No no no you’re telling it wrong” or a “Oh for Tui’s sake!” Truthfully, Bato and Kya did most of the talking. Nini and Taluk were Kya’s friends, and it seemed that the four of them were in on some sort of code that Hakoda couldn’t even begin to crack.
They were in the middle of the part where they were attempting to dig into the tundra to find an allegedly magic weapon when Kya turned to face him.
“Oh yeah, Nini, Taluk, this is Hakoda. You know, Bato’s guy?” There was no hidden mischief in Kya’s eyes, which was something of a surprise given the circumstances. He found himself taken aback. Hakoda turned towards Bato, then back towards Kya. Bato just raised his eyebrows at him, as if to say “Do you have a problem with being my guy? Bato’s guy. He decided right then and there that being Bato’s guy was just fine with him.
“Yup. That’s me. I’m Bato’s guy. Bato’s friend. Bato’s Hakoda. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Hakoda flashed a crooked grin at Kya and her friends that he had only met fifteen minutes ago. He saw Kya stifle a laugh. Nini and Taluk both gave him polite smiles.He didn’t have to turn around to know that Bato was rolling his eyes. Traitor. At least someone appreciated his humor.
“I think the baby’s coming!” Everyone turned towards Bato’s mother, who grimaced and placed her hand on her belly. Then Hakoda’s mother took over like she always did. He heard her command Bato and Nini to find water and rags. Kya went with Kanna to help Bato’s mother get into a comfortable position. Bato’s mother was sweating now. Bato’s father held one of her hands while Kanna held the other. Taluk and Hakoda’s dad were in the same spot that all four adults had been earlier.
“You’re doing great, Uma. Just keep doing that, okay?” Kanna’s voice rang in his ear. The room was starting to smell of blood. Hakoda felt his head beginning to swim.
“Hakoda.” Hakoda turned to look at his father. Silak made a motion for Hakoda to come and join him. Hakoda made his way over. “Sit. Help me skin this.” His father handed Taluk and Hakoda small knives. The three of them worked in silence.
“Everything’s going to be fine, you know.” Silak gave Hakoda a small smile.
“The baby?” Taluk asked, tilting his head to the side. Hakoda’s father just hummed.
“Among other things, yes.”
“Like what?” Hakoda dug his knife into the skin and jerked. He saw his father glance at his hand, and then gently moved to correct it.
“Just. . . everything. All of this.” His father made a swirling motion with his hand. No one had to say what he meant. They all knew. “It has to end eventually,” he said softly, more to himself than anyone else. That surprised him. His father had spent his entire life living under threat of being raided. The last raid had been when Kanna was twenty two, but all of the adults of his parents' generation still felt the scars in some way or another. For them , hope was another thing entirely.
“You really think so?” Hakoda stopped moving his knife. Taluk glanced back and forth between him and his father.
“What else is there?” Silak just smiled at them both sadly.
**********
By the time Bato’s little sister was born, the storm outside had finally passed. Uma had decided to name her Natsiq, and her husband had simply said “A good name,” and then gave her a soft peck on the lips. The nine of them ate what was supposed to be their dinner in the wee hours of the morning. Kya and Nini sported dark circles under their eyes, and Bato was fighting to keep his own open for more than thirty seconds. Hakoda’s mother flitted to and from the rest of them, giving portions of the meal to Uma and smiling down at the baby.
Eventually Bato and Hakoda made their way towards Hakoda’s mother and the baby.
“You have a little sister,” Bato’s mother whispered. Her smile was tired, and there were dark circles under her eyes. She looked back down at the sleeping baby in her arms. “This is Bato, your older brother.”
“Mom, can I hold her?” Bato’s mother nodded and placed Natsiq into Bato’s arms, then closed her eyes. Bato and Hakoda peered down at the small bundle that was now starting to stir.
“Hi Natsiq,” Bato whispered. “I’m Bato, you older brother.”
“And I’m Hakoda, unrelated.” Bato rolled his eyes.
“You should know that he’s not funny at all.”
“Traitor.” With that, Natsiq slowly opened her eyes and made a small sound and raised one tiny hand to touch Bato. Bato smiled, and Natsiq smiled back. Hakoda smiled too. Maybe everything would be fine, even if it was only for now.