The Journey Around The World, In Order To Save Spring

Time to Spring into Action

Some time after his snooping incident with the important tribe members, Amaruq had the greatest idea; What if he were the one to bring the Asiaq statue to the secret temple? It seemed so clear now. He'd take the statue, put it in the temple, appease the Gods or whatever and finally make his tribe mates forget all of his previous acts of clumsiness. They'd treat him like a normal person! Unbeknownst to him, they already do treat him like a normal person, being used to him after 18 years of him running amongst them.

And so, a few days later, he told his dad about his plan in their hut. "You can't do that!" His dad exclaimed worriedly. "Of course I can. You know I'm capable enough, Atâtak," Amaruq brushed off his dad's negative thoughts. "I have no doubt of your abilities, Amar. It's just that you aren't very experienced in the verse of the world. You're so young," Tukkuttok explained. His son was barely mature. "It's fine, Atâtak. I have my amulet with me to protect me. See?" Amaruq pointed to the amulet on his wrist and was about to continue before his dad silenced him with a gesture and said, "Look. I have something I need to show you". His dad then led him to a corner of the room next to one of his dad's old crafting table.

Tukkuttok moved some items around before revealing a chest made of something Amaruq had never seen before. It was probably the coveted 'metal', a substance only a few people in the world are able to make items out off. "How'd you make this, Atâtak? I thought no one in our tribe-" "That's because I didn't make it, Amar," the serious wolf cut off his sentence. Before his son could ask any more questions, he explained, "Your mother and I found this chest along with you". Tukkuttok's eyes glistened, even though his face was as serious as ever. "What?", the younger man asked.

"You're adopted, son."

And with that, Amaruq's whole world nearly shattered. Why didn't he see this coming? Honestly, he shouldn't be this surprised, but he was. It was all but unheard of for wolves to adopt. They usually had enough offspring of their own to take care off. "We found you in some big thing that crashed near the lake at the edge of our territory. There were no other survivors". The answer to his one eternal question. Why he did not look like anyone he had ever met before. "What's in the chest?" Amaruq managed to choke out. "Come see for yourself."

He did. The first thing he saw inside after he peered in was clothing. A black upper body covering with long sleeves and an orange sleeveless one to go above it. There were also blue legwear made from some sort of hard-wearing plant material. These new cloths look very different to the parka and pants Amaruq was used to. There were also boots like he already had except it was made from something other than seal and reindeer skins, and were grey. He picked up a small smooth rectangular slab. On it was engraved 'Aimar A' but part of its engraving was worn out and missing. "That was what we used to name you. But since the other name was unknown, we replaced it with Tiguaak," his dad explained.

He resumed looking in the chest. The last object was a box. He opened it to find nothing inside but a spongy material. "Huh? There's an empty box in here," he said loud enough for his father to hear. "Oh, that? Your amulet was contained in that," Tukkuttok clarified. "My amulet? So the angakkuq didn't make it?" He asked, since a tribe's amulets were normally made by the tribe shaman. His question was answered with a shake of his dad's head. Well, it didn't matter anymore. His amulet was one of the best he's seen. And it was stylish too, worn on his wrist unlike the other's which were worn on the neck.

Once he's seen all of the items, he backed away and stood next to his dad. They both just stood there silently before Amaruq said, "I'm still going, Atâtak." "I know you are," replied his father with a sigh, resigning to his fate. Amaruq was surprised that his dad relented so early. Usually he had to pester him for a big chunk of the day. With that, he packed up all the essentials he would need to make it to the nearest settlement he could buy supplies from. He decided to ditch his current attire in favour of his original ones in the chest. They were more suitable for warmer weather and he wanted to honour his heritage, even if he was more reluctant to embrace it.

He stood outside the hut, looking at the forest from over the tops of the other tupiqs around the area. His dad came up on him. "You sure you wanna do this?" "As sure as I'll ever be," Amaruq replied with an exhale. "Well, good luck then, son," his dad said. "Thanks, Atâtak," the younger man replied before leaving for the edge of the encampment. "Stay safe," Tukkuttok said under his breath.

Amaruq bounced along with a spring in his step. At this time of day, no one was out and about. Like most predatory animals, wolves lazed around and rested around noon. Perfect for going against your superiors' wishes on a super adventure. His luck seemed to run out pretty quickly, though. At the edge of the encampment, Amaruq ran into none other than his tribe's chieftain, Inuksuk. "Oh! Chief!" Amaruq addressed his 'alpha', as they called him.

He looked for a way to explain what he was doing dressed in the strange clothing and heading outside. "Uh, you see I, uh," he stammered, his eyes darting left and right. The chief stopped him and said, "I know that you have stolen the statue and I know what you are doing". Now Amaruq was worried. He had been found out before he had even begun his journey. He hung his head and awaited his punishment, as always. It was usually given by the elders, but what did it matter? "Given that it would have been my responsibility to transport that statue, I believe you are brave for stepping up and volunteering yourself for this."

"Huh?" Amaruq raised his head abruptly in confusion. Did he hear that correctly? Is the chief actually letting him go on the trip? "Nonetheless, I think it would be foolish for anyone to travel there alone. Even you. Therefore, I have arranged for Taggak and Atsuguk to escort you... and guide you as well, since I am certain that you have no idea where the temple is. Do you?" The chief raised his furry eyebrow. The subordinate shook his head, embarrassed. How did he not realise that he didn't even know where his destination is? At the mention of their names, both the only black wolf in the tribe and the chieftain's nephew appeared. Amaruq didn't notice the two before. "I'm sure you three are well-acquainted," the chief added in place of an introduction.

He looked at them both. They were wearing their usual winterwear, but Amaruq knew that they brought clothes better suited for warm weather with them. The two of them then turned to the chief, Amaruq following suit, and said "Alpha! We will carry out our duty and bring the statue of Asiaq back to its original temple to get rid of this winter and help spring make its return!". Amaruq mostly just mouthed the words. He had to admit, he would've forgot why he was doing this in the first place if it wasn't for the snow everywhere. The chief nodded at them and wished them Godspeed.

The trio then began their arduous trek South to the closest settlement in Yellowknife, which would likely take days. Amaruq didn't care. This was going to be the most exciting thing he's ever done in his life. Nk