Singing Their Joy
The People hear their clan singing their joy at returning, their chirps and squeals, their clicking talk. We gather to greet them, also singing happiness, laughing and talking. For both clans it is a time of feasting.
The men joke as they keep watch. We can see their spiraled tusks, but these ones are too far off, these ones are not ready. Hundreds more are returning to us. There will be those who will come close, will give themselves to the People. We are grateful, waste nothing. We carve their stories in ivory, so the tuugaalik will live forever.
***
This week at Carrot Ranch, Charli would have us writing of unicorns. Many people are fascinated with these mystical creatures. I am not one of those people. But the prompt did lead me to the Arctic, where Tuugaalik is still hunted by the Inuit. To me Monodon monoceros, the narwhal whale, unicorn of the sea, is more interesting than a horned horse. Perhaps because of the healthy, sustainable relationship between the tuugaalik and the Inuit, this creature is less elusive than the classical unicorn.
February 22, 2018, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about a unicorn. It can be realistic or fantastical. Go where the prompt leads. Respond by February 27, 2018, to be included in the compilation (published February 28). Rules are here. All writers are welcome!
ShiftnShake 
I enjoyed this story. You gave a wonderful sense of tradition and joy. 🙂
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Thank you so much. These are the unicorns that spoke to me.
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Great post. I’m not a unicorn fan, either. 🙂
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Oh the things we endure at the ranch. I had a whale of a time with this prompt. If you can’t lick ’em, trick ’em.
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I may just have to.
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Ha, ha! Go where the prompt leads…even if it’s into rebellion! 😀
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I had a wonderful melding of clans as I read. At first, I was catching an indigenous vibe and I thought of a returning hunting party, then I thought whalers and for a brief moment, the two mixed in my imagination. Now I’ll have to give it space to grow and harvest one day into a story. Thanks for the inspiration!
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Not quite sure what you’re on about, but you are certainly welcome. This is just a simple tale of a whale clan interacting with a people clan as they have for centuries. This version is better than the one at the ranch btw. I look forward to your story.
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That’s what I love about the literary experience. Just as writers follow the prompt, readers can follow the story down different paths. It’s whale clan and people clan, but for a moment I thought of Inuit hunters and New England whalers coming together. I know weird, but it was a cool thought that popped up in my head!
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Some have said that the Narwhal or Tuugaalik may have inspired the legends of their four legged friends…
Respect is something you have to give before you get it back.
That’s the rules of the road, or in this case the ocean.
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Yep. Thanks for coming by Jules.
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