The Village

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For a while, I just sat there, trying to make sense of a world that no longer made any sense. A few hours ago, my biggest concern had been getting myself home before dark. Now, I was sitting beside a dying fire, staring down at a pair of hands that weren't originally mine.

Storm had left the healer's den to tend to business elsewhere, leaving Flower and Rain to look after me and monitor my condition, at least until morning. The two of them kept themselves busy with their own tasks, organizing the space and preparing ingredients for god-knows-what. I could tell that they were just trying to give me some space, to give me the time I needed to fully process things, but the silence was starting to get to me.

I had always considered myself pretty good when it came to dealing with problems, but I wasn't even sure about where I should start with this one. Where would I go? What would I do? Who should I talk to? They were the same questions I had been asking myself at the lake. Only now, this wasn't just about my life anymore. It was about Thorn's, too.

A bowl of stew appeared in front of me, pulling me out of my thoughts as Rain sat down beside me.

"Eat," he said firmly, "You've barely taken anything all day."

I let out a scoff, "Taking pity on me, are you, now?"

"Don't flatter yourself. You need to stay warm and rebuild your strength. This will help with that."

I gave a small smirk and nodded in thanks as I took the bowl in my hands. I could make out chunks of meat and veggies sitting in the broth, but in the dim light of the den it was hard to tell what kind they were.

"This isn't a cannibal tribe, is it?" I asked, eyeing the stew with suspicion.

Rain's eyes widened, "No! What gave you that impression?"

"Just making sure."

I took a small sip of the broth. It was a little bland, but not terrible. I sampled one of the chunks of meat and immediately recognized the flavor and texture. Pork, but gamier - wild pig.

A small sigh of relief escaped me. At least the food here was somewhat familiar.

"So you were the one that pulled me out of the lake, huh?" I asked, turning to Rain.

"I was..." he answered.

"Why? If you hated Thorn so much..."

Rain shifted uneasily next to me as he turned away, "It's the Healer's Oath. Do no harm, take no life."

"But Thorn falling through the ice wasn't your fault, was it? You could have just walked away and pretended you didn't see anything."

"No, I couldn't. Choosing to do nothing when it's within my ability to help counts as doing harm. I was there. I saw him fall in. I had to do something." Rain turned back to me and fixed me with a hard look, "Don't be mistaken. I dislike Thorn, but he was still a member of this tribe. His life was in grave danger. It was my duty to do what I could to save him."

I paused, "Why exactly do you hate Thorn? What did that guy ever do to you?"

Rain scowled. He lifted a single finger and directed it towards the ragged scar that cut across his face.

The gesture made me feel like he had punched me in the chest, "Why?"

"Because I tried to stand up to him for Raven, once. She was pregnant, and he was getting violent with her. I put myself between them."

"And he did that to you?"

"Yes. The eye is dead. Can't see a thing out of it anymore..."

An uncomfortable silence settled back into the shelter, and the sick feeling from earlier wrapped itself around my gut once more. I set my half-eaten bowl of stew down, my appetite long gone.

"So, Thor-- Uh, David..." Flower stuttered as she joined us by the fire, "Why don't you tell us about Alaska? What's it like?"

I gave a small shrug, "Cold. Really cold, this time of the year."

"How cold is it?"

"Cold enough that daily life is structured around just trying to survive it."

Rain tilted his head curiously, "Like the mountains, or the Far North?"

My head shot up, "That! The Far North. That's Alaska!"

Rain and Flower both smiled at that as we allowed the conversation to shift towards surviving in the harsh conditions of winter. They asked me about wolves, bears, and 'snow deer', which I gathered was what this tribe called any deerlike animal that lived in a colder climate. Deer, elk, caribou, moose - all snow deer. For a few minutes, I found myself actually getting excited. For once, we were discussing something we could all understand.

"You said you were living with your grandparents in Alaska," Rain commented, "Why not your parents? Where were they?"

The question immediately knocked the enthusiasm out of me.

"They died when I was really young," I explained, "Boating accident. I don't really remember them all that well."

Rain and Flower exchanged a somber look. They might not have known what a boat was, but they clearly understood the word 'accident'.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Flower said quietly, "So your grandparents were the ones that raised you, then?"

"Yeah," I replied, "They taught me everything I know. How to hunt, trap, and how to take care of things when they couldn't."

A deep hum rumbled in Rain's throat, the gears of his mind turning somewhere behind his eyes.

"You know," he eventually said, "You might just be useful here, after all."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Rain's eyes rolled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Thorn never took care of anybody," he explained, "Not his wife, not his son. He could barely even take care of himself. Carrying that knowledge is going to be important for when you're ready to leave this den. It just might help you shake his horrible reputation in this tribe off of your tail."

"Yeah!" Flower beamed, "You don't even have to be known here as Thorn, either. You can get a new name, one that fits better with your personality!"

Flower's excitement made my mind spin. I had only just arrived in this world, and I was barely able to cope. Being given a new name? Building a new reputation? It all felt like too much. I hadn't even seen what kind of world I'd been dropped into yet. What if it turned out that I didn't like being in this tribe, or any tribe, for that matter? What would become of me then?

"One thing at a time, Flower," Rain spoke up, clearly sensing my discomfort, "The next tribe festival won't be for many days, yet. Not until the far-hunters have returned from the valley and the plains. Let's use that time to get David out of this den and get him acclimated to our way of life."

"Right..." Flower stated as she relaxed slightly, but her eagerness remained, "Would you like to see it, David? The village?"

I felt myself perk up slightly. I had no idea how long I'd been here exactly, but being confined to the healer's den was already starting to eat away at me. I needed to move. I needed to do something.

"Can I?" I asked, shifting my gaze between her and Rain, "I mean, am I allowed to?"

Rain ran his hands nervously through the locks of his hair, pushing it back over his shoulders, "I don't know. It sounds too risky."

"I promise I'll try not to do anything to cause trouble. I just want to stretch my legs for a minute and have a look around."

Rain stared at me silently for a moment before he finally relented.

"Very well," he said, rising to his feet, "But we'll need to get you some proper clothing, first."

I looked down at myself. My clothes were a simple linen tunic and pants that hung loosely on my body. By no means did they look modern from my perspective, but I was glad to see that there was clothing to be found here that went beyond just fur and leather. Given that it was winter, though, dressing in furs was going to be necessary, and according to Flower, Thorn's furs were still damp from falling into the lake.

Rain left the den and returned several minutes later with some garments that I could borrow, including boots. A strange sense of wrongness started settling into my bones as I slipped into them, a quiet rejection that I couldn't find any reason for. It wasn't that they didn't fit. They fit almost perfectly. It felt more like a mismatch. Like a foot being placed into the wrong shoe.

"I borrowed these from my brother," Rain explained, "I know cougar isn't the best match, but they'll at least keep you warm."

"There's a best match?" I asked.

"Thorn requires lynx, when it's available. He'll settle for bobcat, if he's in a pinch. Cougar can be a bit overwhelming for him, though."

"Sounds like he was a pretty picky guy. I'm sure I can make-do with this, though."

Rain gave me a nod as the three of us filed out of the healer's den and crossed the threshold into the world beyond.

The air immediately went cold and I heard the familiar crunch of snow erupt from under my feet. It was different from Alaska, though. The air here felt cleaner. The snow seemed brighter. This place felt completely untouched, without a road, engine, or artificial source of light in sight. It was nighttime, and the village that surrounded us was quiet.

To my right, the village extended down and out into a dense forest that seemed to go on forever. To my left, the paths wound up the face of a large mountain that rose high up into the clouds. Smoke rose up from the tops of hide and stone huts as warm amber light pooled out of their windows and doorways. The smell of meals cooking over open fires carried in the breeze, bringing back some of the familiar comforts of home. All around us, a series of well-worn trails led into and around the buildings, bringing this sense of connection that could only be found in a tightly woven community.

I could see now how the Tribe of the Mountain Forest got its name. It was breathtaking, and something about it was oddly comforting.

"Welcome to our home, David," Flower said as we started forward, "What do you think?"

"It's nice." I responded as I continued to look around.

"Like Alaska?"

"No, this is different, but it doesn't look bad. Everyone looks so close with one another."

"Tribe members help each other," Rain explained, "Being an outcast or a loner isn't going to be an option for you, if you intend to stay."

If I intended to stay... That was the question, though, wasn't it?

Despite its beauty, this world as a whole was still strange and unfamiliar. Rain had said there might be a way that I could fit in here. Flower certainly seemed to be optimistic about it, but I'd been given the life of someone who had already ground his own reputation into the dirt.

People typically said that once you've hit rock bottom, the only way you can go is up. But what if that wasn't the case? What if I had already hit rock bottom, and all I'd manage to do here is dig that hole deeper?

"Well, I don't think that'll be a problem," I said, trying to sound at least a little bit hopeful, "I like being able to lend a helping hand when I'm able to."

My head turned as I noticed a figure standing in a nearby doorway, a woman with a tiny infant wrapped in her arms. She turned away from me as soon as our eyes met, trotting back into her hut before I could lift a hand to greet her. From another hut, two children whispered something to each other as they watched us pass by, shrinking back under my gaze when I stared back at them. Farther down the path, a man glared at me as he carried a bundle of firewood inside.

Okay, maybe this was going to be harder than I thought.

"Gee," I muttered under my breath, "Thorn sure was popular, wasn't he?"

"Well, not exactly," Flower replied nervously, clearly not picking up on my sarcasm.

"Did Thorn have any friends?"

"None that are still with the tribe..." Rain said flatly.

I swallowed hard, cringing at what that could possibly mean. If Thorn had been on the brink of being exiled before the incident at the lake, and the only allies he ever had were no longer members of the tribe, then that probably meant that they had already been exiled themselves. That, or they had died, and I didn't want to think of the ways in which that could have played out.

I stopped suddenly as I noticed a shadow emerge from around a nearby hut. A massive wolf with deep grey fur trotted up the path towards us, a freshly caught rabbit dangling from its jaws. The skin along its muzzle wrinkled as it saw me, letting out a low growl from its throat and quickening its pace as it circled past.

I spun on my heel as I watched it leave and slink away into a hut. I froze as I realized it had just slipped into somebody's home.

"Uh... is that normal?" I asked.

"Sure," Rain replied with a shrug, "Why wouldn't it be?"

"You guys let wolves into your houses? With fresh kills?"

"It's more convenient. Why? You prefer hunting with only two legs?"

I stared at him, dumbfounded, "I only hunt on two legs. What other way is there to hunt?"

Rain directed a finger towards the wolf, "On four legs. It's more efficient."

I shook my head, unable to make sense of what he was telling me, "It would have been nice to know that the people of your tribe keep wolves as pets. Would have spared me the heart attack."

"Echo isn't a pet," Flower said, shooting me an offended look, "She's of the Tribe. She's our friend."

I looked from her to Rain as they stared back at me with confused expressions. My mind searched desperately for answers, trying to make sense of it.

"Your tribe must be really in tune with nature, then, if wolves count as members," I commented, "It's okay. In Alaska, it's sort of the same with huskies."

Flower pouted slightly, "You act like you've never been around therians before..."

I paused, "Therians? What's a therian?"

Flower and Rain gawked at me in bewilderment as my question hung in the air. It was as if I had asked them the most basic question in the world. Like this was something that I was already supposed to know.

"Are you not a therian?" Rain asked, raising a brow.

"No," I responded slowly, shaking my head, "I'm just... a person... Right?"

"Thorn!"

I flinched as a deep voice cut through the quiet of the rest of the village. Flower and Rain's backs straightened, standing at attention as their eyes moved to look past my shoulders. Every set of eyes that had been watching us from the shadows scattered from the scene, plunging the village into an almost unnatural silence.

I turned around as footsteps came up from behind me. An older man approached, walking with purpose down the path towards us. His short white hair and light complexion were a sharp contrast from the other tribe members I had seen thus far. What put me off about him, though, were his furs - thick, white, and absolutely massive. I could only think of one animal that could produce pelts like that. A polar bear.

The man's icy blue eyes locked onto mine as he stopped in front of me. He looked me over once before turning his attention to Flower and Rain. The two of them lowered their heads. Not in shame, but out of respect.

"You three," the man finally spoke, his tone firm and commanding, "Come with me." 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9M285EfdN

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