The Chief

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The three of us were led into a large stone hut at the center of the village.

It was easily twice the size of the others I'd seen thus far, with enough room inside that I was able to stand comfortably without feeling like I was taking up a quarter of it. A fire burned low in a pit near the center, its smoke curling up towards an opening in the roof. The place felt more practical than it did luxurious, though, with bundles of herbs, fur, and a few other things that I couldn't quite place lining the walls around us.

The man that led us here crossed the hut and settled himself near the fire. Rain and Flower had gone strangely quiet. That alone told me that whoever this man was, whatever the reason the three of us had been brought here, this wasn't someone that I wanted to make a bad first impression on.

"Sit," the man finally commanded, gesturing towards the empty space across from him.

The three of us obliged and seated ourselves around the pit.

My palms started to sweat. Had I done something wrong? Had we gone out at the wrong time? Did this guy overhear my comments about the wolf and take offense?

Then it occurred to me.

This man had addressed me as Thorn.

My stomach clenched. Maybe this wasn't about what I had done. Maybe this was about something Thorn had done.

"So," the man finally said, clasping his hands together, "How are you feeling, Thorn?"

I tapped my fingers nervously against my lap as my mind fought to find an appropriate answer. Should I just come out and tell him that I wasn't really Thorn, or would that just make things worse? I considered playing into the question, but how would Thorn even respond? Would he have chosen to remain civil with this man, or would he have been rude, making things more difficult for himself?

I took a deep breath. Grandpa had always said it was better to tell the truth than to tell a lie. Even if the truth was hard, maintaining the lie would always be harder.

"David."

The man's brow lifted.

"My name is David," I clarified, "Not Thorn."

A moment of silence hung in the air between us before I saw a smile start to tug on the corners of the man's mouth.

"I know," he stated, "Storm already told me."

I nearly collapsed onto my hands as a wave of relief swept over my body. From beside me, I could hear Rain and Flower chuckling softly, easing some of the tension that had started to build up in me since being confronted.

"Storm seems to believe you," the man continued, "And I do trust Storm, but that isn't the same as trusting you. I wanted to meet you for myself, rather than just accept his judgement."

I gave a nod in understanding. At least he was willing to hear me out before he decided what to make of me.

"I am Light," the man finally stated, "The chief of this tribe."

I nodded again as the pieces of this situation finally started coming together - Rain and Flower's silence, the large hut, the authority that Light carried in his voice. This man wasn't just some village elder. He was their leader.

"So tell me, David," Light continued, "What exactly possessed you to get up and wander around the village this late in the night?"

I paused. As if the reactions from the handful of villagers I had encountered earlier hadn't made me self-conscious enough about my current predicament, I was now in the presence of the man that had reportedly been one mishap away from booting Thorn out of the tribe entirely. And here I was, casually strolling through the village in his body.

"I just wanted to get up and stretch my legs for a bit," I replied, "If I was doing something I wasn't supposed to - or Thorn wasn't supposed to - I swear, I didn't mean it."

Light let out a laugh as he gave a slight shake of his head.

"Relax. You're not here because you're in any kind of trouble with me. I'm willing to accept that the person that you are is not the Thorn I once knew."

Relief swept over me once more. I wasn't in trouble. The tribe's chief was willing to hear me out. Perhaps now I could finally start getting some answers.

"Rain and Flower were saying something about therians," I spoke up, "What exactly is a therian? This seems like something I should know about."

Light's brow furrowed, "Are there not any therians where you're from?"

"No... At least, I don't think so."

Light let out a sigh as he tossed a log into the fire.

"Therians are people who have the ability to shapeshift into animals," he explained, "I am a therian, Rain and Flower are therians, and Thorn was a therian. Seeing as you've been given Thorn's body, that makes you a therian, now, too."

I shook my head as I tried to make sense of what Light was telling me. People who could turn into animals? It was the kind of stuff that I had only heard about in mythology and folklore. Now, it was real? And I was one of them?

"So..." I started slowly, "That wolf we saw earlier... Echo. She's a person?"

Flower nodded beside me, "I told you. She is of the Tribe."

"Right... And you guys are...?"

"Cougars," Rain answered, "Very common, in this tribe."

"And Thorn is...?"

"A lynx. Were you not able to tell from the furs I gave you?"

I shifted a little, letting the furs brush against my skin. My mind went back to the strange sense of wrongness that I had felt back at the healer's den, the mismatch between myself and the cougar fur that I hadn't been able to place before.

That's when it clicked. Thorn didn't prefer lynx because he was picky about the furs that he wore. He preferred lynx because he was a lynx.

"Each therian has one animal form that they are physically able to assume," Light continued, "It's not something that we choose. It's intrinsic, and is often discovered early on in childhood."

I looked down at my hands, now imagining them as paws with fur and claws. Images of werewolves from movies and TV came to mind, as well as the stories I had heard about witches and skinwalkers. That impression made me feel uneasy.

"Does it hurt?" I asked.

"Not at all," Flower replied, "It feels good, actually. Like you're setting a part of yourself free and becoming whole."

My anxiety slowly morphed into curiosity, "How do you do it?"

Light shrugged, "I haven't the slightest idea how you do it. A bear cannot show a lynx how to be a lynx."

A hum rumbled deep in my throat as I rested my hands against my lap. So Light was a bear, Flower and Rain were cougars, and I was a lynx now, apparently. My brow furrowed as another question entered my mind.

"What if I can't learn?" I asked, "After all, I'm not Thorn. I mean, yeah, I have his body, but I don't have his instincts or his memories. The closest thing we have to therians where I'm from... Well, let's just say I wasn't a part of those groups. What if I can't learn how to shift?"

"It's not a big deal," Rain replied, "Therians lose connection with their beastly halves for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the lynx in you died alongside Thorn."

Light pondered to himself silently for a moment before he stood up and reached for one of the bundles of hide that was stacked against the wall and selected a pelt from it. I quickly recognized the animal's grey and brown fur and the faint shadowy spots running along its legs and underbelly. It was the pelt of a Canadian lynx.

"Try this," Light said, passing it to me.

I hesitated for a moment before I slipped out of the furs Rain had given to me and took the pelt into my hands. All at once, the sense of wrongness that had been following me since we'd left the healer's den went quiet. It felt normal. I was comfortable, and now I didn't want to let it go.

"Better?" Light asked.

"Better." I responded.

"Good. That means there's hope. You'll learn. It'll just take a bit of time."

Light passed me the rest of the bundle, insisting I keep it. I didn't argue, thanking him as I went back to sitting beside Flower and Rain. The two of them exchanged a look that I couldn't place. Not quite shock, not quite excitement, not quite dread, but all of that wrapped up in a kind of readiness that told me that they were bracing themselves for whatever would come next.

After a short silence, once we had settled ourselves back around the fire, Light's demeanor shifted, and he fixed me with a serious look.

"There's something else we need to discuss," he stated, lacing his fingers together, "Tell me, David. Just what exactly have you managed to learn about Thorn thus far?"

I felt anger begin to flare in my chest at the question. When I had first woken up earlier that day, I had merely been confused; confused as to why everyone was addressing me as Thorn, and why my actual name didn't seem to register with anyone here. Now, knowing what I knew about this situation and whose body I was inhabiting, I was pissed.

"Well... I've gathered that he wasn't the nicest therian in the tribe."

Rain barked out a laugh, "That's a bit of an understatement."

"Indeed..." Light sighed, "Thorn had become a very serious problem for the rest of the tribe. He was selfish, unreliable, antagonistic, and cruel. He could even become violent, if he was pushed far enough."

"But even that didn't take much," Rain cut in, "Go ask Raven and Shade sometime. They'll tell you."

Light glanced over at him briefly for a moment before turning back to me.

"Some people merely disliked him for this volatility," he continued, "But there are others here who have genuine reasons for hating him. His actions and behavior have had an impact on all of us. When the sun rises and people see you, they won't be seeing you as David. They will only see you as Thorn."

"Great," I said sarcastically, "So what exactly am I supposed to do about that?"

"There's nothing you can do about the past. What matters is what you choose to do going forward," Light straightened his posture, "You are welcome to stay in this tribe, if you wish."

My mouth hung open in shock at the offer, and I could tell that Rain and Flower were just as stunned as I was.

"Really?" I asked, "You're offering me a place in your tribe? I thought you were about to say that I was too dangerous, or strange - that you'd want me gone."

"Well, I'll admit that your situation certainly is strange," Light chuckled, "But I'm willing to accept that you are not the Thorn I knew before today. Whether or not the rest of the tribe accepts you is going to be another matter. It may take a while and a lot of hard work on your part for them to come around."

I paused and thought for a moment. So far, this meeting had been a rollercoaster of new discoveries and harsh realities. Despite how fascinated I was by it, what I wanted more than anything was to go back home. To return to Grandma and Grandpa on the Willoughby homestead. To return safely to our nice, warm cabin, and pretend that all of this had just been a really weird dream.

But wishing for home wasn't going to bring me any closer to getting there. I was here. Thorn wasn't. For now, this was the reality that I had to deal with.

"I'll do my best," I finally said, summoning as much confidence as I could muster, "Thank you, Light, for giving me the opportunity."

Light smiled and regarded me with one last nod before he suddenly turned his attention to Rain.

"As for you..." he started, "I couldn't help but notice that you've been rather irritable whenever Thorn has been discussed."

Rain's jaw clenched, "I've barely said anything..."

"Oh, but you have. The walls of the healer's den are not as thick as you like to believe."

Even I had to raise a brow at that. Had Light been listening in on us? If so, just how much did he manage to hear before he decided to pull us into his hut?

Rain swallowed hard before he finally relented, "And so what if I have? You said so yourself, some of us here have genuine reasons for hating Thorn."

"Yes, but you understand that David is not Thorn, correct?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well, if you truly understand that, then why do you continue to push your hatred for Thorn onto David?"

Finally! Someone who was asking the same questions as I was!

Rain didn't give a response, at first. Instead, he crossed his arms and turned away.

Light frowned, "How long do you intend to hold onto this hatred for? You're a healer. You can't--"

"You're right, I am a healer," Rain finally spat out, venom dripping in his voice, "Blood, tears, fear - do you have any idea how much of it I've had to deal with because of that monster? Do you expect me to forget everything Thorn has done to the people of our tribe just because he's gone now?"

Flower and I listened to Rain vent in stunned silence. Based on the pain in her expression, not even she seemed to have known he was holding onto this much inner turmoil about Thorn.

I could understand how Rain could hate Thorn, but when Thorn was dying, Rain had still done everything in his power to save him. Rain could say that he'd just done it out of a sense of duty, that he was simply abiding by the Healer's Oath, but what if it was more than that?

Light's expression remained stoic, waiting patiently for Rain to finish his rant before speaking.

"I'm not asking you to forgive Thorn, Rain," he said calmly, "And I'm most certainly not saying you should forget the things Thorn has put you through. All I'm asking is that you recognize that David isn't Thorn. Flower seems to have already made up her mind about him. Now, it's time for you to do the same."

Flower pulled a portion of her furs up to cover her face at the mention of her name. Rain rolled his eyes, then paused and thought for a moment.

"It will take time," he eventually stated, sighing deeply, "But I'll try."

Light's expression softened as he offered a warm smile, "I'll leave it to you, then. The three of you are dismissed."

Flower, Rain, and I all dipped our heads respectfully as we rose to our feet from around the firepit and turned towards the entrance of the hut.

"And David!" Light called to me from behind.

I turned one last time to face him.

"Don't try too hard to convince everyone that you're different. Going around and telling people that you aren't Thorn isn't going to be changing anybody's minds. Let your actions do the speaking for you."

I nodded, "Will do."

With that, the three of us filed out of Light's hut and back out into the cold. Most of the villagers that had been milling about earlier appeared to have retired to their respective homes for the night. Fires were starting to burn low, and the smell of meals that had been cooking earlier was beginning to fade from the air.

"Well, all things considered," Flower piped up as we started in the direction of the healer's den, "I think that went pretty well."

"Yeah," I agreed, "I still can't believe your chief offered to let me stay."

"Anyone who can help here is welcome here," Rain commented.

Those words kept replaying in my head as the healer's den came into view. Rain had said that my skills from living on the Willoughby homestead would be useful here, but I had no idea how those skills would apply in a village where people could turn into animals, and by this point I was too exhausted to figure out where I should start.

My mind kept circling back to that same burning question. What did I want? I had no way of knowing if I'd ever become the lynx that Thorn was, or if I'd ever figure out a way to get back home.

As I crawled into my bed of furs in the healer's den, there was only one thing that I was absolutely certain of.

I was not going to be like Thorn. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVKyHEtGzp

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