The Work

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To the untrained eye, the training grounds looked no different than any other section of the forest.

The narrow path Rain and I took opened up into a small clearing that was surrounded by thick foliage and towering pine trees. A few large boulders jutted out from the slope of the mountain, creating several slight drop-offs that could send one tumbling if they weren't careful. Outside of that, this place looked rather unremarkable, at a glance.

Looking a bit closer, however, a few details stood out. Wear on trees where several sets of hands and feet had used them to climb up onto the branches. The impressions of claw marks permanently etched into the bark. Trees that had very clearly been felled from something forcibly pushing them over. Piles of rocks that looked like they had been stacked with purpose. Layers of foot, hoof, and paw prints that packed down the snow and the earth.

This place was always in-use, and the land reflected it.

"Now that we're alone," Rain started, taking a few paces into the clearing, "Let's begin."

"So where do we start?" I asked, bracing myself.

"Let's start with your senses... Was there anything that stood out to you as we were making our way out here?"

Well, that was a loaded question. A lot of things wound up standing out to me on our way out here - the people working, the animals helping. There was one thing, though, that stood out to me most, even after leaving it behind in the village. The sharp odor that I didn't quite have a name for.

"There was a smell," I said, "One that started building up as we were walking through the village."

"Can you describe it?" Rain asked.

"Sharp... sweaty... almost chemical-like."

Rain tilted his head slightly in confusion. Less so at my overall description of the smell, and more so at the chemical-like descriptor, and it dawned on me that the people in this world might not even understand what chemicals were supposed to be.

"Toxic," I clarified, "It smelled toxic."

A look of understanding appeared on Rain's face as he continued to pace around the clearing.

"The scent that you're describing was fear," he explained, "You were smelling our tribe's fear."

I couldn't help but throw up my hands. So the people of the tribe were afraid just at the mere sight of seeing Thorn up and about. Great. As if this wasn't enough of an uphill battle already...

"I didn't know that's what fear smelled like..." was all I could say.

"How did it make you feel?" Rain asked, "While you were smelling it, that is?"

"Uncomfortable. I was worried that there might have been a toxic spill of some sort. Like poison, or something."

"Well, there's one way of looking at it... How about your hearing? Were there any sounds or conversations that stood out to you?"

Was there really any need to ask? Even Rain had acknowledged the way the gossip had gotten under my skin.

Even so, I couldn't help but think it sounded louder than it should have. Like each scathing comment had been whispered directly into my ear, rather than into somebody else's.

"I think my ears might be a bit more sensitive." I concluded after mentioning it to him, "Normally I'm able to tune out stuff like that."

"Well, at least that means there isn't any water left in there from the lake," Rain commented, "Taste?"

"Average, I think. Although, your food doesn't really have any of the... enhancements that the food in my world has."

"What sort of enhancements?"

I shrugged, "Salt, spices, sugar... Stuff that gives the food more flavor."

Rain's brows raised, "Your people have salt?"

" Your people have salt?!" I parroted, completely stunned.

"We can only get salt from the Tribes of Deep Water. It's far-gathering that takes one party many weeks to complete!"

Deep Water. Salt. The ocean.

This guy was talking about oceans!

That realization led to a brief tangent where Rain and I compared geographical information about our respective worlds. Neither of us had a map that we could refer to for a comparison, but from what I was able gather, this world - this Earth - was no different from my own. There were oceans, deserts, jungles, and mountains. Therians were familiar with extreme weather events like blizzards, heatwaves, and hurricanes.

In that regard it was the same world, just with different names given to what was inside of it. Names that made more sense from a therian's perspective.

Once we had gotten over that little revelation, Rain carried on with his assessment of me...

By launching a rock at my face. I was able to catch the attack in time and duck out of the way.

Next he had me climb a tree as high as I could will my body to go. I picked a sturdy-looking pine, and started climbing. I was halfway up the tree before I realized... This was a lot easier than I thought it should be. My hands and feet found their holds almost automatically. I expected my arms to start burning, but they didn't. At that moment, climbing the tree was as effortless as a leisurely stroll.

Rain kept pace with me as he followed me up the tree. Once I had gone up as far as I could go, he pulled himself up on a limb beside me...

Then he pushed me off of the branch I had been perched on. Without thinking, my body corrected itself, and I landed in the snow on my hands and feet no worse for wear, apart from the shock that shot through my wrists and ankles.

After that, he tested my balance by having me walk along the trunk of a fallen tree. My foot slipped on an icy spot, and I fell off - embarrassed, but otherwise unharmed.

He tested my strength by having me move rocks and logs, and he finished his assessment by challenging me to a footrace around the forest, following a path that ran around the perimeter of the entire village.

That foot race was something else...

I knew what it felt like to sprint. My physical education teacher in high school had been brutal with the way he made us run laps around the gym.

This wasn't that. I charged through patches of snow with relative ease. My feet dodged holes, stones, and rotting stumps before I even realized they were there. My eyes locked onto thick branches and sturdy rocks, whatever I could use to bound a little farther ahead of Rain on the trail.

I could not do that... But this body could.

By the time we made it back to the training grounds, I was thoroughly exhausted.

"So..." I panted as I collapsed onto the snow, "What's your assessment, Doctor Rain?"

"What's a doctor?" he gasped in response.

"A healer."

"Right," Rain straightened himself, taking a moment to catch his breath before continuing, "Well, there is good news, and there is bad news."

I pleaded for him to give me the good news first.

"The good news is that your body is more or less all right after the lake incident. All of your basic senses work as they should, your strength and speed are exceptional, and there doesn't appear to be any lingering damage from the cold."

"Alright..." I said as my breathing started to calm down, "And the bad news?"

Rain sucked in a few more breaths before continuing.

"The bad news is that there's still a little bit of Thorn left in you."

I felt my blood run cold, "What do you mean?"

"It's uncanny," Rain continued, "Mentally, you're still yourself, but you're inhabiting something that remembers being Thorn. You have his instincts and his muscle memory, but none of his judgment or experience."

Those words hit me like a kick to the gut. Thorn's instincts? Thorn's muscle memory? If this body remembered, what did that mean for me?

Rain knelt down beside me and rested a hand on my shoulder before I could start spiraling.

"And that's a good thing," he stressed, "You don't want Thorn's judgement or experience. Both are very poor. I can't tell you what role you might be suited for yet, but I know you aren't helpless. You have the strength, speed, senses, and reflexes to contribute here. It's just a matter of figuring out where."

"The story of my life..." I sighed, sitting myself up, "Even back at home, I had no idea what I wanted to do."

Rain paused before he settled himself in the snow with me, "Maybe I can help with that."

Rain gave a rundown of the various different roles that people within the tribe fulfilled. These roles fell into one of four main categories: hunters, gatherers, warriors, and healers.

Hunters were mainly responsible for hunting for food for the tribe. Not just for themselves and their own families, but for everyone. Hunters also worked hides, made tools, checked and reset traps, and kept track of where prey was most present within tribe territory.

Gatherers were in charge of keeping other sources of food in stock and keeping track of supplies. They helped hunters clean their kills, dried out meat and fruit for long-term storage, cut and stacked firewood, and took careful note of which supplies were needed and which could afford to be traded with nearby tribes for other necessities.

According to Rain, Thorn had been a hunter and gatherer, but he wasn't very good at it. Allegedly, he was good at checking and setting traps, as well as tracking the movements of prey, but he loathed the work. He often stole food and supplies for himself, and always had an excuse ready to explain where they might have gone.

To me, that kind of work was just another part of an ordinary day.

Warriors included the soldiers, guards, and scouts of the tribe. Scouts were in charge of patrolling the territory, remaining on high alert for any signs of danger or intruders. Occasionally, they would run long distances, carrying urgent messages to hunting and gathering parties, or to allies of the tribe. Guards guarded the entrances of the village, as well as supply dens. Soldiers did the dirty work, wielding weapons and fighting in battles when the time arose to defend the tribe.

I recalled what Storm had said in the healer's den the previous night. He had said that Thorn had been a respectable warrior in his previous tribe. Given that he had been barred from becoming a warrior when he joined this tribe, however, and given his reputation, I could only imagine what he could have done to deserve that.

Lastly, there were the healers; individuals who were in charge of treating members of the tribe for injuries and illnesses. Rain explained that there were more healers in the tribe beyond just him and Flower, which prevented any one of them from being overwhelmed with cases. All of the healers worked under Storm, who served as a guide both physically and spiritually.

I didn't need a full rundown of the job description to know that I wasn't cut out to be a healer. I had some basic knowledge about how to use herbs to treat a handful of common ailments, as well as some first-aid experience. Anything beyond that, and I was absolutely lost. I knew I wasn't someone to look to if it was a matter of life and death.

"You don't have to settle on any one thing right at this moment," Rain concluded, "For now, there are plenty of small, individual tasks that I'm sure someone could use your help with. You need only ask."

"Even when I look like this?" I asked, gesturing to myself.

Rain paused before making an attempt at an optimistic smile.

"I'm sure someone will allow you to help them."

The two of us picked ourselves up out of the snow and followed the trail back towards the village, taking our time after everything Rain had put me through at the training grounds. As the huts came back into view through the trees, my apprehension slowly transformed into determination. I was going to find a way to be useful here, even if doing so took me the rest of the day.

The village was every bit as busy as it had been when we had left. This time, though, I paid less attention to the people staring at me and more attention to what they were actually doing. People and animals moved between structures carrying baskets, bundles of wood, tools, and supplies. Some worked beside fires, toiling over half-finished tasks that I couldn't quite name.

Rain and I wandered along the main path that cut through the center of the village, keeping a lookout for anyone who looked like they could use another set of hands. It oddly reminded me of being back home. A woodpile running low, food that needed preparing, something broken that needed fixing - I took care of it when I noticed it. Sure things weren't going to be quite as simple here, especially when it seemed like most of the people we passed were determined to avoid my gaze, but at least I finally knew what I was looking for.

A loud bellow rang out through the air, catching my attention. To my right, a young bull elk lay in the snow, surrounded by a mess of scattered logs. If I had to take a guess as to what had happened, he'd been carrying a full load and had slipped. He looked around at the logs helplessly, letting out a frustrated snort before pushing himself back onto his hooves.

I immediately moved, bounding through the snow to the creature's side. Pure panic appeared in his eyes, his legs splaying outward and going rigid as he saw me approach.

"It's alright," I said calmly, "Here, let me get that for you."

The elk watched me from the side as I stooped down and started picking up the loose logs. The picture of what had actually happened became clearer as I located a set of leather straps lying amongst the wood. Apparently, this guy's load hadn't been very well secured, the weight of the logs had shifted, and he lost his balance.

I quickly separated the wood into two bundles, testing their weight after I tied them to make sure they were even before securing them to the elk's leather harness.

"There," I said, dusting the snow off of my hands, "That should do it. Are you all right?"

The elk stared at me silently for a moment before he let out a small groan and trotted off.

I turned back to Rain, who still stood where I had left him on the path. A few other members of the tribe stood nearby, looking on in shock as I made my way up out of the snow.

"You think he'll be alright?" I asked, glancing after the elk.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Rain replied, "He stood back up, and he wasn't limping, so that's good."

"Good..." I paused as I noticed the conflicted expression he had on his face, "What?"

"Nothing..." Rain stared at me for a moment longer before continuing on, "Come on. I think I might know someone else that might be in need of some assistance."

I nodded to him as I followed.

All around me, I could already hear the gossip start to change.

"Did Thorn just help someone?"

"I think he did!"

"And he didn't yell?"

"He wasn't mean?"

I couldn't help but smirk a little at that. No, I didn't yell. I wasn't mean. I just saw someone who needed help, and I helped. For now, that's all I needed to do. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufUbjPsGFb

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