by Alia Johnson
Chapter 15
Heading towards Dek's home where the council was about to meet, Odesha and Kunchok talked about Antiqua. She explained how she learned his language. That confused him. He hadn’t seen Esmerelda during the fight with the creature. He had been too worried about Odesha, he explained.
A pirate lady in the middle of the snow with bright orange hair was hard to fathom, she admitted. He was quick to catch on, listening to every word she said even though she added her own language. He would stop her to clarify a word and she would try to explain. If she could get him to learn her language, they would have more complex conversations. She looked forward to that. When she described her family, he asked more questions, trying to learn more about them, smiling at the stories she told of them.
When she asked about his family, he told her of their passing at an early age and Dek helping to raise him. Fanni had already told her the story of his past, but Odesha had wanted to hear it from him. They turned their conversation to the council meeting, but when Odesha asked Kunchok about Sashi, the conversation abruptly ended. He became agitated at the reminder of their near miss. He had tried to block it from his mind so he didn't become angry on their Ranna night. He didn't want Sashi to cloud their memories.
They had come close to losing each other. If Sashi would have killed Kunchok…
Odesha reached up to his hand to clasp it tightly. His eyes moved down to hers. She smiled to reassure him that it would turn out alright. Their love would be what she remembered from their Ranna night and how they had fought for it and won. When they reached the tribal dwelling, Kunchok grabbed the hide, holding it back for her to step through. She thanked him and walked inside, looking at the tribe members that had gathered for the meeting. Kunchok indicated to sit next to Fanni, who waved frantically, smiling like she won a giant case of loma.
Sitting down beside Odesha, Fanni reached over and patted her furless hand. Odesha smiled slightly to her, shaking her head, but wouldn’t say anything in response. On the high throne sat Dek with his silver plates fastened and long feathered cape. Kunchok sat at his side. Dek nodded to Odesha when she caught his eye, then turned to Kunchok to whisper in his ear. Dek stood up, turning everyone’s attention with the sound of the bones shaking from his wooden staff. Holding his arm up, he yelled, “Tribe gather. Choice. First choice come.”
The hide of a side room was jerked aside. Two male yeti dragged in a screaming Sashi. Spittle dripped from her mouth, coating the ground. Her legs hung uselessly. She was not attempting to flee from the crowd. An inhuman wail left her throat, her bloodshot eyes staring holes through Dek with anger. The two guards dodged her continued assault from her manacled fists and nails until she reached the center. They dropped her, securing her hands to the same type of bonds Odesha had been placed in when she first arrived.
Dek watched her calmly. “Sashi. Daughter Patcha. Ranna sacred. Sashi knife. Kill Kunchok. Sashi want steal life. Choice.” Dek sat down in his chair after his speech, listening to the eerie silence in the room. Sashi had tried to kill their chief hunter in the middle of a sacred ceremony. They weren't going to take this decision lightly.
Kunchok stood and shouted for the tribe to hear, “Kunchok first. Sashi kill Odesha. No forgive. Sashi Ramdak.” As he sat, many nodded at his quick decision, agreeing with his choice.
Odesha turned to Fanni for a translation. She asked, “Ramdak?” This word wasn't translating correctly, several words bounced around in her head. Banish. Exile. Extradite. Sacrifice.
Fanni whispered back, “Sashi no tribe. Sky take Sashi. Ramdak.”
Dek tilted his head. “Tribe choice?” He was waiting for someone else to give him another option, always the fair leader, but the silence was heavy in the cold room, broken only by the snarls from Sashi. This was a proud people with old laws ingrained in them since their youth. They had to honor those traditions and beliefs.
Dek knocked his staff on the ground signaling the end to the decision. “Tribe choice. Sashi Ramdak.” A loud sob from one of the elders slashed through the crowd. He covered his face with his clawed hands, another yeti comforting him.
Fanni nodded towards him. “Patcha. Horm hold. Halana father.” Horm was consoling Patcha, trying to counsel the elder through his distress at losing his daughter.
Sashi's unfocused eyes stared menacingly at the leaders refusing to reply to her sentence. She never looked to her father. The guards pulled her upright to better hold her. Unholy screams ripped from the young yeti's mouth as she was lifted to her feet. Odesha felt only sadness for the young yeti and her family. Sashi was obviously crazed now. The creatures that came from the sky would kill her quickly. She had seen how dangerous they were. The guards pulled keys from the pack at their side and reached to unlock her bonds to take her outside. She stood docilely, continuing to stare blankly at Kunchok. Hearing the chains hit the ground, her eyes hardened, changing before them. Sashi screamed, twisting her body around to the guard nearest her. She climbed over his body like an animal would. He attempted to throw her off, people beginning to scream hysterically. Sashi reached to grab the sword pommel hidden in the guard’s cloak to pull it free. Dek and Kunchok rushed towards her, their own swords pulled free to stop her before she tried to kill the guard. Instead, she had other plans.
Sashi turned to Kunchok, sword held out proudly. She screamed, “Ramdak?! No. The sky will use me no longer.”
But the language she used wasn't of the yeti people. It was said in the vampire tongue.
Turning her sword, she drove it into her side grunting. Her eyes widened, bloody tears slipping down her face. Collapsing slowly in the center of the clearing, the dark blood widened around her, staining the floor where she once stood bravely.
The tribe elders fell to their knees. They sobbed as one of their own joined the spirits. The chaos afterwards took a while to calm down. The people generally thought Sashi had been speaking gibberish. But Dek and Fanni had heard the vampire tongue and recognized it. Dek looked to Odesha for clarification, and Odesha nodded her head placing over a finger over her lips. Dek agreed with Odesha, turning away at the unspoken request, not wanting to stir the crowd into a frenzy at what Sashi had spewed in her final moments. He wanted it to be over with. Kunchok and Dek sheathed their swords, turning back to their seats.
Dek cleared his throat, ordering hoarsely, “Sashi first choice join spirit. No Ramdak. Patcha take Sashi.” The elderly Patcha's crestfallen face was hard to see. The yeti had lost his only daughter in a manner of moments in front of his own eyes.
The guard retrieved his sword, swinging the fallen yeti's body into his arms, walking out silently with the grieving Patcha. Horm stood at his side, helping his dear friend through the pain. Patcha losing Sashi had made Horm realize he needed to set some things right with his own children. He had been blind too long. The sadness in the room continued, but the sobbing slowed while people returned to their seats to hear Dek’s second choice. The tribe was resilient, facing death every day. Tears cleared fast when a member of their group sacrificed themselves instead of facing the consequences they invoked.
“Second choice. Tribe hope grow. Moon past, food hard hunter take. Dek send hunter king bird land. Tribe survive. Kunchok lead. Kunchok hide king bird nest. See Odesha fall. Watch Odesha close. Save Odesha stuck in snow. Dig. Kunchok's two hand bleed. Odesha save Dede. Save tribe. Odesha learn tribe speak. Odesha speak second choice.”
Odesha worriedly nodded to Dek. She hadn't expected to speak in front of the tribe elders. She had thought Dek would lead the entire meeting, but she was the best to explain. Clearing her throat softly, she found the words deep inside to speak. This choice affected so many.
Make them see. The words of Esmerelda whispered through her. Odesha cleared her throat lightly, beginning to speak about her land, the mines, and the needs of her people. She reverted to her training, watching the reaction of the yeti. Some expressions were easy to read.
Incredulous. Suspicious. Hopeful.
<
br /> The end of her speech pulled from her heart, “…my people need help in the mines. And you need help. We could benefit from each other. Please… Please… Come to Antiqua, to my home, and help me make it our home.”
Dek stood, arms held up once more, asking the tribe for their decision. “Choice change tribe. Tribe follow Dek Antiqua, Odesha home? Tribe stay?” At the end of their joined speech, the room sat silent while everyone tried to absorb the new knowledge. This was a large choice that would change their entire dynamic. A new land with plentiful food was hard to believe.
A richly dressed yeti stood tall, calling out loudly, “Dek lie tribe food! Patcha say food much.”
Kunchok stood with hair flaring out in challenge. He argued, “Yorin no hunt! Kunchok hunt. No meat. Beast gone ice! Soon tribe starve!”
Yorin backed away from Kunchok's challenging stance slightly.
“Where meat?”
“No tribe track. Gone. Sky take. Yorin find?”
Yorin shook his head dejectedly, sitting back down. That argument was over quickly at least. The large Yorin didn't want to venture across the ice, instead sending Kunchok to do the work for him. One elderly yeti stood to bang his walking stick on the ground. One by one, the elders stand, continuing to thump their sticks on the ground in rhythm. They had made their choice.
Abruptly, Fanni stood, waving her arms boldly in the air making horrific squeals of happiness. The whole room burst with life, people standing and laughing, a welcome change from the sorrow and tension they had just experienced.
Something big had been decided.
Kunchok and Dek smile together. Dek laughed, announcing the decision, “Tribe leave Antiqua, Odesha home! Three moon!”
Chapter 16
Kunchok took Odesha’s hand, leading her across the snow to the icy field. Odesha smiled up at him in anticipation. The lights were going to be sparkling across the sky tonight and Kunchok had promised earlier they would go to their secret spot. This time they would be able to talk to each other through it. Kunchok decided to swing her up in his arms. He loved to hold her, and his legs made the journey easier for her.
Odesha ran her fingers through his soft hair. She asked, “Why did you bring me here after the first Ranna?”
“Kunchok see Odesha smile sad. Want Odesha happy,” he murmured nonchalantly. She was sad watching all the new couples at the last Ranna, he was right, but she didn't know that he had noticed. “Were you angry after I killed the cow beast?” she asked curiously, remembering the look he had sent her when the beast lay there dead.
“No. Kunchok worry Odesha. Beast no safe,” Kunchok replied. The ice cliff came into view, the bright lights flowed overhead, this time in varying colors of blues and grays. It reminded Odesha of Kunchok's eyes with his varying moods. The lights distracted her from the person waiting for them. Esmerelda waited for them, swinging her legs off the cliff staring up at the lights, lost in thought. Kunchok growled, sensing the magic swirling around the pirate. Odesha called out a halting greeting. Kunchok placed her feet on the ground.
“Bonjour!” yelled Esmerelda, her sparkling eyes whipping around to smile at the approaching couple. “Salutations on your Ranna!”
“Lisha vo, Esmerelda,” Odesha replied happily sitting on her distinctive rock to watch the glowing lights. Kunchok stood, arms crossed, watching the pirate with narrowed eyes, not able to trust the witch, remembering the things she had kept from Odesha.
Esmerelda wrinkled her nose at him, sticking her tongue out. Kunchok just shook his head at her strangeness. Esmerelda remarked, “The sky celebrates your union. See the colors swirling matching your auras? Oh wait. You can't see those. Anyways, that's what these colors are.” Esmerelda lifted her arm, running it over waves as if an artist painted. “I must leave you now. They have made the choice, now it is up to you to get through the forest. I am going to commandeer Dek's home while you are gone.” She laughed uproariously at this, clutching her sides as if she knew something they didn’t. Odesha blinked her eyes trying to figure out her humor, but she just didn't understand.
“Where did the storm come from?” Odesha asked. She knew Esmerelda had an idea of the source of the storm.
Esmerelda sighed, drawing shapes beside her in the snow. “The storm has been building for many, many years. Before you were born. There has been enough blood spilt to create a vast amount of magic. The person responsible hides in the darkness and I haven't been able to draw them out. It aims to infect the rest of the land, seeking ways to spread its menace, through creatures or people alike. Sashi became entranced by its wiles getting lost in the snow one day. It was only a whisper in her ear, but it was enough to secure her loyalty. You were right, Odesha. The bloody tears. They show the sickness. I fear the next step it will take to spread.” She finished with a sigh, erasing her drawings she had made in the snow.
Odesha asked softly, “Will I see you again?”
Esmerelda smiled, a sadness entering her eyes. “I said once I had no one. But you are inside my heart, along with your siblings, never forget that, sweet Odesha.” Esmerelda's smile changed, becoming cunning and sharp. “You still owe me a boon, smol. Look, a cow beast!” She screamed this, pointing behind Odesha and Kunchok. He turned, grabbing his sword from his back to face the menace, while Odesha jumped from her rock to defend the group, but the snow was undisturbed. The wind gently howled with the emptiness around them.
“I don't see anything!” called Odesha, turning back to ask the witch what she had seen, but she was gone. The colors continued to swirl over the empty cliff, but this time a swirl of orange encircled them as if in an embrace, fading away in the distance.
Odesha sighed and motioned for Kunchok to sheath his sword. Esmerelda had given them the information she wanted them to have, nothing more, but Odesha wondered if Esmerelda knew more than she was letting on. It sounded like the storm was going to be a menace to everyone. They had to warn her father.
Kunchok sighed, shaking his head. The witch was a confusing mess of information. He would report what he had heard to Dek, but now it was time to enjoy the lights with his mate. He held out his hands, Odesha taking his hand with a smile. He led her to their rock, settling in to enjoy their last time with the lights. She snuggled in his fur, gently stroking him. The cold still didn't bother her now-warm heart, but it felt good to be close to Kunchok.
“Kunchok promise Odesha wedding.” He stressed the last word, having practiced it in his hut, wanting to be together in both his way and hers.
Odesha smiled. “We can wait until we get settled. It is going to be a lot of stress on the tribe when they arrive at Antiqua. The different way of living, introducing the men to the mines, and the people to greet. Their wedding could wait until a later time, it didn't matter to her. She felt married to him in her heart. Kunchok just nodded his head, but inside he was already planning for the time when he could stand in front of her people and call her his in their way. Odesha moved around restlessly. Kunchok turned her chin in his hand to face him, looking at her face. “Odesha?”
“Make love to me under the lights, Kunchok,” she whispered achingly. This would be their last time here and she wanted to treasure the memory. His long ears swiveled, trying to catch the noises in the distance. “Safe,” he murmured, unfastening the top plates, letting them fall to the side. Odesha hesitated, spreading her legs over his. His cock was already hard, straining towards her. She leaned forward to place her lips on his, moving slowly, treasuring this feeling he caused in her. This was love. She felt it pulsing all around them. She placed his tip on her entrance, moving down him, savoring the sensation. Kunchok groaned, his head falling back at the sweet torture. She finally seated herself to the hilt, moving her hips back and forth. The tingling inside her grew, their pace increasing together until their release hit them both. Their cries flowed around them, echoing in the lights, forever memorialized by the promise of their love.
Chapter 17
The decision to leave the ice for A
ntiqua sent a shock wave through the community. The yeti gathered provisions in the two days their chief gave them. They stocked their supplies on sleds used to carry large items. Provisions were stored, while shops closed. The yeti's hope for a better future was bright as they worked together to tear apart their home and move to the plentiful land promised to them. Kunchok had a lot of cloth and weapons in his home. Odesha only took what they needed. Kunchok placed many of his weapons on a separate sled for the hunters if needed.
The day for travel arrived. Kunchok packed the sled, making sure their belongings were secured tightly. Dek's sled sat beside Kunchok's and Halana and Boni's. Halafren was helping his father, to the surprise of Halana. They hadn't spoken in a long time, she had explained.
Boni hurried to the leaders and reported, “Tribe ready chief.” A sense of calm rushed over the group. They looked to their leaders, waiting for the signal to move. The children were even silent, knowing the great journey they planned. It wouldn't be bad for a smaller group, but this was an entire tribe moving as one through a dangerous place.
Dek pulled the straps around his shoulders. He looked to Kunchok, waiting for his signal, and nodded. A battle cry sounded with a flick of Kunchok's wrist, alerting the others the long trek had begun.
The pace was slow across the fresh snow. They had to make multiple stops to feed the people and rest. The elders were especially having a hard time, but they pushed on, determined. Dek called for the tents to be set up to rest for the night far enough from the orik forest to not be detected. They would face a great threat ahead of them tomorrow. The birds would hear the large party advancing through their territory, causing the entire tribe to be in great danger. The orik were starving and would prey on the young to the old.
Odesha stood far away from the people, pondering the dark forest waiting for them.
The next day would be daunting with the orik patrolling the wooden trees. There were no leaves to hide the massive party of people. There was no way to hide the tribe.