Soulmates Across Borders

Chapter 15

Solí and Tokah and their bonded animals mist-traveled moonside along the river, intending to follow it until they reached the ocean and then headed toward where the sun would set until they entered the forest again.

Shortly afterward, they arrived at the otter tribe's village, which rested along the banks of a wide deep creek where the water emptied into the ocean. Plenty of dwellings spotted the coast amid the trees. Similar to the wolf tribe's people's teneti, these dwellings had the same cone shape, though instead of deerhide, they were made of tree bark. They certainly seemed more permanent than her people's teneti which could be taken down and moved easily.

The people were so unconcerned for their safety that they had no guards on duty keeping watch. They mist-walked right into the village until they found someone walking between the bark tents. She waved her hand to remove the mist makutu and called out, "Hello!"

The person, a teenage boy, waved and approached. "What are you doing here?" he asked in a very friendly manner. He wore deerskin clothing with otter furs wrapped around his arms and legs. His hair was medium length and stuck up on top, while the sides were shaved so short there was almost no hair on the sides of his head at all. At his feet, an otter jogged along behind him.

"We have come to request aid. I'm Solí the wolf princess and I'm here with Tokah, the bear prince." At her words, Tokah appeared from out of the mist.

"What happened?" the teenager's eyes went wide.

"My people have lost their river-side home to the beastmen. My people have died, and we want to take my tribe to the Kohatu stone for the funerals and to try and build a new life for us. We want to ask your king if your people can help us move everyone by providing some spare lilacs."

"Botu will ask," the boy said, gesturing to his otter. "I'm sorry for all you're going through." The kid seemed to be so innocent and carefree that Solí wondered if he had ever seen a beastman before. "What's it like living on the river?" he asked. "Can you see the beastmen's city?"

Solí closed her eyes and sighed. "It's dangerous on the riverbank. The beastmen have several dwellings along the opposite shore, but there's no beastmen city close to my home. Well, my old home."

"My father is coming," the boy said, pointing, and Solí and Tokah turned to see a group of otter tribe's people approaching. "The king," the boy added, and she realized the teenager was the prince of the otter tribe.

"My heart goes out to you in this terrible time," a tall man said as the group came to a stop in front of them. The men all wore their hair in the same style as the teenage boy: shaved at the sides and long and standing up on top. The woman with them had four long braids in her thick hair. She held a small beaver in her arms, and Solí guessed she used to be the princess of the beaver tribe before she married the otter king.

This tall man must be the king. He had a large otter at his feet, and so did the other two men, who were likely shadowmen. They all wore fuzzy earrings and bone necklaces.

Solí inclined her head and bowed low. "Thank you for meeting with us."

Tokah followed her example, which was quite the surprise. "We're in your debt," he said.

"We will gladly help a fellow Värian tribe." He held his hands out in welcome. "But come. It is midday. Let us eat first."

Pango and Taikaha let their misty state melt away and returned to their normal form.

The otter prince jumped when he saw the wolf and bear.

"They listen to us," Tokah said. "You need not worry."

The boy nodded. "Are those wolf teeth?" he asked, gesturing to Solí's necklace and earrings.

She nodded.

"Woah!" the prince said with an opened-mouth gasp.

"Kahur!" the queen said with a giggle. She gestured for him to follow her, and the two left in the direction they had come, probably to gather food.

"Where are your people now?" the otter king asked as he led them through the village.

"The rest of the wolf tribe are staying with the bear tribe now, in the dark forest. Tokah of the bear tribe is my betrothed, so his tribe has taken us in," Solí said as she pointed at Tokah. "My people are very grateful, but we need to move on and find a way to make a living for ourselves in a new place."

They came to a giant tree stump surrounded by seal skin cushions. The otter king gestured for them to sit.

I cannot help but notice that you want your tribe to move on instead of stay with the bear tribe. Pango's mental tone of voice sounded thoughtful. Are you by any chance planning to reject your betrothed?

You know how I feel about him. He said helping my people is a waste of his time! If I can reject Tokah because of my soulmate, I will.

We don't know if that is permissible since your soulmate is a beastman.

We need to speak to Waiata again. Tonight when we return.

Pango gave her a mental nod.

"The beaver tribe doesn't have an heir and is going to merge with our tribe. When the time comes, they will abandon their village. You could move there," the otter king suggested rather kindly.

"I'll tell my father, the wolf king."

"It is a beautiful place up the river. They have built a dam to create a giant lake where animals come to drink, and they have plenty of fish and soil for growing berries," one of the other men said. "It is safe from harm. The beaver tribe's people are reluctant to leave, but their people have elderly leaders. The younger people have agreed to join us when the elders pass on."

"Maybe we can stop there on our way to the next tribe we will visit," Solí said.

"It is upriver," the king said, pointing toward the moon's shadow. "If you mistwalk that way, you'll arrive in about three spots. It's too far away for the beaver tribe to support themselves without their elders, so they will need to abandon their home when the time comes."

"Why can't the elders choose new leaders before they die?" Tokah asked.

"They have tried to train young ones to take over, but they fail to unlock the higher sacred circles. Without the skills of their elders, their tribe will fail."

"It is unfortunate. Perhaps the young ones could travel to the Kohatu stone and train under a high elder and see if they can unlock their sacred circles," Solí suggested.

"Their tribe is poor and cannot afford to pay tribute."

Solí nodded. It certainly sounded like the beaver tribe was destined for failure. But maybe Waiata could train future leaders in exchange for a treaty. Waiata had trained Solí, and at the mere age of fourteen, she had managed to unlock her fifth sacred circle of the voice and call her wolf.

"My tribe is seventy people strong. Would the beaver tribe's home support that many people?"

"If you have enough hunters, the land is sure to provide enough game for them to sustain that number."

"How many people does the beaver tribe have?" she asked.

"Twenty or so."

Solí nodded. That would explain why they were just planning to merge with the otter tribe.

The otter queen arrived with her son and a few more women. They set out wooden bowls of berries, boiled seal meat, and flatbread. With that, the conversation ended as everyone began to eat.

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1269 Words ~ 17423 Total