The Tribes of K'haren - Completed

Chapter 7.1

Nume felt extremely tired after their southward flight. They had managed to find another stick and had hung some cloth over it to guide the gseirut. Now she was trying to sleep but her thoughts just wouldn't calm down. Her opinion about whether or not they should listen to Sethara had changed so many times already, Nume had completely lost count of it. On the one hand, she still didn't trust the strange woman and felt no responsibility towards her or the fate of K'haren. After all, Nume was just a runaway who had nothing left, nothing except for her one and only friend. But on the other hand, she knew something had to change. And maybe, just maybe, if they succeeded, they might be able to return to their tribe without having to get married.

For a moment, Nume stopped breathing. Did she hope for forgiveness? Did she regret her decision? No, that wasn't it. She was sure about not wanting to marry Kran. But perhaps there might have been another way to resolve the situation, one with less extreme actions. Nume missed her family. Especially her little brother. When she thought about him, she realised that he had been the reason why her parents wanted to force her into that marriage. The only proposal she couldn't turn down. Because nobody turns the Great Leader's offer down.

But it wasn't her brother's fault, it was just the way things were. His older relatives had to be honoured in the tribe for him to be accepted as a grown man. And Nume certainly wasn't honourable. She had already turned too many marriage offers down and done too many things she wasn't supposed to do as a woman. Now she just hoped her disappearance wouldn't further hinder her brother from living his life. But she somehow knew that she'd only made it worse. Not just for him, actually, for all of her family.

Her brother would have turned from her by now, he couldn't defend her actions. He had always looked up to her and they were close, closer than she had ever been with her two older sisters, but not close enough for him to give up his last chance of gaining acceptance. Thus he would have had to turn from her. At least Nume thought so. In her fury, she had never given her family much thought. It was selfish of her to run away, she knew that, but it was also selfish of her parents to marry her off to Kran just like that. Still Nume couldn't help feeling guilty and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Two huge eyes were staring down on Nume when she woke up. Instinctively, Nume didn't move, she hardly even dared to breathe. The baymout's eyes seemed to shine as they reflected the dying fire's light in the night, its fangs hovering just above Nume's throat. Somewhere behind her, Nume could hear the gseirut desperately squeak in panic. The baymout would probably not attack it but it was too dark for the gseirut to fly. Nume remembered Kran lying next to her when they went to sleep but now he was no longer there. Could the baymout have hurt or even killed Kran without her waking up?

All those things raced around Nume's mind as she was lying there. She felt a heavy paw on her chest, claws ready to tear her skin open, but because of a reason unknown to Nume, the baymout just waited. It didn't tear Nume apart nor swallow her alive and she didn't know what to think about it.

A shadow passed somewhere to her left and Nume believed it might be Kran. Maybe he'd got up, found some kind of a weapon and was about to do something. Probably something stupid. Fighting a baymout was a horrible decision. But it wouldn't matter much, their chances of survival were close to inexistent either way. A baymout was something like a dragon, just smaller and without wings. But despite looking cuddly with their brown fur and big eyes, they were fast, intelligent, deadly and proud creatures.

Seconds passed and felt like hours to Nume as she lay and waited. Why didn't the baymout attack her? Why didn't it kill her on the spot? What was it waiting for? Where was Kran?

Then Nume heard a thud followed by a weak moan nearby. The shadow quickly moved around Nume and to her right side now. Suddenly, a green face appeared in her sight. The baymout backed away and before Nume dared to move, she felt a heavy boot placed on her chest where the paw had been. The person standing above her was pale in the low light and when he bent down to tie her up, Nume saw the tiny horns sticking out of either side of his forehead.

She started screaming but quickly stopped when the man's scaly hand slapped her face.

'Be quiet!' his voice hissed. It sounded weird, somehow rough, as if it was rarely used. The man licked his lips with his forked tongue as he tied Nume up tightly and then disappeared out of her sight again.

The baymout was still lurking somewhere close by and Nume didn't understand what was going on. She had always thought what she had just seen was just a legend to scare young phraio. Now the gseirut's squeaking was dying away but Nume could still hear the mighty wings beat as if the poor creature considered flying away despite that meaning its certain death. If it tried to land again in the dark it was doomed to break a leg or even its neck so Nume hoped it would stay calm. She would still need the gseirut once she found a way out of her undesirable situation. If she found a way out.

Nume couldn't move, her skin felt as if it were on fire where the hand had hit and she could hear a faint moaning so she supposed Kran was alive and was being kept somewhere close. She waited all night, hoping for something to happen, something to change. At one point, she tried to wrest herself free, but the baymout came back to her and hissed at her so she didn't dare to even try to move anymore. The uncomfortable position she was lying on the ground in prohibited her from sleeping or even resting for a moment. So she remained quiet and tried to gather some strength for the day that was coming. Inside her head, however, she kept screaming and shouting for Sethara to come and help.

But nothing happened all night.

// Does this even count as a cliffhanger?