To Borrow or Not to Borrow (g/t)

Chapter 1: Introduction

Jamie was never one to enjoy the winter. In fact, he despised it and everything that was brought along with it. Shorter days, longer nights, cold weather, and the occasional snowfall irritated him. But what he disliked the most was the fact that he and the rest of his tribe were forced into the home of the beast. Unfortunately, taking shelter with the humans was necessary.

Of course, his people didn't actually live alongside them; that would be outright suicide. Instead, they remained within the walls of the house. For countless generations, his ancestors had pioneered the ways of the borrower. They were the ones who created the passageways throughout the estate.

Jamie and the Anabade tribe were situated on a plot of land in the countryside. The forrest that outlined the property was filled with wildlife which served as a steady supply of food for the borrowers. Within the trees, the Anabades had a complex network of dwellings that suited their lifestyle almost perfectly, and simultaneously allowed their existence to remain unknown to the humans.

The humans also had a tribe of some sort, but it was significantly smaller than that of the borrowers. The chief and his wife had only two sons and a daughter. However, the sons had been missing for a few years, and no one knew why. There were rumors amongst the clan that perhaps they had been exiled, but that seemed improbable; the parents had shown great fondness of the two.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Jamie continued to put his hunting gear away. He sheathed his knives and hung his bow and arrows in their designated place on the wall. Exhausted, he plopped down on his makeshift bed of carefully sewn cloth that was filled with cotton. Closing his eyes, he let out a long sigh. Today's hunt had been long and tedious, and their efforts weren't entirely rewarded.

The air was cooling and the vegetation was dying, which meant there was less wildlife out and about. On top of that, the entire hunting season hadn't been very promising and the tribe had mostly gone without meat. When hunting didn't go well, the Anabade had to rely on plants and borrowing. Jamie didn't mind eating berries and nuts, but he wasn't too happy about eating from the humans.

Although human food tasted much better than what nature had to offer, Jamie and a lot of the others felt uneasy about attaining it. Going out into the open was a huge risk. If a borrower was caught by a human being, god knows what would happen to them.

Jamie had only seen a human up close a few times, and every time he did, it was more and more terrifying. Being in the presence of such a large creature often left members of the tribe shaking and paralyzed with fear. No one was really sure how violent they were, but it was nearly impossible not to be afraid of them.

Feeling himself about to slip into sleep, Jamie forced himself to get out of bed. As much as he would've loved to relax for the rest of the day, Jamie knew that his mom would throw a fit if his chores weren't finished before sundown. Pushing the hanging leaf that separated his room from the rest of his home, Jamie walked into the small, circular living area of his house where the rest of his family was.

His mother was curled up with her youngest son, Dayland, telling him stories of her hunting experiences. His grandma Nahvia sat in her usual chair at the wooden table sewing and mending clothes- she was one of the finest seamstresses in the tribe and spent the majority of her days patching up clothes and blankets. His eldest twin sisters, Kyla and Kendra were cleaning and talking. Kendra and her mate Cal were to be linked in a few weeks, and Kyla was obsessing over every detail of their ceremony.

Reluctantly, Jamie made his way out of his family's tree and towards the Common Area. It was a short walk where most of the tribe's activities took place. Food was being separated, properly preserved, and stored in underground cellars; Various weapons and tools were being assembled; young children were running around; and all other sorts of work was being done.