Skytrails

10-Strange Tidings

Krii felt almost overwhelming relief on seeing his Kuali village whole and intact when he arrived in the middle of the night.

A slight orange glow seeped through the gaps between the ring of roundhouses, emanating from the fire circle at the heart of the village. The fire would often be left to burn into the night, sometimes into the next day.

"Hello, village, I'm home," Krii whispered as he neared the outermost houses. "Did you miss me?"

At some point in their night's journey, the little j'n had laid down and refused to move one more step. Krii had tried to carry it again, but the animal bit his arm, so he left it to lay where it was. He said goodbye and went on his way.

Krii made his way around to the east side, where a wide path entered the village. Creeping in from another direction at that time of night could result in a tomahawk to the head. He walked toward the fire circle, where he planned to lay down and stay warm beside the still bright embers.

As he neared the center of the village, Krii heard someone humming quietly, then noticed the outline of a person sitting near the fire.

"Who is that I hear humming by the fire?" he asked, hoping not to startle the person too badly.

The person jumped and turned, then a screeching alarm pierced the stillness of the night. The cry of a baby, Krii realized.

The person by the fire, a woman by her size and shape, stood and began swaying back and forth. Krii heard the quiet thumping sound of a mother patting her baby on the back. She turned her head, away from the baby and toward Krii, and said, "Tuwit'so. Who is asking?"

Krii felt his heart skip a beat and his face go warm. "Sorry," he said. He had frozen where he stood when the crying began. He now gingerly resumed his walk toward the fire. "It is Krii. I did not mean to startle you."

"Krii? Is it so? Well you failed, pale brother. We have been properly startled." The woman continued rocking the baby, who had already begun to quiet.

Krii stopped and stood off to the side, unsure what to do.

"Come," the woman said in a low voice. "She is fine now. Greet me like a sister, not a ghost." Tuwit'so stretched her free arm out.

Krii walked close and hugged his adopted sister, careful not to touch the baby.

Tuwit'so laughed. "She will not bite you."

"I had not hoped to find you here," Krii whispered, letting go and stepping away.

"I am sure hope had nothing to do with it," Tuwit'so said.

"Where— When— What brought you?" Krii stammered. "I mean, here? Now?"

He saw her smile in the firelight. "She brought me," Tuwit'so said, glancing down at the tiny breathing body nestled against her neck and shoulder. "We stayed in our village for the first several weeks, but when she seemed strong, we made the trip here so I could be with my family for a time."

"The child's father is with you?" Krii asked.

She laughed. "My husband has gone with a few of the men to help Sharn at the temple site."

"Temple site?"

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

Krii, still reeling from surprise after surprise after surprise, nodded.

"Come," she said. "So am I."

Krii dropped his bag on the ground and followed her toward the cook house.