Crimson Rebirth

Part 36

 "I'm lost."

 Gene had said that no less than four times in the past twenty minutes, when she could feel her legs again after sitting in the sand. Of course, it would've been helpful if she had a general idea of where she was, where North was, where she had come from before.

 But she had none of that. All she had was cold air, the ocean behind her, and a rock in her boot. If anything, the circumstances were making her grumpy. Each step hurt her left foot, even if the pain was nothing but a minor inconvenience. She was getting ruefully tired of the cold air as it caressed her cheeks and left goosebumps in its wake.

 The only part of her that was somewhat warm was the tattoo on her wrist, the soft golden swirls on her skin toasty while the rest was frozen.

 "I'm lost and I hate this."

 She continued to walk, unsure of where she was going at this point. Gene had simply picked a direction and began to walk. The minutes stretched to an hour, and the hour stretched to three. The passing of time only further served to irritate her, until she paused to get the rock out of her boot.

  "Stupid tundra...." She mumbled, shaking her boot and watching the gray rock fall out of it. "I could learn to hate this place very much."

 A loud snarling answered her complaint.

 It almost felt at that moment that she had been, silently, stalked by ghosts, as the snarl belonged to none other than the grey brothers whose hunt was thwarted by the woman who protected their game.

 "Oh come ON!" Gene snapped, turning to face the trio, a scowl marring her features. "I just WANT TO GO HOME."

 Her fist clenched, knowing that, once again, she was going to have to fight her way out of this mess, and that these three were now.... Very driven to kill her.

 The largest of the brothers, and unquestionably the Alpha, raised his head.

 "Wy arre yoru hargen?" He demanded. It was a strange tongue, unlike Keatina.

 "What?" Genevieve asked, raising an eyebrow but keeping all three brothers in her sight. "I don't..... I have no idea what you just said.

 The Keatina burned her wrist a bit more, but she didn't bother to see what word it wanted her to use now. A touch preoccupied right now. She mentally thought to it, feeling the heat on her wrist tone down with her mild focus on it.

 The male approached her again. He snarled, this time articulating his consonants, "WY ARRE YORU HARGEN?!"

 The smaller laughed and hissed, "Shae la'kussa saki'da!"

 The other was grinning, circling around Gene. "Shae das'na beh lyik steigen! Mo'toh posha!"

 The alpha eyed her over, this time slowly from head to toe. He gruffed, "Wa hitta shae la'kussa lyik issa na'itto osso bo'sinesi. Shae ga'uda thein Ka'rybo!"

 She listened carefully, a grin on her lips as she caught the last sentence. "I don't speak your language, but yes, I am the one who guarded the Caribou. If you're asking why I'm here, honestly, I'm trying to leave. I've got someone very special waiting on me, and I've learned what I came here to learn. Both from the Bear and from the Caribou, may he rest in peace."

 At the mentioning of the Bear and the Caribou, the brothers looked at one another. The Alpha spoke again, "Yoru fa'lao thein Tohteme?"

 "I'm only catching some of what you're saying. I am.... Following the Totems. I think is what you asked and that would be my answer. Also met Kitua and the Wolverine. Wonderful little wolverine, that he is, despite being an, pardon my language, an ass."