Mu’sha was high in the sky when the flaps of the great lodge’s entrance opened, the light of the fire inside streaming out and silhouetting those who waited nearby. As the tribesmen and elders stepped through the door, some walking out into the night to head to their homes, those outside watched apprehensively, waiting for someone to tell them what the Chief’s final decision would be. Knowing that so many waited, Greymane himself, though of so many years now he needed help from his grandsons to support him as he walked, came out and stood in the light of the fire to tell them. One person who did not wait, came out of the lodge and headed straight towards where Kickfeather now sat. She could see his dark form shift as he adjusted the kodo hide blanket covering his shoulders, its bone bead tassels rattling as he walked.
As the figure came closer, the face of Darksky, her father, became more familiar to her firelight. He gave her a wan smile, his eyes, though ringed with exhaustion, greeted her brightly. “You are not asleep. I thought you would be by now.”
Kickfeather shrugged. “It was pretty late when I came back from gambling. I didn’t want to wake anyone. But look!” Kickfeather beamed, as she shifted her weight so her father could see the dozen layers of white deerskins she now sat upon. “Bones were in my favor and not Backbreaker’s. He was also a little too drunk. He’s going to hate me in the morning. I’m going to make sure Mama wills these to people before he wakes up though.”
Kickfeather laughed. Backbreaker had been unforgiving of her as of late. One night, his kodo mark had started acting more than a little ornery. Whatever had riled them, agitated the rest of the riding herd enough that Kickfeather, who was in charge of the watch over them that night, was afraid they might stampede. They were so hyper, she started to lose her patience and almost started trying to punch the kodos senseless. And the rest of the braves with her were starting to wonder if they should even go near them. But Kickfeather managed to defer to her better self, and under her direction they wrangle Backbreaker's kodos all together, took them away from the rest of the herd, tied them to trees and let them be. They would come back for them in the morning when they would hopefully have calmed down. Two had broken loose, running off in the middle of the night never to be seen again. He blamed Kickfeather for the loss.
It turned out Backbreaker had started feeding his mark some strange herb mix a Gobbo trader had given him, guaranteeing it would give him virile bulls and cows that would double his mark in a year. That is what had made them so hyper and uncontrollable. And so, in truth, he only had himself to blame. But he insisted on Kickfeather’s incompetence in youth even though she’d led watches of the herd for at least a decade now, and was still sore about it even after Kickfeather offered him a gift of some of her finest beaded hides for him to use for trade to compensate for the loss even though it technically wasn’t her fault.
“The two of you are going to find yourselves before Greatfather soon enough if you don’t cool down.”
Kickfeather shrugged again, but she smiled to herself as her father took a seat next to her. He remained silent for a good while, watching the flames. Kickfeather tried to sit quietly with him, give him the time he needed before he would tell her what the Chief had decided. But then she also remembered how much more patient the old shaman was than her. Just as she was about to ask, he spoke up. “You should get your sleep. I have a feeling the winds will not let you rest tomorrow.”
“That bad, huh?”
Her father smiled again, his hand snaking out from under his blanket to pat his younger daughter on the cheek. She turned her head, avoiding his hand and huffed embarrassingly. That rewarded her with a chuckle. “Ah, my little one. All grown up now, you won’t indulge your father in even the littlest gesture for his wish to keep you a child forever.”
“Well, as you said, all grown up now,” Kickfeather replied, smiling back.
“And, yet, still unmarried.”
“HA! Find a Bull that can keep me in place long enough to ask me!” She leaned over and gave her father a playful nudge. He took advantage of her coming close and wrapped his arm around her in a hug. She did not protest.
“It would have to be a strong Bull indeed. Or better yet, a tricky one. It is not easy to grab onto the Wind.”
“I take that as a compliment,” Kickfeather declared with a firm nod.
“Indeed it is. But now, my wild and blustering girl, sit still a moment and indulge your father. I wish to tell you something of importance, something I wish you to take to heart and remember always.”
Kickfeather frowned. She thought she heard a hint of sadness in her father’s voice. But she did not have time to think upon it too long as his words came forth again and this time it was the voice of the shaman, not just her father. “As I have spoken before, your sister, she is a child of the flame. They touched her when she was still in your mother’s womb and hid her behind red fur when she was born. When she came out of hiding, you know as well as any, it meant she was destined for greater things.”
“It’s why she was sent away. But she’s back now,” Kickfeather interjected.
“Indeed. And the words she has brought back with her are to be the guide for the Swifthorn from this day forward. Yet, I do not know that they will be her guide. Perhaps they will be, but not along the same path that our tribe must follow. A fire as strong as hers does not like to be choked. And hers should not be. Not even by her.”
Just as Kickfeather had done earlier, her father reached for the fire and shifted the logs, allowing the flames more freedom to rise. He continued. “I do not speak to you in jest, my little one, when I say you are a child of the Wind. It is something Por Ah gave you. You do not have to be a shaman for the Spirits to lend you their gifts. They make you fast and agile and hard to keep down. They make you wide open as the sky and honest. And they make you playful and boisterous.
“Since the day you were born, my two little girls have always been close. There has never been a day when I worried the two of you would never get along. When she went away, I could see you were aimless. A listless wind with no flame to play with.” Darksky smiled. “You need your sister. And as a fire needs air to burn brightly, so your sister needs you. You must never let her fire burn out. You are that which will keep her moving along her path with the push of your breath. As long as you do that, she, in turn, will always give you life. Your mother and I have given you life and much love. But, indeed, my daughters have grown into fine women who can now give it to each other without us. I want you always to remember that.”
“Yes, Papa,” Kickfeather said. “And, I hate to tell you you’re wrong, but you are. You’ll always be with us. Just TRY to get rid of us.”
Darksky gave his daughter another warm squeeze and chuckled with her. “Now, it is late. And your father is tired. But his night is not done. Head in and get yourself to sleep. But wake your sister first and tell her to come out so I can tell her what we elders have decided. She will want to be told before morning comes.”
“Are we going with the orcs?”
Her father took a careful moment before he spoke. He shook his head. “No. The tribe will not be joining with this Horde.”
With a nod, Kickfeather went in, woke her sister, then settled herself for a good, long sleep. It was the last time she would speak to her father. That night, in his sleep, his spirit would peacefully slip away to join the Ancestors.
_________________ The Whirlwind of Moo is here to protect you!
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