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As she and Zila walked to the huts that served as the kitchens, Erin looked around at the village and its inhabitants. It amazed her, being used to the way of life all those from Makos lived, that tribes such as the Nigrum Mortifer could live a semi-primitive lifestyle. She smiled and politely nodded her head at the villagers that greeted her as she passed. Her bright mood was darkened a bit when she spotted the miserable survivors of the caravan. Those that she saw where either merely a bit battered or we’re seriously injured in some way.

“How do you like the village?” Zila asked once they had reached the cooking the cooking huts by the jungle. “It’s pretty nice,” Erin responded. “I can easily imagine myself living here. It’s simple yet I get this feeling of safety here.” Zila gave a small chuckle. “Sound like you wouldn’t mind staying behind when the rest of you furs head back to Makos.” Erin looked questioningly at Zila. “Would I be able to do that?” Zila shrugged. “You could, but you might want to think about it before you make a decision.” Erin’s brow furrowed. “Why’s that?” she asked. “We live a very different lifestyle here than Makans do,” Zila explained. “Here we may have some items that are imported from Makos, but generally we prefer our own tools, even though they are a bit more primitive compared to Makan tools. If you’re serious about living here than there are a couple things you can do. You can ask around the village and see if anybody is willing to ‘adopt’ you and teach you the ways of our tribe until you can live on your own. The alternative is that you can accept one of the villagers as a mate, assuming they wish to be your mate, and you can live with them and learn our ways in over time.”

Erin nodded and stayed silent as she thought for several moments. “What’s going to happen to us now that we are useless to your tribe?” she asked somewhat anxiously. “What do you mean?” “Well, we can’t really trade with your tribe anymore and many of my comrades were killed in the battle.” “Hmmm.” Zila thought about what she should say to the young Ferret. She could tell the fem was a little stressed out and she didn’t want to worry her even more, but there wasn’t much she could say except the truth. “All I can say for certain Erin,” Zila said seriously, placing a paw on her shoulder, “is that all of you are not safe here. Our actions have more than likely angered the Aspis tribe. We knew this was a possibility when we made the decision to help you guys. There’s going to be a meeting tonight where we will discuss it with our chieftain. You and your friend, Nick, can come if either of you want.” Erin nodded. “I think I’d like that.” “Alright, I’ll let you and, if he feels well enough, Nick know when it’s time and we can go together.” Zila smiled and wrapped her arm around Erin’s shoulders. “Come on,” she said. “I think you’ve waited long enough to eat. Just go into that hut…” Zila pointed to a hut that had smoke filtering out of an opening in the roof. “… and ask the cook for whatever you want. Don’t be afraid to ask, she loves cooking more than anything else.” Erin nodded and smiled at the Black Mamba fem. “Thanks Zila. What will you be doing?” “I’ll be waiting for you out her. The kitchens are too stuffy for me.” “Okay,” Erin said as she walked into the hut.

Zila leaned up against the wall of the hut, spacing out as she waited for Erin. She snapped out of it when someone approached her and tried to get her attention. “Zila.” Zila blinked and looked at the new arrival. “Hello Drek.” Drek nodded. “Good evening Zila. Why are you just leaning there like that?” “I’m waiting for someone.” “Zassira?” Zila began to suspect that Drek was after something other than a conversation with her. “I’m waiting for a fur that Zassira and I have been given charge of,” she said. She waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. Deciding that she would have to find out what he actually wanted herself since it didn’t seem as if he wasn’t going to say anything first. “What do you want Drek? I don’t think you’re talking to me for the pleasure.” Drek seemed to hesitate for a moment. “I don’t know what you mean Zila,” he said with as much innocence he could muster. “Can’t I talk to somebody just because I feel like it?” “Don’t play games with me Drek,” Zila said, her tail sweeping back and forth to express her irritation. “You’ve only ever spoken to me so I can deliver a message. So what do you really want?” Drek hesitated for a few seconds before he shifted his gaze to Zila’s eyes. “I want you to tell Zassira to reconsider her decision and accept my proposal,” he said bluntly. Zila’s eyes narrowed in anger. I knew it! she thought. Zila shot out her paw without out warning, grabbing and firmly holding Drek’s scaled arm and practically dragging him into the jungle nearby. She let go of him once they had reached a spot beyond the village’s earshot. Zila glared at him, her tongue flicking in and out of her mouth. Drek rubbed his arm momentarily where Zila had grabbed him. He noticed that the furious snake standing before him was a far cry from the usually jovial Zila. “What was that all about?” he asked angrily. Zila stepped up to him and glared up into his eyes, her snout nearly touching his. “Let me make a few things clear to you Drek,” she said lowly. “First of all, you need to move on with your life. Zassira’s not interested in you, trust me. She’s made up her mind and she’s not going to change it anytime soon. Another thing that I want to make sure you understand is that I may be a messenger, but I’m not going to waste my time with pointless requests. If you truly want her to reconsider, then be a man and go ask her yourself!” Zila said this last bit as she jabbed Drek’s chest with a claw, hard enough to force him to step back but not hard enough to break the scales. Drek glared at Zila as he rubbed the spot where she had jabbed him. “Fine! I was just asking you to do a favour for me!” “Asking me? You were telling me to do something that isn’t my responsibility!” Zila retorted, continuing to glower into Drek’s eyes. Drek stayed silent and after a minute had nearly passed, he stalked of back towards the village.

Zila took a moment to regain her composure, taking deep breaths and letting them slowly escape her lips. Once she had gotten herself under control, she walked back through the trees and vegetation and reentered the village.

Erin exited the cook’s hut with a plate in her paws laden with an assortment of meats and dark coloured fruit from the jungle. When she didn’t see Zila waiting she began to look around to see if she was nearby. When she turned her gaze to the jungle, she saw Drek storming out of the jungle. She watched as he passed her. I wonder what’s wrong with him? Turning her head back towards the jungle, she spotted Zila stepping out of the jungle. Zila made her way to the ferret fem. “Sorry for keeping you waiting Erin,” Zila said, smiling apologetically. “It’s okay,” Erin replied. “What were you doing in the jungle?” “Just taking care of something,” Zila answered, glancing in the direction Drek had gone. This didn’t go unnoticed by Erin however, and only piqued her curiosity further. “Is there something going on between you and the guy who came out before you?” “Who… Drek?” Zila asked before it dawned on her what Erin was inferring to. She shook her head. “It’s not what you think. He just pissed me off and I confronted him in the jungle so I wouldn’t cause a scene.” “Oh… Sorry,” Erin said, blushing a little beneath her fur. “No harm no foul,” Zila said, winking at the young ferret. “Looks like you got the cook to make a pretty good meal for you there.” Erin smiled. “Yeah, I can’t wait to start eating some of this.” “Come on then. Let’s go back to Zassira’s hut and you can start eating there.” “Sounds good to me,” Erin said, grinning. Zila led the way back to Zassira’s hut with Erin following closely behind. Erin was careful to give Zila’s strong tail a wide berth, knowing that it could probably trip her up pretty easily. Zila, pushing her encounter with Drek into the back of her mind, wondered how Zassira was doing on her own right now. She looked up for a moment and couldn’t help but admire the sky as it went through a myriad of colours as dusk began to fall.

*******

The beauty of the setting sun was lost on Selka. He lay on a floormat in his hut, staring at the ceiling as his mind raced to come up with a way to find out if Bethany was okay. No matter how much he thought about it, he could only come back to one solution. If he were to check up on Bethany, he would have to sneak out of the village and sneak his way into the Nigrum Mortifer tribe’s village. Then he would have to find out what hut she was in and somehow sneak into that hut and see how she was doing. Settling for this plan, as it was his only choice, he decided to do it tonight when everyone else had fallen asleep. It would be easy for him to make his way past the guards that would be making their rounds, so he didn’t worry too much about them. Getting up, he walked over to the table, grabbing the dagger that lay on it by the candle that lit the darkening room, and slipped the blade into his leather belt. Moving the candle to the side, Selka sat on top of the table. He cupped both his paws and laid his snout in them as he prepared himself mentally for what he was about to do, his tail moving lazily on the table behind him. He waited until Rith’s twin moons met at the peak of the sky. Once it was time, Selka got off of the table, and taking a deep breath to calm himself, walked out cautiously into the night in hopes of being able to see his lover.