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Hejira: Sanguine Wave

By Mantrid Brizon

Episode 39: Resolution

Drawing the bowstring, the hunter holds their breath and waits. Stepping closer to the hung bait, the deer sniffs the hanging salt-lick. Releasing their fingers, the missile flies through the air. The thud of the carcass is soon followed by the thud of the hunter’s feet. Standing over the slain deer, the orange tabby Sahvorai kneels, his feline tail swaying as he strokes the body with clawed hands, silently thanking it.

“When do you think Steve will be back?” Travahn asks Naomi as they sit by the campfire.

“It’s hard to say. When he hunted with Gary back when we lived at the Blue Feet village, they were often gone all day.”

“Well, we’re running low on food. Hopefully we’re not waiting that long.” Travahn remarks.

“You won’t be.” Steve says.

Turning toward his voice, the hunter stands with the carcass over his shoulders, already cleaned and prepared. Cooking large venison steaks, they air dry the rest and smoke even more near the fire. With nightfall approaching, they build the fire considerably to scare away any predators. Stockpiling wood to keep it burning throughout the night, they also sleep close together. Having walked for eight days, the old Blue Feet village is very near; they should arrive by mid-afternoon.

As the darkness shrouds their camp, the seventeen-year-old Lebanese-American girl cuddles with her boyfriend, the black furred canine Sahvorai who is her age. They lie together, his arms wrapped around her. Listening to the crackling of the fire and gazing longingly at each other, Naomi can’t help but lean in for a kiss; the scene is simply too romantic to ignore. Travahn, ever the gentleman, kisses her back and holds her tighter, but controls his urges. At that moment, he merely wants to hold her for as long as possible, as within a day she may not look or feel the same.

Steve sits atop his bedroll, facing the fire. He stares into the dancing flames, the warmth radiating off of his similarly colored fur. His eyes gloss over, a sorrow in his heart. He relives the attack by the nomadic humans on that fateful day, when Kahlera, her mother and their chieftain died, homes were burned, including his own, and their lives changed forever. Steve silently wonders what life would be like if it had never happened. His mind is overflowing with all of the possibilities that were stolen from them.

Would things be remotely as they are now? Perhaps Gareth and Kahlera would be together and have children? He certainly would not be known as the terrible and bloodthirsty ‘Red Claw’. Would Steve have found his own love among the women who had died? Perhaps he would have children too? He hears the sound of kissing lips and turns his eyes. Naomi and Travahn bask in each other’s warmth, as much as they do the fire’s. As he ponders the forks in the road, he watches the teens cuddling and has an epiphany.

Nothing would be for the better if the Blue Feet had survived intact. Travahn’s little tribe might have found Wildwood, but he certainly would not have found Naomi. Kelly might never have seen his son, nor built the strong, loving relationship with Vahna, the woman who is now his wife. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that Gareth and Kahlera would have stayed together. Sarvah and her Feather Fingers were an ever-present force, and would have settled nearby anyway; she long desired Gareth and had spent many months trying to steal him from Kahlera.

It’s true that some things are fated to happen; even though they may be terrible, they work out in the end as they were supposed to. Though a woman he cared for also died that night, his future might yet gift him a mate of his own, so long as he stays the course. At fifty-four-years-old, he has several hundred more years to find his match before he’s too old. With his lips curling into a little grin, Steve adds a few more logs to the fire before lying down to rest. The exhaustion from the hunt, and the pace at which the youths can maintain has strained the man.

Waking the following morning, what’s left of the fresh meat, which they wrapped in cloth and placed into a hide satchel for protection from insects, is placed on a portable grill to cook. After eating venison steak for breakfast, they strike camp and continue their march. It’s a sunny and pleasant day, easily deceiving the hikers who can briefly forget about the turmoil that simmers in Wildwood and the surrounding lands. Walking for several hours, they eventually crest a hill.

Stopping for a moment, they look in silence. For the first time in over a year, and in Travahn’s case, ever, they stare upon the burned and decrepit ruins of the Blue Feet village.

“That was it?” Travahn asks.

“Yes.” Steve sighs. “This was home for so many years.”

“I wonder if our old house is still standing?” Naomi thinks aloud.

“Wouldn’t it be burned?” Travahn raises a brow.

“No. The house I lived in with Kelly, and Gary’s house weren’t burned. About one-third or a quarter of the village survived.” She explains.

“Daylight’s wasting. Let’s keep moving.” Steve says.

Pressing on, they jog down the hill, careful not to trip and fall as debris has gathered on the neglected road. Dipping into a little valley, they crest the second hill, a larger mound that’s crowned by the ghostly village and serves as the base of the mountains behind it. Reaching the village, they stop again, this time to catch their breath. Steve looks in shock at the devastation. It was ruined when they left, but now it’s even less recognizable. What was once burned is now collapsed completely or on the verge.

The trio walk through the faded grass that was formerly trampled soil. Pathways cleared by the bare, paw-like feet of the Sahvorai who lived there, they are now lush yards. Heading for the mountains, Naomi suddenly stops.

“Since we’re here, do you want to see where I used to live?” She turns to Travahn.

“We’re not here to sightsee.” Steve interjects.

“It’ll only take a few minutes, and I may never come here again in the next seven hundred years.” She retorts.

With a frustrated sigh, he waves his hand, letting the pair dart off. The area clearly hasn’t been lived in; even the Fallen leave behind signs of actual life. Walking around the village, the solemn man’s tail hangs low, nearly dragging on the ground behind him. Walking past a patch of grass, he stares at the lot that was once his own home. Though his new one is far nicer, and much more permanent, it still hurts to think about the loss of a life that he greatly enjoyed at the time.

Walking a full circle around the village, he heads back toward Naomi’s old home to find the teens. Feeling a familiar sensation, he stops and approaches the nearest brush. A tree that escaped the burning now has several smaller trees and bushes growing around it, having never been kept clear by the now defunct tribe. Standing before the tree, he opens his belt and slightly lowers his simple linen pants. Retrieving and holding his member in his hand, he leans forward and rests his head against the tree trunk.

A faint rustling catches his attention and he leans back. It distracts him from the task at hand. Looking around him, a breeze flutters his hair. Turning back, he resumes the deed. After waiting for a moment, he begins to relieve himself.

“Eww! Careful with that!” A female voice exclaims.

Startled, Steve jumps back, accidentally dropping his pants to his ankles. Tripping on the bunched clothing, he stumbles back and falls to the ground with a hard thud.

“Who is that?!” He cries out, reaching for the dagger sheathed on a belt around his pants waistband. “Show yourself!”

“Relax!” The voice says.

Stepping out from the very bushes he was urinating on, a tall, stunningly beautiful Sahvorai woman stands before him. At five-feet and ten-inches-tall, she has a sturdy build, with strong arms and legs, broad hips and a slender waist. Her figure is curvy and voluptuous, with a subtle hourglass figure and impressively large, DD-cup breasts. With a short, blocky snout, short and rounded ears, a smooth coat of solid black fur and no visible tail to speak of, but large, digitigrade feet, she looks like a black bear woman.

She glances down with her big blue eyes, long white hair fluttering in the breeze. The female stares at his member, which drapes limply over a leg as he lay slightly on his side. Her brow rises, as if impressed. Flushing, Steve pulls up his pants. Naomi and Travahn emerge from the house, seeing Steve as he clothes himself before a strange female Sahvorai. Travahn rests his hand on a dagger and Naomi’s right palm glows crimson, though she conceals it; they can’t be too careful.

“What the hell were you doing hiding in those bushes?” Steve asks as he stands to his feet and adjusts his belt.

“I was walking through the town when I heard you coming. I wasn’t sure if I could trust you, so I hid in the nearest bush to wait for you to leave. When you came back around, I was hoping that was it, but then you came up to the tree...” She explains.

“And you were just going to watch me?!” Steve cringes.

“Well... It’s pretty nice.” She shrugs.

Steve flushes, as do Naomi and even Travahn.

“But then you nearly soaked my feet and I just couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t step back because there was a smaller tree behind me.”

“Well... Now that I’ve been thoroughly embarrassed... Do you mind if I change the subject and ask what you’re doing here all alone?” Steve asks.

“I’m heading for the Crystalline Hall. There’s something I need to check.” She answers.

“Oh! We’re headed to the temple! It’s on the way!” Naomi chirps.

“Really?!”

“Uh-huh! I’m going there to transform myself, to accept Sahvath’s gift.” Naomi continues.

Though the bear woman looks skeptically, she is surprised when Naomi retrieves a jade stone, the activating device for the transformation machine hidden within the temple.

“If you’d like, we can travel together.” Naomi suggests.

The strange woman turns her eyes from the girl and back to Steve. With her lips curled into a little grin, she scans him with her eyes, taking a few seconds to look at his groin.

“Alright. That sounds like a plan.” She nods.

“Well, in that case, I’m Naomi, this is my mate, Travahn, and you’re already very familiar with Steve.” She giggles.

“Steve? That’s a strange name.” The woman remarks.

“It’s the only one I have.” He shrugs. “What’s your name?”

“I’m... Er... Madilyn.” She replies.

“Well... It’s a pleasure to properly meet you.” Steve holds out a hand.

Glancing down, she looks at the hand that he used to grip himself. With her little smile unfading, she takes hold of his hand and holds it rather softly. Stroking the back of his hand with her thumb, he can’t be certain of exactly how she sees him. Naomi clears her throat, gaining their attention.

“We should keep going... Right? Or do you want to camp for the night. Travahn and I can take my old house and leave you two with Gareth’s.” She teases.

Walking past her and leading the way, Steve heads through the village and toward the mountain pass.

“So, why do you want to transform, if you don’t mind my asking?” The woman asks Naomi.

“Well, I love my Travahn, and I want to spend an extra three hundred years with him.” She begins.

“Aww, sweetheart.”

“Plus, I really want to see what I’ll become.”

“Fair enough.” The woman remarks.

“And why are you here? The hall doesn’t have the orb anymore.” Steve asks her.

“Really?” The woman asks curiously.

“You know, we actually used the Crystalline Hall before. I was with a group that found and met Sahvath. It told us all about this world, and we returned and spread the word.” Naomi explains.

“Fascinating! Does Sahvath look like the statues?!”

“It’s really tall and doesn’t have wings, but other than that, yes.” Naomi replies.

“Well, I’m looking to prove a theory. I feel if I do, it could prevent the entire war.” The woman says.

The Feather Fingers stop in their tracks. They turn to look at the woman. She appears perplexed, cocking her head slightly as she looks back at them.

“What?”

“We’re Feather Fingers, from Wildwood.” Travahn explains.

“Sarvah’s tribe?!” The woman asks in shock.

“You know her?” Steve raises a brow.

“Well, no... But I knew someone who does. If you can help me, I’d like to go back with you. It’s very important.”

“How so?” Naomi asks.

“I know that the orb is gone; Sahvath removed it so no one could find or summon him. The Crystalline Hall isn’t the only one, though. In the forbidden place to the east, I think there is another hall. I found ancient stone writings speaking of the Crystalline Hall as if it was a replacement. If I’m right, I want to travel there, find Sahvath, and try to convince him to stop this.” The woman explains.

“I don’t think Sahvath is going to listen...” Naomi replies.

“He just has too! This war is going to be bloody and terrible. I know... I’m from the west, and used to live with king Adelram’s people. He’s brutal and harsh and stomps out anyone with that murderous wench of his. His reign has to end, and the war needs to be stopped before it’s too late. It’s the only hope we have; I have to try. If I stand idly by and let it go on, then I’m as guilty as Adelram and Harbinger.”

Flabbergasted by her revelation, the group stand in shock. Taking her at her word, they swear to take her back with them to Wildwood. Perhaps the new alliance, ECTO, will be able to help her? Continuing their trek, it isn’t long before they reach the fork in the pass. Veering off, they head for the temple first. Reaching it without incident in the late afternoon, they climb the steps and look inside. Naomi had seen this done, though none of the others have. Taking out the jade stone, she turns to Travahn.

“Please.” She leans in and kisses him. “No matter what you hear, do not rush inside. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” Travann asks with a worried look.

“I watched Gary transform.” She assures him.

“Gary?” The woman turns to Steve.

“Red Claw.” Steve replies.

“You know Red Claw?! Is he a friend?! Can he help?!” She bombards him.

“Yes, yes and probably.” Steve chuckles at her exuberance.

Kissing several times, they share a long and final embrace before Naomi walks into the temple alone. Recalling Gareth’s transformation, she slips off her shoes, sets down her pack and loosens her traditional Sahvorai skirt and top, until both are nearly slipping off of her body. Placing the jade stone into the carved slot of the pedestal, it reacts as she remembered. She grows increasingly nervous as the light beams into the ceiling. She soon finds many circles of light shining onto the ground.

She steps into the same spot that Gareth did, reenacting his transformation as closely as she can. Striking her body, the transformation begins. As he had said, it tingles throughout her body. Blinded by the light, a nervous Travahn waits for her to finish, standing between Steve and the woman. Feeling her face burning as her bones crack and elongate, her teeth are pushed out, replaced by new ones. She falls to the floor and cries out, her entire form tingling as fur sprouts.

A sensation in her lower legs and her spine, just over her buttocks, is impossible to describe; a mixture of a numbed sensation and a tingle, as if they had fallen asleep. She stares at her fingers as her nails are pushed away, claws sprouting in their place. Her flattened, canine nose elongates and she soon stares over her own snout. Only for a split-second does she wonder if she’ll miss her old body, but it’s quickly pushed aside by the benefits of being a Sahvorai.

Steve and the woman hold Travahn back as he hears Naomi screaming from within the temple. He is so quick to save her, as Sarvah was for Gareth. The light dims and soon disappears altogether. On her hands and knees is an entirely different creature than the human girl who entered. Racing inside, the woman swipes the jade stone from the pedestal while Travahn and Steve kneel down, tending to Naomi. She opens her eyes, turning her glistening ruby spheres toward her lover. He stares in awe.

Though he had found her attractive as a human, and admittedly found humans unusually appealing, she is still exceptionally beautiful. She rivals even Sarvah and the stranger beside him in terms of Sahvorai beauty. Rising slowly to her paw-like feet with the aid of her boyfriend and Steve, she gains her balance. Looking down, she is covered in snow-white fur, from head to toe, long crimson strands cascading over her shoulders. Naomi stares in awe at her digitigrade feet, marveling at their shape and wiggling her toes rather playfully.

Feeling a tail involuntarily swaying, she sharply turns her head and peers behind her. Just over her plump buttocks is a bushy, wolf-like tail. Looking down at the rest of her, she tightens her skirt and top to fit, noting that she seems to have grown even more curvy and feminine. Though the fur makes it hard to tell, she is certain that her breasts are slightly larger, and the curve in her slender waist more prominent. She taps her black nose with her fingertip, then looks at her short but sharp claws.

“Wow... You’re gorgeous!” The woman exclaims.

“Aww! Thank you!” Naomi chirps.

Travahn is at a loss for words. Merely thankful that she is alive, he takes hold of her and hugs her tightly.

“Do you like the changes?” She asks him.

“I’m just happy you’re alright. If I lost you...” He sniffles.

“Aww! You’ll always have me!”

“I love you, Naomi.”

“I love you too.”

With more to their journey, they collect their belongings and leave the temple. Naomi holds onto Travahn and Steve as she briefly relearns how to walk with her drastically different feet. Soon, however, she is as competent as she was before she transformed. Once they reach the fork in the trail and head toward the Crystalline Hall, she even briefly races her boyfriend. Reaching the hall by late afternoon, Steve and Travahn focus on building a camp nearby, knowing that they can’t make it back to the abandoned village before nightfall.

Using what daylight she has left, the woman looks over the pedestal, dropping down to her hands and knees and scouring it for clues. Naomi watches her curiously, cocking her head as the woman feels around the pedestal. Her lips curl into a pleased grin, impulsively bearing her teeth as she stares happily at a portion of the structure. Wiping away the dust, she finds writing. Appearing in her native script, as the translator microbes adjust it in her mind, she easily reads what the ancient letters say.

Taking out a piece of parchment and a block of graphite, she copies the words with her primitive pencil. Claws click on the ground as Steve approaches. He stops, looking at the woman’s buttocks which is barely covered by her own skirt, as she too wears traditional Sahvorai clothes. Knowing that she has nothing to block his access beneath it makes his temperature rise.

“Find what you’re looking for?” The woman asks.

“Huh?” He glances to the left, seeing her watching him from the other side of the pedestal. “Oh, uh... I was about to ask you the same thing.”

“Well, I did. This confirms my suspicions. This is the second hall, and the first one is east, far beyond your village. It’s the forbidden place, where Sahvath first brought people here, gifted the Sahvorai, and then scattered them.”

“And when you get there, you think you’ll find another place like this?” Naomi asks.

“Yes.” The woman nods as she stands to her feet. “If we’re lucky, Sahvath forgot to remove that orb, and we can speak to him.” She says as she brushes off her clothes, purposely bouncing her ample breasts in front of Steve.

“Uhm... And if we’re not lucky?” Steve asks.

“Well...” Her expression becomes gloomy. “Then we’ll have to do this the bad way...”

They walk to their little camp and cook dinner. Steve serves the strange woman, who looks to him with a warm smile.

“Thanks.” She murmurs.

“It’s no problem. I’m happy to do it. Sorry for before, by the way. If I knew you were in those bushes, I’d have picked a different tree.” He replies.

“I’m glad you didn’t.” She coos.

“What?”

“Well, if you had picked another tree, we wouldn’t be talking and you wouldn’t be helping me... Besides, it really was very nice.” She admits with a lustful grin.

“Thanks. So, Madilyn...”

“Actually, my name isn’t Madilyn. I don’t know why I said that. Maybe in case you knew.” She quickly interjects.

“Knew what?” Steve asks.

“My name is Madina...”

“Oh! That’s prettier!” He says with a smile.

She looks to him with surprise, but finds herself thankful. Smiling back at him, she reaches out and rests a hand on his forearm.

“What did you think we knew?” He asks.

“Nothing. This steak looks good!” She exclaims.

“Oh, I cook great steaks and jerky.” Steve grins. “Eat up, though. We’ve got a long walk back.”