"M´hali: The Lost Clan, Chapter 1" by Barbara J Wickham

Glennion was a jealous land, guarding her secrets within the shadows of deep canyons, high mountains and dense forests. Not even the musings of the bright Elderstar, nor the reflections of the three sister moons could fathom her inner enigma. Only on the arid stretches of her great plains did she openly display both her most magnificent glory and her most indiscriminate cruelty.

After generations of wandering shores of endless waters, impassable mountains and desolate stretches of barren desert, the Lost Clan finally found passage through high blue mountains into a most unexpected and welcome discovery. After fleeing their shameful history for so long, it was difficult for them to at first realize what they had found. Time after time, they had been forced to move on, driven onward in search of a land that did not seem to rebuke their every attempt to survive. Just when it seemed as if they were eternally cursed, the land granted them mercy.

On those vast stretches of hardy grasses and thorny brush the Lost Clan finally came and beheld the Braided Lakes. Actually extensive, sluggish rivers, the elongated bodies of silty waters twisted and twined through the gentle dips and rises of the sweeping grasslands. It was as they first saw the Elderstar shine down on the shimmering surface of life-giving waters that the clan knew it would never thirst again. The long wandering fennan had finally found the new home that had until then been denied them. It was here that Glennion’s gifts seemed plentiful.

It was also here that death walked in uneasy alliance beside the living.

For every bounty there would be a famine. For every new life, one would pass. For every golden day there would be a bitter night. So it was that the clan learned that hardship and strife had not been left behind them on the path. In fact, their struggles had only just begun.

Regrettably, even the seemingly endless expanse of the plains did not provide room enough for peace to settle into the hearts of the Lost Clan. The bitterness of banishment had left it’s mark. Of the many seasons they spent working together on the long path, sharing in the burdens of adversity to survive, little of that spirit of cooperation remained once paws were planted in land they could finally claim as their own. Too soon, narrowed eyes and bristling hackles began to appear between neighbors. Old hatreds found new hosts, as the few consistent resources forced paths to cross too often. Even under the constant scrutiny of the revered First Mother in the heavens, resentments flourished.

The Great War which inevitably followed, tallied too much blood shed; too many families torn apart. Yet from the fertile ground of the bloodied battlefield an absolution grew into fruitfulness. Although it became clear that the clan could not live as one, they could perhaps live as one among four.

Heated arguments raged over rights to land, water and prey and borders drawn in the sand were swept away countless times before a final resolution was reached. Not a few teeth were bared in disagreement over these matters, but no more blood was shed. The savagery of the war had brought too many memories to the forefront of the fennan consciousness. Was it not such possessive bickering that had originally led to the ultimate dark betrayal; the shameful reason they had become homeless wanderers so long ago? Were they doomed to continuously repeat that aggrieved history?

Thus, the clan came to agreement after many long and weary debates. Up they rose, clans gifted with territories chosen by the elders, who read the skysigns, those old and familiar shapes made by ancient stars: Tail Chaser the clever, Old Swift the fast runner, the fierce Hunter and the all-providing Great Tree. Only these heralds of the First Mother could know what was best for each family; what each needed the most to redeem a lost legacy.

So it was, on the final days of the bountiful season of New Fruit, on the highest peak of the rocky mountains that contained the plains, the elders stood with the most gifted prophetic dreamer among the fennan as he thundered for all to hear,

“Here I stand, gaze set to sunrising, face to the life giving Elderstar as I proclaim the creation of Law! A covenant that must be obeyed by all, or by none!

As I turn to my right, I see the rainward expanse of the low plains and I declare them the domain of the High Sun Clan, so named for the endless day on open grassland and the stalwart light of a courageous heart.

As I then turn my gaze left, I see the windward reaches of the mountains and declare these high peaks the domain of Gray Rock Clan, so named for the timeless bones of the earth and her many secrets.

As I turn towards sundowning, I see the high plains and declare them the domain of Dark Moon Clan, so named for the vast highlands on which the sister moons shine down, enlightening the restless dreamer.

And cradled in the middle, I see the rivers, shining silver like the backs of the fish contained within and I declare this the domain of Green Water Clan, so named for the life-giving waters that feed the land and the spirits of all who dwell in her embrace.

Let all who hear my voice hold to this prophecy, as the very stars witness our promise. Never shall fennan blood be spilled by the tooth or claw of another, for if one drop shall fall on this blessed land, all shall turn to blight and we shall be lost forevermore!”

So it was that the four clans were no longer the Lost Clan. Now they were part of the great plains, thier final place of refuge in a world that seemed to still judge them for the crimes committed by those long passed back to Her embrace. They put a sorrowful past behind them and moved into the coming seasons with a renewed hope, tentative as it may be.

* * *

M'hali tensed and lifted her large, tufted ears only slightly, lest even this small movement gave away her concealed position. Situated in a low crouch, her slender limbs resembled the tangle of slider's dance vines that grew in a chaotic profusion at the base of the small rise she now occupied. She could just make out whisper-soft noises from the sleek, legless creatures the vines were named for as they searched the maze of branches for their prey.

Because of this distraction, M’hali almost missed the nearly inaudible noise of her own quarry as it repeated a small distance further windward on the rise, yet no movement was revealed in the fading light of the lingering Elderstar. Back fur bristling, M'hali knew she would have to make her move soon.

With a stealth honed by seasons of hunting the twilight, M'hali slowly slid backwards out of the thick vines, careful to tuck her long, silky tail against her back. Each paw was placed with utmost precision, avoiding the dried leaves and twigs that littered the hard ground. Once her head was clear she paused to listen, raising her glistening snout to the deepening sky. A miasma of newborn stars reflected in her spring green eyes, causing a faint glow in response. She could detect the brine of the lakes and the tang of the marshes just beyond, indicating that the soft winds were still blowing windward of her quarry. Good, she thought. The signs show a favorable pattern and this hunt is blessed.

With no warning, a shadowy shape darted over a rise to the side of M'hali, just a few strides away from her original vantage point. Had she still been concealed in the brambles, she would have had a better view of the area where the shape disappeared, however going back into the tangled brush was a kit's mistake and she was several seasons beyond that. No. A wise hunter anticipated the prey's path and this prey now knew it was being hunted. It would not go rainward where the brush created a natural barrier to anything larger than a mudrat. It had come from the direction of sunrising and could not continue through the small gully without making more noise than an enraged bulltock in the season of rutting. Therefore, windward was again the favored direction.

Yet, M'hali hesitated. A wise hunter also knew to never let down one's guard...

A hiss of breath, as if the prey had caught M'hali's scent in the air, sent a reflexive shiver down her tail. The blighted bug-eater was just on the other side of the brambles! Unfortunately, the Elderstar's last rays were of no help in the ravine, as the vines twisted and turned so that the very shadows got caught within the tangle of branches.

Closing her eyes against the golden dusk, M’hali opened her nostrils to the caress of the breeze, trying to pick up even the slightest musk-sign. Faint snuffling noises nearby indicated that the prey was doing the same. Without lifting her eyelids, M'hali flattened her twitching ears against her head and started slinking forward tentatively on all four paws, brushing soundlessly by the tall grasses and slinking around small bushes with the grace of water running over age-smoothed stones. Fine tendrils of her tawny banded fur lifted with the wind, masking the movements of her limber body in perfect symmetry of motion with the waving stalks of sweet grain. Even the most observant eyes would have trouble discerning M'hali's form as she progressed windward alongside the thicket.

Inside, M'hali was silently singing the Song of the First Hunt, the most potent and beautiful of songs. She was the music and voice. The percussion of her steady heartbeat led the rhythms of her breath and blood, both keeping an ancient cadence known only to the hunter. Her mind closed in, focusing to a pinpoint of star-bright heat at the center of her head. No thoughts invaded the vortex of instinct that drove her inexorably forward; no thoughts outside of the building need to capture... and kill.

Oomph!

The air exploded from the lungs of M’hali’s victim as she landed squarely on it’s back, knocking the creature onto it’s stomach. Her mentor, Poshi would be proud of the tricky leap and M’hali allowed herself a moment of satisfaction, however her “prey” did not let her enjoy the sensation too long.

“M’hali! Why do you always do to that to me?!” Tessat shouted as she rolled M’hali off her back. “Can you not greet me in a less painful way?”

“The prey is hiding tonight,” M’hali stated with wide-eyed innocence. “I need to practice my hunting skills somehow. As do you! I should not have been able to sneak up on you like that.”

Tessat hunched her slender form and shook out her golden coat vigorously from head to pawtip, flinging the debris from her brindle fur and purposefully flicking the end of her striped tail in her friend’s face.

“I am a fisher of Green Water Clan. Hunting my prey requires finesse, not brutality .”

M’hali lifted her cheeks in amusement. “In other words, fish do not fight back.”

Tessat leapt without warning, reminding M’hali that, fisher or not, she was still the quickest striker in her clan. An oversight that M’hali quickly regretted as she found herself pinned beneath a furious mass of bristling fur.

“ No”, Tessat breathed the word menacingly into M’hali’s face, close enough to ruffle her whiskers. “Fish do not fight back, but I have been hunting for almost two seasons now and I still run the plains often enough to take on a scrawny little scavenger like you.”

M’hali only smirked as she flexed her rear claws, just enough for Tessat to feel them through the thick fur on her belly. Tessat froze, unwilling to move the slightest bit, lest she trigger M’hali into eviscerating her.

The seething hunters stared each other in the eye with an intensity that charged the air with breathless anticipation.

It was a stalemate.

Eventually, little spurts of breath began escaping out of the corners of Tessat’s mouth, but it was the sporadic twitch of her eyelid that finally ended the face-off.

M’hali lost control first and burst out with shrieks of pent-up laughter, sending Tessat into her own peals of mirth. The friends crumpled into a boneless, giggling mass, neither able to get any words out in their breathless state.

M’hali eventually recovered enough to protest, “Enough, Tess! You have obviously been feasting on many fish lately. You are crushing the life out of me!”

Tessat huffed indignantly and bounced on M’hali’s stomach a few times for good measure, which inevitably led to more fits of hysterical laughter from both fennan.

Panting from their exertions, the friend’s joviality slowly wound down, until the pair had quieted enough to converse again.

“I wonder what the elders would think of our undignified behavior,” M’hali chuckled as Tessat rolled away. She instantly regretted her words as the mood suddenly darkened.

“First off, they would shred our hides for even meeting like this,” Tessat murmured soberly as she settled onto her haunches in the grass. “How many times have we met secretly on the other’s territory? Allowing such a trespass across the border without a challenge goes against clan law, not to mention the fact that you know as much of what is going on in my clan as I do about yours! These are dangerous games we play, M’hali.”

M’hali regarded her friend sadly for a moment then looked towards the last light of the Elderstar staining the horizon. “I think we are not the only ones playing dangerous games, Tess.”

“What do you mean?”

“I do not know for sure,” M’hali sighed deeply. “It is only a strange feeling I’ve been having lately, like there are shadows haunting my clan. It is hard to describe, but no one is acting normal and I sometimes see alarmed looks pass between some of my clanmates, but they either do not know anything, or they are not willing to speak of it. In fact, my whole clan are acting like prey under a hunter’s shadow. Even the elders are meeting at odd hours and in unusual locations.”

M’hali leaned closer to Tessat and lowered her voice, “But the strangest part is that I myself saw my aunt Pestal meet with chieftess Boshin, on the border between Gray Rock Clan and my own. For two leaders to meet without the presence of the other chieftesses goes against the council treaties.”

“Are you sure it was not just an accidental meeting? I mean, what would your chieftess possibly want of that withered old curmudgeon?” Tessat sneered. “Boshin and her scraggly clan are a menace. She can not even discipline her own hunters. I do not know how many times my clan has had to chase them away from our hunting grounds.”

“We have the same problem. Tensions along our sunrising border have increased steadily over the seasons and Boshin would be an obvious source of trouble, especially with her clan’s history of secrecy, but I can not completely blame Gray Rock Clan for their plight and I have to wonder if I would not also be as bold, were my own clan in such barren territory.”

Tessat stiffened. “Now, M’hali. You act as if they are not responsible for their own actions, just because the skysigns chose the rockiest land for their territory. They should not begrudge that decision. Who are they to question the wisdom of the stars? Besides, there are many benefits to living amongst the cliffs. For one thing, they have never had to move their burrow because of flood or fire. Plus, they have the upper paw in any trade with those moon fruits that grow like weeds in the caves. I’d have to fish all day to have enough to barter for even a pawful!”

“You speak truthfully, but I have heard certain things that make me wonder if Boshin and her kin are as bad as we believe. After all, we have only our elder’s tales to go by. Personally, I have never witnessed any member of Gray Rock Clan commit a crime greater than that of any other clan’s misdeeds.” M’hali tilted her head towards Tessat, a crooked grin spreading across her face, “Besides, we should be the last two fennan on the plains to judge the bad behavior of others, considering the long list of our own... indiscretions.”

Tessat made a doubtful noise.

M’hali hesitated, then went on reluctantly. “Actually, I have overheard my aunt speaking with her consort, Rowin about Boshin’s clan and even though he is secretive of most things, I felt his words were trustworthy when he spoke of his grandmother and her struggle to keep her clan on an honorable path under such harsh conditions. He spent his youth at Boshin’s heels before he was invited into Dark Moon Clan as Pestal’s consort and he credits Boshin with teaching him a great deal about being a good leader. Even you must admit that he carries himself very well, for such a young male.“

Tessat relaxed her posture, but she retained a dubious tone in her voice. “I still feel that the Gray Rock Clan could improve their manners towards those whose borders they share. They are a brazen lot and they do nothing but complain at the meets.”

“The younger hunters can be a bit tedious, but think on this, have Boshin or her elders ever brought up a dispute that turned out to be unfounded?” M’hali raised her brows as Tessat pondered the question.

“Now that you mention it, the complaints I recall hearing at the councils are mostly about trespasses onto their territory, or shortages on trades against them, and the like.”

Tessat considered the issue further, “Still, I would not discount Boshin as being the source of the trouble you sense. Even if it is out of necessity, border raids are inexcusable and they have to know how much discontent they are creating with their neighbors. The only clan they do not have any dispute with is the High Sun Clan and I can only guess it is because they do not share a border with the low plains.”

“Well, there is that, but Roka is also an exceptional chieftess and her clan has always been fair and levelheaded in their dealings with other clans”, M’hali contributed. “They never push their muzzles into another’s dealings either. Pestal calls them aloof, but I have always admired their dignity and perseverance.”

Tessat bobbed her ears in agreement. “I remember a few seasons back when the rains flooded most of the river plains and they invited our clan to shelter with them, without my mother Sessa even having to ask!”

“I remember that, as well,” M’hali chuckled quietly. “Pestal was so annoyed, having two clans in such close association on our border. She acted as if both clans had conspired to block our way to the low plains, as if we could hunt there with everything under several paw-lenths of water!”

The friends shared an amused expression.

“Actually, my mother often remarks that if our clan must ever flee the floods again, we should seek shelter with your clan. It seems the prudent thing to do to prevent raising Pestal’s hackles again. “

“Your mother is a wise chieftess, Tess. Unlike Pestal who does not seem to be to able to comprehend the benefits of a good alliance. She is too jealous of our borders.”

“Borders!” Tessat huffed. “I am so tired of borders and the endless disputes about who may cross and when.”

“I am as well, but the elders of the Lost Clan knew it would take strong borders to maintain any kind of order amongst the original families.”

M’hali decided to move the conversation away from such a heated subject. “Speaking of feuding families, where will I find you at the meet?”

Tessat giggled, “Oh, I will most likely be with Jenda...”

“Tess! Please do not speak of him, even in jest.” M’hali flung a clump of weaver’s grass at her friend as she continued in a tone of bewilderment, “I can not understand why he pursues me so intently. He knows as well as I that only the chieftess and her first daughters may take a mate. Does he want to get us both banished?”

“I think Jenda is so smitten with your unique green eyes that he has been mesmerized and fears no consequence”, Tessat lowered her eyelids and pursed her muzzle, in a comical semblance of a male’s interest.

M’hali leaned away in an imitation of disgust, but could not stop the laughter from bubbling to the surface. “Honestly, Tess. He’s your cousin. Can you not do anything about him?”

“And spoil the fun?” Tessat mocked.

“Well, if you are going to be like that, I think it is time for me to leave.”

Tessat’s only response was a mischievous squint.

M’hali stood and stretched her tired limbs, already regretting the long trek back to her clan burrow.

Tessat simply watched her friend for a moment, a quizzical expression on her face.

“M’hali, sister of my heart, you honestly do not know why Jenda, among others, find you so irresistible?”

M’hali was taken aback by the question, unable to decide if Tessat was continuing to tease her, or if she was serious.

“I could not say what goes on in the hollow gourd most males have for a head, but it seems a great waste of time to pursue something you can never have.”

Tessat only continued to stare, a touch of sadness creeping into her face as she finally replied, “Of course you do not see it, but that is because your thoughts are always focused ever outward. You see so far to the horizon, where most everyone else can barely see beyond their own muzzle. It makes perfect sense that you would be completely unaware of your effect on others.”

Standing to face her friend, Tessat continued breathlessly with intense sincerity, “There is something about you, M’hali. Something that pulls some to you, like those strange stones from the skies pull on metal. I see it working and I feel it myself, like I have to always watch you and listen to your every word in anticipation of what you will do, or say next.”

M’hali did not know how to respond to this and Tessat did not give her the chance.

“I have often wondered about this strange effect and as I have paid close attention, I see that not everyone finds it a pleasant sensation to be around you.” Tessat held up her paw as a slightly hurt expression began to form on M’hali’s face. “You do nothing wrong, in fact you do nothing at all but be who you are and that is a creature who has something special; something some find attractive and others find to be vaguely threatening.”

M’hali could no longer contain herself, “What are you trying to say, Tess? What do you mean by “special”? “

Looking to the sky, Tessat spoke barely above a whisper, “The stars are watching you, M’hali. They are looking down on you, one who they have gifted with a Song that touches others in a way no one else has before. Even the chieftesses of all the clans do not have such a power!”

“Now you are starting to scare me, Tess! Do not say such things, as if I have a claim to anything on a level with a chieftess! True, my mother, Padeet was a first daughter, may she find peace in First Mother’s embrace, but it was Pestal who became chieftess and I can claim no greater privilege than to be one of her hunters. To say what you did is too close to outright betrayal of the highest clan law! What could you possibly mean, to speak such dangerous words?!”

M’hali finally halted her tirade and stood tensely, trying to bring her breathing back to normal, but her unease was still clearly evident in her eyes.

Tessat regarded her for a moment and seemed like she would continue, even drawing in a breath to do so, but her posture loosened and she relented with a sigh.

“Forgive me, M’hali. I should have chosen my words more carefully.” Tessat rested her paws on her friend’s shaking shoulders and let her fondness show in both her face and voice. “I meant only to express how much I admire and care for you and when you disregard your own worth, in any way, I become too defensive and my feelings get away with me.”

“Of course you are forgiven, “ M’hali mirrored Tessat’s gesture by placing her own paws on Tessat’s narrow shoulders. Not satisfied to stop there, she lowered her forehead to her heart-sister’s and allowed the bond they shared to speak for itself.

After several heartbeats, M’hali began to smile, which soon grew into a toothy grin that colored her next words.

“By the stars, Tess. What brought that on?”

Tess chuckled self-consciously, “I have been wanting to talk to you about my observations for quite a while now, but I never knew how to bring it up. I guess the opportunity presented itself and I just leapt into it.”

“Leapt? More like tackled!”, M’hali exclaimed.

“Yes, I was a bit enthusiastic, was I not?”

“A bit.”

The friends shared a quiet chuckle, relishing the familiar banter that always seemed to develop from their conversations.

Tessat gave M’hali’s shoulders a squeeze and stated earnestly, “I am serious. You are special and I am not just saying so because you are my best friend.”

“I know”, M’hali responded fondly and lifted her head so that she could see Tessat’s eyes, but said no more.

M’hali knew deep in her heart that her friend was genuinely worried about her. Only Poshi knew M’hali as well as Tessat and both had expressed, in different ways, that strangeness had a way of finding M’hali, time after time. In the tense atmosphere that surrounded the clans right now, M’hali did not want to stand out in any way. The mere thought terrified her, but how long could she deny that she felt the call of something herself-perhaps the same mysterious force Tessat was referring to. As her presense seemed to pull on others, so something pulled on M’hali. It was an altogether uncomfortable sensation.

“We should talk about it some more later”, Tessat broke into M’hali’s thoughts.

M’hali let out the breath that she did not realize she had been holding, “I know.”

“I think it may be important,” Tessat cocked her head slightly, obviously picking up on M’hali’s melancholy.

Not wanting her dearest friend to worry more, M’hali brightened her voice, “Obviously, but why do you think so?”

Tessat’s eyes softened, as if she were looking at something far away, “There are new currents in the rivers and I can see change in the reflections upon the waters. Something... on the wind...”

M’hali waited for Tessat to elaborate. After a few heartbeats of silence it became apparent that she was not going to.

“Tess?”

“Yes, M’hali”, Tessat refocused her gaze on her friend.

“You are talking in riddles again.”

At first, Tessat could only stare at M’hali, then both fennan suddenly dissolved into laughter, leaning on each other for support.

Too soon, the moment passed and each friend released her embrace and stood quietly, taking the time to catch their breath as they stood in companionable silence and gazed at the newborn stars.

M’hali wondered if the stars were in fact looking back and if so, what they really thought about the two small beasts staring up at them. The heavens were a mystery to her, but Tessat had always shown an unusual talent for reading the skysigns. However, she never talked about what she saw with anyone else but M’hali. Females had always been forbidden to involve themselves with those arts.

On that thought, she realized that if they didn’t want to get in trouble for their current crime, they would have to be on their way soon.

Yet, M’hali’s thoughts lingered on how parting with her friend was always such a reluctant, bittersweet time for the pair. Even knowing they would see each other again, the shadow of secrecy still loomed over them each time, clouding every meeting with apprehension. She wished, as she did countless times in the past, that they could stretch these precious moments far beyond the sparse scattering of heartbeats they were usually able to steal. Remarkably, a friendship that should have long ago starved on such scanty nourishment, still managed to flourish.

They might as well be sisters of the same clan, for how close they were. What cruel twist of fate had them born to different clans and yet allowed them to come together in friendship? M’hali cursed the Lost Clan for ever breaking apart and creating the borders that now separated her and Tessat.

She looked over at Tessat and found her friend already gazing back at her with an expression of sadness and resignation that mirrored her own. In spite of the sad moment, both still managed to smile.

“Well, my friend”, Tessat began. “I will not see you again until the meet. I hope all goes well for you, in the meantime.”

“I wish the same for you, Tess.”, M’hali answered.

After a brief embrace, each fennan turned homeward and walked away. Both had agreed long ago that quick partings were less painful.

At the top of the ridge, before she lost sight of Tessat, M’hali turned and raised her paw, receiving the same gesture in return. After she turned and took only a few steps down the slope, her friend was lost from sight.

Suddenly, a strange shiver ran down M’hali’s back and she felt a compelling need to run after Tessat, but as eerie as the sensation was, she resisted the odd feeling.

I hate to see my heart-sister leave, M’hali thought, but she can take good care of herself. It is silly for me to suddenly fear for her like this.

Even on the tail end of this thought, M’hali found herself inexplicably running back up to the ridge top to seek out Tessat in the distance. She found herself frozen to the spot until she finally managed to pick out her friend’s form leaping nimbly through the tall grasses at the bottom of the ravine.

The sensation of nameless dread passed, but M’hali found herself dwelling on it. Why had she suddenly felt as if she had seen her best friend for the last time?

Hating the thought, M’hali shook herself violently, flinging the tension from herself like she would drops of rain clinging to her pelt.

Proceeding back down the slope, she cleared her mind and resolutely aimed her paw steps towards a distant tree where she had stashed the prey she had captured before meeting with Tessat. It would not go well for her to return to her clan with little to show for it, so she had hunted extra diligently to bring back an appropriate amount for the time she had been gone.

The new snare traps she had created nearly tripled the number of long-eared swifts she usually captured by chasing them down. As thrilling as the hunt was, she preferred to use her physical skills on larger prey.

Congratulating herself on being so clever, M’hali picked up her speed until she was bounding through the grasses like the wind, all thoughts of dread and darkness left behind in the swirling dust of her passage.