"M´hali: The Lost Clan, Chapter 2" by Barbara J Wickham

Eyes wide open, but unseeing in the darkness, she inhaled more deeply and her nostrils flared as she tried to identify the strange scent on the wind. It carried hints of the plains in the season of New Fruit, when all was lush and growing, but never before had she smelled such a heady greenness.

Whiskers twitching, she parted her lips and let the rich and tangy aroma pass over her sensitive tongue, but the origin of the smell still alluded recognition.

Then the noises suddenly came into her awareness.

Straining her eyes in the forbidding dark, she pivoted her ears desperately as sounds issued from all sides in the unfathomable shadows. The first sound that became distinctive from the sudden cacophony was the trill of birdsong, but so unlike the screeching of the predatory blacktails, or the sweet twitters of the small darts, these birds sang with great whooping calls that echoed as if in a high cavern.

Just beneath the birdsong, she could make out other subtle noises that were somewhat familiar, but still sounded unlike anything she had ever heard before. Movements of plants, the dripping of dew, the snapping of twigs and the steady buzz of insects, all parts of the song of life on the plains, but here the song sounded... trapped, as if bouncing off of invisible walls.

These unseen activities seemed to be so close, surrounding her in such a whirlwind of menacing confusion that she found herself instinctively crouched down on her haunches, whether in readiness to fight or flee, she could not decide.

She frantically raised her blind eyes to the skies in the hope of catching a glimpse of familiar stars, but as her sight was meet only with an empty dome of nothingness, she felt the first stirrings of panic.

Why did the very stars hide from her, in this place of strange scents and foreign sounds? Where were the endless grasses and the rolling hills where sight and sound traveled forever? Why could she not see in this black gloaming when out in the grasslands she could normally see every blade of grass, even on a moonless night? A hunter of the plains was most confident during the darkest span of the evening, but this cloying darkness felt like the death of night itself!

Unconcerned with her dilemma, the chaos of sounds continued, but underlying it all was a noise that once in her consciousness, chilled her blood and raised her hackles from head to tail. It was the sound of a dry whispering and it was this woeful noise that finally brought blind terror to her heart.

Not caring about being unable to see, she leaped straight ahead, plunging heedlessly into the dark and increasing every frenzied stride as her claws dug into the soft, moist soil. She did not slow, even as wet leaves stingingly slapped into her face and she painfully bounded off of hard, rough pillars that carried the stringent scent of wood. Her breath rasped in her chest, lungs straining to move air that was as thick and cloying as the steam from the intoxicating brightstar tea.

Suddenly, the darkness opened around her and she was in a clearing where beams of blessed sunlight pierced the darkness as if shining through tears in the fabric of the sky. Her labored breath caught in her throat as she raised her wide eyes to the light and recognized the shapes of immense branches with impossibly large leaves that blotted out the sun. As the far tree tops swayed ponderously in the winds, the same whispering sound that had sent her running answered.

Before her dizzied mind could wrap around this incomprehensible sight, a distant, agonized cry pierced the clearing.

“M... ali! Mu... ali! “

As the desperate echo bounced from every direction, the ground suddenly disappeared from underpaw and M’hali could only grasp at empty air as she fell.

“Muthali! Nooooooooo!”

This last pain-filled scream followed her down into the darkness, tearing at her heart as redness washed over her like a dark flood of blood and tears.

“M’hali! M’hali! Wake up, you lazy kit!” The sharp voice met the sharper terror of her dream and M’hali shot up from her reed mat as if a brown slider had latched its fangs into her tail. Only when she realized that it was her aunt Poshi standing framed by weak light in the doorway did she let out a breath that was waiting to become a scream.

“I’m sorry, aunt Poshi”, M’hali settled her bristling fur flat and gathered in limbs that were flung out in alarm. “I was just trying to get some sleep before I have to take Lenah out to gather herbs.”

“I see”, Poshi stated flatly, her eyes narrowed as she examined M'hali's agitated state. “Does Lenah frighten you so much, that you must act like a chit that has been caught in the grain?”

At first, M’hali could only stare at her aunt in bewilderment until realization sank in and she felt her nose grow hot with embarrassment.

“No, little Lenah does not frighten me at all, ‘ana.” M’hali reverted to the kithood reference for her aunt as she tried to straighten her bent posture under Poshi’s formidable stare.

Poshi stooped her tall frame under the low doorway and entered the hunter’s sleeping burrow. Once the stark daylight no longer distorted her silhouette, M’hali noticed the concern clouding her aunt’s piercing amber eyes.

“Then why do you look as if you are surrounded by a pack of starving Slipjaws, my love?”

M’hali settled her back against the packed earth wall of the burrow and tried to relax the shaking that still lingered in her legs. “It’s nothing as bad as those savage creatures, I just had a bad dream.”

“Just a dream? It seems to me that this dream had teeth.” Poshi settled slowly onto M’hali’s sleeping mat. “Do you need to talk about it?”

M’hali pretended not to notice her aunt’s painful movements and peered instead at her burrowmates, still sleeping after a long night of hunting. “No, thank you. Actually, I can hardly remember what it was about, now that the day has banished the darkness from behind my eyes.”

Poshi nodded her ears in acknowledgment, but her eyes searched M’hali’s face as if she could sense falseness in her words. In fact, M’hali could remember the dream with an icy clarity that had settled deep in her belly and as tempting as it was to seek her aunt’s council, she felt a strange reluctance to reveal what she had witnessed during her disturbed sleep.

“Have you had this dream more than once?”, Poshi inquired, casually adjusting the woven sash that lay across her shoulder, its bright colors signifying her rank as a mentor of hunters. It should have been the sash of an honored elder, but M’hali had learned long ago not to show disrespect by asking such a pertinent question as why this was not so.

“Have you fallen asleep again, little snip!” Poshi’s sharp voice broke into M’hali’s thoughts, reminding her that her aunt did not appreciate having to repeat herself.

“My apologies, aunt Poshi!” M’hali exclaimed loudly, causing some disgruntled stirring amongst her fellow hunters. Lowering her voice, she continued, “I meant no disrespect.”

“I know you did not, M’hali, but I am not convinced that you are at ease and I can not rest when my favored niece is troubled.” Poshi added warmth to her statement by placing a paw on M’hali’s cheek, but a hint of sorrow was swimming in her eyes. “My only duty in this world is to see that you are happy and well prepared for your destiny.”

With these cryptic words, Poshi raised herself from the mat and ambled towards the burrow doorway, flicking her slender tail as a signal for M’hali to follow. M’hali did follow, if only to discover what her aunt meant, but she was not immediately given a chance to voice her question as her aunt kept walking beyond the hunter’s burrow.

As the pair made their way through the short tunnel that led to the common area that served as both a gathering place and entry to the deeper burrows, two young kits bounded around their mother, eager to be allowed outside to play in the early morning. Even stoic Poshi could not resist grinning at the antics of the kits as they jumped and ran with an awkward nimbleness that gave a hint to the incredible physical prowess they would soon display as young adults.

“Your kits are coming up fine and strong, Maeta”, Poshi stated indulgently to the chieftess’s second youngest daughter.

Maeta beamed at her young, but replied with a weariness not uncommon with new mothers, “Thank you, Poshi. I only hope I can keep up with them. The new day has put fire in their blood!”

M’hali could understand the kit’s eagerness. The season of New Fruit was coming to an end and with the stifling heat of Golden Grass on its way, it would soon shorten the time when it would be bearable to be in the open while the Elderstar held vigil in the sky.

“I know these are your first, Maeta, but you should allow some of the elders to take them off your paws for a short while each day”, Poshi stated as she pinned the young mother with her eyes to ensure that Maeta took the point. “You will do them no good if you are too weary to watch diligently for the many dangers that stalk helpless kits.”

Maeta tensed as if to protest, but she then cast her eyes to her vulnerable kits and let out a deep sigh. “Poshi, you are right. I want so much to be a good mother and I will take your advice.” Maeta squinted her eyes with mischief and continued, “In fact, I will give them to Mihan after she wakes. My younger sister will need the practice!”

Poshi stiffened and raised her brows and Maeta instantly ducked her head and lowered her ears, as if her former mentor had raised a paw. She continued in a much meeker tone, “I’m sure she’d enjoy playing with my kits, as all young females do. I did not mean to make light of her situation.”

Poshi snorted a short laugh and continued in a tone that left no doubt that she wanted no more said on the matter, “ Have you heard your kit’s names yet?”

“Not yet, but my elder sister Mirih said her kit’s names did not come to her until Lenah and Letah were almost a season old! I am trying to calm my spirit so that I may hear the song when it comes.”

Maeta seemed to warm to the subject, but M’hali could still sense tension in her voice and wondered what Poshi had disliked so much about Maeta’s earlier statement.

“Never fear, Maeta”, Poshi said gently. “The song will come when the time is right and your kits will have a name befitting their spirits.”

“Thank you”, Maeta said with genuine gratitude.

Poshi dipped her head and continued along the tunnel.

“Enjoy your morning, Maeta”, M’hali called over her shoulder as she sheepishly followed her aunt.

Maeta blinked in response, but her eyes lacked the sparkle of a few moments before.

M’hali herself disliked the mornings, especially in the bustling burrow. It was the night time that truly brought life to her spirit and she wished it was dark again and she was out on the plains, stalking prey in grasslands rich with deep shadows and deeper secrets. How she longed for the sight of the red moon chasing her larger yellow sister across the heavens and it never ceased to amaze her when she caught a rare sighting of the dark moon playing see-me-now-see-me-not behind her sister moons. In those moments it was as if the mysteries of the universe were just within reach.

Poshi interrupted M’hali’s thoughts as the elder hunter paused to warm herself by the main fire pit and to take a portion of sweet grain mash in a carved gourd bowl.

Not particularly hungry herself, M’hali stretched out beside her aunt on the stones warmed by the constantly burning fire and worked out the last bit of tension in her body that was left in the wake of her troubling dream. She let her eyes wander around the room while she waited for Poshi to finish her morning meal.

A group of elders turned their cool stares in M’hali’s direction, seeming to disapprove of her very presence. Never having understood their consistent disdain, she twitched her whiskers in defiance and was rewarded with a dry huffing sound of shock from their direction. M’hali resisted lifting her cheeks in a complacent smile.

Maeta came into the common area and sat with her kits by the tunnel leading to the inner burrows, presumably to await Mihan. There she settled into conversation with some of the elder females who willingly took the opportunity to dote over her kits. Maeta looked on, her pretty features somehow appearing aged beyond her sixteen seasons.

Just as M’hali was contemplating approaching the troubled young mother, Rowin emerged from Pestal’s burrow. The First Consort gathered a few of the younger males from the common area and together they skirted the perimeter of the large chamber. As Rowin passed by, he caught M’hali’s eye and studied her for a moment before proceeding to the tunnel that led to the chamber where the males gathered to consult about sky signs and other secret matters.

M’hali felt slightly disturbed by the quality of Rowin’s brief stare, but she could not place her paw on the reason and quickly dismissed her feelings as a remnant of her strange dream. This thought reminded her that Poshi was certainly going to question her again about the dream and hoping to distract her aunt from bringing it up, M’hali decided to divert the conversation in a direction that was more comfortable.

“Aunt Poshi, why did Maeta say that Mihan needed practice with kits? At only thirteen seasons, she is practically a kit herself!”

“I should tell you to keep your nose out of other’s troubles, but regardless of my better judgment, I will tell you that Pestal’s youngest will be making a tribute to the Red Sister tonight”, Poshi murmured.

“Why is Mihan making such a tribute? I thought she would not be ready for a consort until after the rains return three times more.”

“Apparently her mother feels differently”, Poshi exclaimed quietly, but with obvious disapproval. “She will chose a consort for her daughter at the next meet.”

M’hali rose from her crouch so she could see Poshi’s face more clearly before she continued in a quiet voice, mindful of her surroundings. “But she is so young! Younger than me and were I allowed a consort, I would still have to wait for my birth celebration after Golden Grass passes into Sleeping Leaf!”

“She is too young and never doubt that she is afraid, M’hali”, Poshi spoke into her niece’s ear while she let her sharp eyes scan over the other clan members that were starting to gather near the fire. “Mihan seeks the favor of the Red Sister because she does not want to take the path her mother has laid out before her paws. She is desperate to escape her mother’s ambitions.”

M’hali was confused about what her aunt was trying to tell her and could not help questioning her further, “That is understandable, but why is Pestal so eager to see her daughter mated before her time? Why push for a union that is unwanted, at least by Mihan?”

Poshi did not reply, choosing instead to rise and turn her steps towards the light of the new day shining through a tunnel in the woven branches that protected the shallow cave-like common area. M’hali knew not to press her question. Her aunt wanted to talk, but not where sensitive ears could catch every word as it bounced off of the curved burrow walls.

M’hali once again followed obediently behind her aunt, knowing that Poshi would continue the discussion in due time. The young hunter was used to her aunt’s erratic behavior and even felt a touch of pride that the elder hunter confided in such delicate issues with her, as if M’hali’s opinions mattered regardless of her humble status within the clan.

As they proceeded outside, Poshi led the way rainward of the clearing in front of the burrow and set a leisurely pace towards a section of river that passed through the clan’s territory.

M’hali followed, content to cast her eyes over the magnificence of the great plains spread out in a vast living blanket that was barely contained by the mountains on the horizon. The only clan to have a better view of the valley was the Gray Rock Clan, but M’hali doubted that they had the time to appreciate it as she did.

The area around the rivers stayed green the greater part of a turn of the seasons, but in this time of verdant growth when every plant was fruiting and flowering, the entire plain took on an illusory quality. It was almost as if another world had descended upon the plains, visiting for a short span of time before retreating from the radiance of the hotter seasons. M’hali never tired of admiring this abundance of life, especially knowing that it would soon wither.

M’hali also took the opportunity to admire her aunt’s lithe form in the golden dawn light.

Eldest of three sisters, Poshi still carried herself with an elegance that would be more expected of a fennan half her forty-eight seasons. Her buff fur was the lightest of any other fennan, with only muted bands of slightly darker fur interrupting the fine color on her lower limbs and tail. Silky gray fur touched her muzzle and ear tips, but the silvering of her pelt only added to her unique beauty and did little to betray her many seasons. All together, the soft tones gave Poshi a deceivingly delicate appearance and many an opponent had come to regret underestimating her formidable aunt.

These thoughts unfortunately led to the more problematic ones of the troubling things that M’hali had been noticing more and more since before New Fruit.

Poshi was hurting. She hid her disability so well that only M’hali seemed to have noticed, but even the immovable Poshi could not stave off the most severe effects of her condition for long.

Even though M’hali could not see the swelling in her aunt’s paws, she could feel the distorted joints during the times when she groomed Poshi’s claws, a task she enjoyed as a way to show respect to her mentor. She had also noticed how Poshi moved with deliberate care more and more often. How long it would be until Poshi could not even walk anymore was in the paws of First Mother. M’hali shuddered at the thought.

This baffling disease seemed to strike as randomly as lightning and effected each victim differently. Boshin was one who also suffered the painful, swollen joints, but her condition seemed to be progressing as sluggishly as the rivers in the dry season. M’hali felt a twinge of bitterness towards the ancient chieftess of Gray Rock Clan. Why did her beloved aunt, the only mother she had ever known, have to suffer an ailment that seemed determined to consume her in pain as fast and hot as a wildfire while others seemed to be only inconvenienced?

These distressing thoughts distracted M’hali from her surroundings to the point that she almost collided with Poshi when her aunt stopped at the top of the riverbank. Cringing at the near miss, M’hali quickly veered to the side and came up alongside her aunt.

Thinking they would continue the conversation about Mihan, M’hali was momentarily baffled at her aunt’s next words.

“I can remember a time when another first daughter sought the help of the Red Sister”, Poshi spoke softly at first, eyes cast to the river below.

Poshi then continued in a solemn, yet strong voice, “She found herself in a very tentative position, swelling with kits, yet not from an approved consort. She obviously could not hide her state for long, so she spent a great deal of time out hunting and gathering on her own, but she knew she could not avoid her clan forever, so she tried every tactic she could think of to avoid detection.

She ate voraciously to fill out her body and constantly wore a large gathering pouch that hung in front of her belly, both tactics meant to disguise the growth of new life in her womb. Somehow, she even learned about some secret herbs that covered up her gravid musk sign.

She actually managed to conceal her pregnancy to the very end, but as her time drew near she knew this would not be an easy birth. In desperation, she made tribute to the most powerful aspect of the red moon and offered to pay any price to the Red Sister, to see her kits born safe.”

Poshi paused in her narrative and looked expectantly over at M’hali and her niece blinked as if waking from a dream.

The story of the unfortunate young hunter had woven a fine web of fascination over M’hali’s thoughts and she found herself so compelled by the tale that she blurted, “What happened next, ‘ana?!”, without even considering that she would have normally received a slap of a paw across her ears for such a rude interruption.

However, Poshi only blinked her golden eyes and lifted her cheeks in tender amusement before replying, “I will finish her tale, but only after a certain impertinent young kit tells me about her dream.”

M’hali felt her self deflate like a punctured redhock bladder as she found herself trapped by her aunt’s infallible wit, yet again.

Poshi had exploited her one weakness-the telling of tales. From kithood, M’hali could be made to do anything and obey any command, if only she could receive a story in return. She could not refuse now.

“I will tell you”, M’hali conceded. “But you must promise not to make too much of what I have to describe. I am sure my dream was just the result of too much bloodberry tea.”

“I promise nothing, but I will keep my observations to myself”, Poshi stated airily.

By the twinkle in her aunt’s eyes, M’hali knew she was enjoying her victory in forcing M’hali to fess up to her earlier denial that her dream did not affect her as much as it did.

With a sigh, M’hali closed her eyes and tried to decide how to start. Taking a deep breath, she began as the dream had, with the arrival of the strange scent in the air.

Poshi’s face tensed as M’hali progressed through relating the details of her dream and by the time she got to the point of describing the clearing, her aunt was up and pacing slowly around her.

“Then someone screamed my name”, M’hali’s features tightened as if she were in great pain. “Oh, ‘ana! It was the most heartbreaking sound I have ever heard and it made me feel as if I had done some great wrong and-”

M’hali stopped speaking, alarmed by the sudden change in her aunt’s scent. Was that fear in the air? She even glanced around, expecting to see one of the lower predators stalking them, but they were still alone on the riverbank.

“Aunt Poshi. What is wrong?”, M’hali asked.

Poshi finally settled heavily onto her haunches, but she was facing away from her niece when she commanded brusquely, “Continue.”

“There is no more to tell. I woke up right after that”, M’hali replied.

“I asked before and was not satisfied with an answer”, Poshi finally returned her gaze to her niece but it held a new intensity. “Have you had this dream before?”

“No, aunt”, M’hali answered quietly.

Poshi’s expression softened slightly as she continued, “Have you had any other dreams like this one?”

“My dreams are often a mystery, but I have always just considered them to be the dregs of the day as my mind clears my spirit of troubling thoughts.” M’hali paused, considering her next words carefully, “Even so, I have never had any dreams that made me fear for my very life!”

Her aunt’s only response was a slight lift of her brows.

M’hali felt something loosening inside of her heart. Regardless of her earlier reservations, she felt the relief of telling her aunt about her disturbing dream and she did want her aunt to tell her if it meant something important. Her worries were alleviated when Poshi continued.

“My dearest kit. There is nothing to fear in dreams.”

Poshi moved to sit beside M’hali, so that both could watch the waters of the river run full and joyful through the rolling plains. They took a moment to enjoy the rare green beauty around them before the elder hunter raised her paw and swept it lightly from one side to the other and spoke in a reverent voice, “Everything around you is a dream. It can not stay and must pass from this place eventually. Even the very rocks will crumble and vanish, but the dream remains.”

Poshi reached over and gathered her niece’s paws into her own, but when M’hali raised her eyes to her aunt’s she did not find the usual affection she expected to see there. In its place was a desperate sadness that instantly made M’hali feel as if claws of ice had pierced her heart.
“’Aunt Poshi?”, M’hali implored quietly.

Poshi’s mournful gaze traced M’hali’s features slowly and she seemed to be struggling to speak, but her paws remained firm and steady in M’hali’s grasp. When Poshi finally spoke it was in a whisper colored with so much love and regret that it nearly broke M’hali’s heart.

“Dreams do live on and anytime I need to see proof of that, all I have to do is look at you. Padeet’s spirit shines through in you, dearest and this gives me hope for the future”, Poshi finished on a shuddering breath and tears glazed her eyes, but the sudden radiance of fondness in her gaze prevented those tears from turning bitter.

M’hali was stunned beyond words. Little had her aunt spoken of M’hali’s mother in the past and although she was in agony to learn more, she had never pushed Poshi on the hurtful subject. She resisted even now, hoping her aunt was prepared to share more, but afraid to speak lest Poshi change her mind. She was both heartened and disappointed as her aunt continued.

“I know you have questions about your mother, M’hali and I will answer them soon, but for now what I need you to understand is that these uncertain times are breeding desperate actions among the fennan. The clans are pinned, as if under the claws of an unseen enemy who is poised to devour our very spirits. Now, more than ever is the time to know who is your friend and who is not. Do you understand?”

M’hali bobbed her ears reflexively. She did understand and had felt the tremors on the wind herself, but now there was no denying that darkness was coming; storm clouds just under the horizon.

“I have sensed the worsening tensions between the clans and I will be mindful of what is going on around me”, M’hali stated soberly. “I owe my clan nothing less than to be at my most diligent.”

Poshi’s expression softened slightly as pride for her niece showed through her sadness, but she grasped M’hali’s chin gently, making sure the young hunter looked her in the eye as she replied, “It swells my heart with gratification to hear you speak so, but I am a selfish creature, M’hali and I need you to promise me that you will always first pay heed to your own safety. You will still be helping the clan by guarding your own back, but it is you I fear for most.”

“Why? What danger is there to me?”, M’hali asked, brows lowered in bewilderment as she reached up and grasped her aunt’s paw.

“It is like your dream-the darkness reveals nothing, but I can sense something in the shadows, as if my spirit can hear this unknown threat rustling in the tall grass”, Poshi closed her eyes tightly, as if willing the danger to show itself to her, but she sighed in frustration. “Regardless, what worries me most is that I feel this unseen menace more strongly when I am near you. Just promise me that you will be careful and trust no one until they prove themselves as your true ally.”

“I promise, ‘ana. I will take what you say to heart” M’hali replied, noting that her aunt’s tension lessened only slightly.

M’hali looked out over the plains towards the windward horizon, fully expecting to see thunderheads rearing above the mountains, but she knew that the tempest she sensed would come without warning. She wished, as her aunt did that the signs could be clearer. The vague unease that had been plaguing her recently became more than just a feeling. Now both Poshi and Tessat had said enough to confirm that what she had been sensing deserved more attention.

Poshi lifted herself from the soft sands of the river bank and proceeded to the waters edge to drink. M’hali followed and savored the feeling of the cool mud on her pads. The warmth of the morning left no doubt that the season was turning.

Both fennan drank of the shimmering water until satisfied then Poshi turned towards sundowning to follow the river, taking the long way back to the burrow.

M’hali automatically fell in behind her mentor, but Poshi gave her flank a gentle slap with her tail, indicating that M’hali was excused from formality and could walk beside her instead. As their shoulders brushed, Poshi took advantage of the time they had left to continue their conversation.

“We are not the only ones feeling stalked, little one. As I was telling you back at the burrow, there are others who are feeling the hot breath of peril on the back of their neck.”

“Mihan”, M’hali instantly responded and was rewarded by her aunt’s quick ear twitch.

“There is nothing we can do to sway her course”, Poshi continued, “but she may need to know that there are some who hold sympathy in their hearts for her situation.”

“Yes, ‘ana. I understand”, M’hali answered the unspoken directive. “I will be there when she needs me.”

The two fennan walked on in silence for a time, playfully twining their tails.

“Aunt Poshi, there is one thing that troubles me greatly”, M’hali broke into the silence.

“Just one thing?”, Poshi asked in mock astonishment.

M’hali chuckled, “Yes, just one thing for now.” She continued in a very somber tone, “But it is a very grave and important matter.”

Poshi instantly became serious and gave her full attention to her niece.

M’hali hesitated, as if weighing the impact of her next words, then blurted out, “When do I get to hear the rest of the story that I am owed?”

Poshi stopped so suddenly that M’hali walked on several paw steps before she noticed that her aunt was no longer at her side. She turned to find Poshi sitting on the ground, shaking with laughter.

“Oh... you sneaky little... “, but Poshi could not continue and surrendered to the moment.

M’hali settled on to her haunches and simply waited, a self-satisfied smile playing across her face.

After Poshi had recovered herself she sat and gazed at M’hali with mirth still lighting her features as she finally found her voice. “Thank you, dear kit. I surely needed a lift to my spirit after such a grim conversation.”

“My only duty in this world is to see you happy, ‘ana”, M’hali replied, mirroring her aunt’s own words to express her devotion to her venerated mentor.

With a cry of joy, Poshi instantly came to M’hali and gathered her in a tight embrace. The strength still evident in the elder hunter’s arms slightly assuaged M’hali’s earlier worries about Poshi’s painful condition. After one final squeeze, Poshi released her niece, blinking back her tears.

Lifting her head and gathering her composure, Poshi exclaimed, “Well, I must honor my debt to you, surely and I will do so later when we can steal some more time to ourselves.”

“I would enjoy that very much”, M’hali stated as her eyes twinkled with genuine pleasure.

“But, for now Lenah is waiting for you to take her out gathering and I must attend to my other duties. You are not my only apprentice”, Poshi announced heartily before resuming the walk back to the burrow.

* * *

M’hali’s eyes lit up like green fire as she gazed at the Elderstar, checking the time that remained before dark. Fiery light touched the contours of the plains and stained every feature a uniform red. The wind picked up as the evening approached and she decided it was past time to collect Lenah and head back to the burrow.

Glancing downward from her sentinel perch in a dartwood tree, M’hali spied her young cousin digging at the base of an outcropping of rock, working hard to expose a large section of bitter root, specifically requested by the clan’s healer, Norsi to ease the congestion suffered by some of the elders.

“We have to return to the burrow soon”, M’hali called down to Lenah. “As it is, we will arrive after full dark and I do not want your mother to worry.”

Lenah shook dirt from her pelt then wiped her whiskers and replied without looking up, “I am almost done, M’hali. I just want to get this last piece and I will have gathered everything tasked to me today.”

M’hali gave the surrounding grassland one last glance with her sharp eyes and finding nothing alarming she worked her way down to the ground. By the time she rounded the rocks, Lenah had already retrieved her full gathering pouch and was padding her way towards M’hali.

“Alright, little nip, let us see how fast your are!”, M’hali cried before she bounded off into the tall grass. Lenah’s squeal of delight pierced the air behind her as the young fennan leaped in pursuit.

As M’hali had hoped, the game of chase got the pair back to the burrow before the time their absence would be questioned and both fennan used the last few paces to catch their breath.

“Thank you, M’hali! I always have fun when you take me gathering”, Lenah quipped excitedly as she rubbed her cheek against M’hali’s before disappearing into the burrow entrance, beaming with the energy and pride of a task well done.

M’hali glowed with affection for the enthusiastic kit. Her sister, Letah tended to be more serious and more difficult to engage in play, but M’hali was still disappointed that she had not joined Lenah in her duties. The poor kit was still recovering from a twisted paw and was restricted to her sleeping burrow.

Hopefully, she will heal quickly. There is nothing worse for a kit than to be forced to stay inside during this beautiful weather, M’hali thought as she turned her thoughts to her own nightly duties.

Perhaps she would hunt away from the river tonight. She usually loved to listen to the mudrats sing from their bank side dens, their mournful hoots and whistles creating a song that harmonized beautifully with that of the river waters, but tonight she preferred the subtler sounds of grass in the wind. Besides, with the moons waning, the glowflys would be out tonight and M’hali never tired of watching the playful fluttering of their incandescent wings.

Just as M’hali turned to head back out to the plains to hunt, a low voice came out of the darkness.

“You are very good with the kits, M’hali.”

M’hali twisted around, keen eyes seeking out the speaker in the shadows beside the burrow wall. Rowin’s broad form became apparent as he stepped forward, his eyes reflecting the star light.

“T-t-thank you, Rowin”, she stammered, but recovered quickly as she continued, “I greatly enjoy my time with the youngsters.”

“I noticed. In fact, I have noticed quite a few interesting things about you”, Rowin narrowed his eyes and continued to intently study M’hali.

Finding his silent scrutiny unnerving, M’hali decided to end the encounter. “I had better get to my hunting. Good evening, Rowin,” she backed away a few steps before turning towards the plains.

“I can see why my grandmother speaks so highly of you”, Rowin said quietly.

When M’hali turned to question his strange statement, he was already gone.