Tales of a Shifter (P5) The White Mountain

Chapter 51 - Place Of Belonging

Chapter 51 - Place of Belonging

Lander felt the kiss of the sunset on his skin as he settled his feet next to the front door of a large two stories building on the outskirts of the Southern village.

The building was perfectly silo housed in the sun and the windows beside the door gleamed with candle lights. Gossamer white curtains there, blocking the interior from view. But a large sign sat at the base of the door with the word "HEALER" carved lovingly into the wood, in elegant font.

The cool breeze on the air, whisked the sweat at his brow from a hard day of hunting and gathering. The winters faced by his clan in the past had always been harsh, but quick to pass. Mantilo had tasked the Guardians all with various tasks to have completed in the next few months stat should help to alleviate the harshness suffered by their Clans men in the more remote areas of the Leopards expansive lands. Gathering up a large number of willing and able male and female Shifters in the Southern reaches Lander went about his tasks with the dignity and seriousness that he always displayed while doing his duties.

From overseeing the countless farms and vegetable patches in the south, to scouting the areas for signs of intruders. Lander was also responsible for making sure that the trees that are chopped down in the forests and the water that was taken from the surrounding rive basins was within the parameters to still allow the fish and game in the surrounding areas to survive the winter beside them.

A leopard Clan with no elk to hunt was a Clan that would starve. As sure as the Elk heard and deer and predators in the forests and mountains would perish if Mantilo's people were too greedy. Finally Lander would be responsible for shoring up the surrounding buildings and cottages in the Southern areas, ensuring that the families in these parts had proper insulation from the frigid moths ahead of them all.

Lander dusted a hand back through his blond short hair, and dashed at the dust and grasses on his jeans from his activates the last few days. It had been nearly six days since he had departed from his families mansion, he had spent long hours in the Village. Being around his anxious Lil brother and the confused Brandon had nearly killed him. The emotions and desires and thoughts of Ezekiel and Brandon were all over the place leaking into his head and heart against his will, making Lander sick.

Eventually as the days stretched on and the painful awkwardness between Bandon and Ezekiel had only gotten worse Lander had quickly decided that he needed a break from the bumbling (would be) lovers and get some work done. So he had left and hadn't went back home or seen his family since. Truthfully he preferred the long hours of work to dealing with his brothers anxious desires fluttering in his head. For another man.

And more often than not Lander found himself beside his fellow Guardians Erin and Drin, his cousins came to see him nearly every day seeing as he was closet to their home.

Walter, Nate and Ezekiel were to the west, north and east of the Lands so he never saw them, but he was happy to go about his patrols alone, electing to sleep in the homes of the more friendly Clans men who offered him food and logging, rather than spend watch night trudging across the expansive grasslands back to the Mansion to his own bed.

The Clans men saw to his food and bedding besides. Many of them did so out of obligation, and some only offered out of fear of Mantilo hearing that they hadn't. Everyone wanted to be seen in a favorable light when it came to the Clan Head. Everyone wanted to in a position to gain something from the Guardians.

But on this particular night Lander had no need to indulge the suck-ups, because he had decided to pay Kim a visit. The last few weeks had been a whirlwind of danger and killing for Lander and his family, not to mention the horrors that had been visited upon all of them during the Clan Celebration.