A Nagas tale

Renewed Alliance

It's been a week since I introduced Aurora and Helen to my Dad and The elder. Today is September 29th and I decided to spend the day with the girls. Willemina is already three months into her pregnancy and she is glowing. At first, she was trying to downplay her pregnancy. I was not having it though 'Yes I am still sore after losing Iris but, knowing she was safe with my family made me feel better.' I sat with her making sure she got all of the attention. "how are you feeling?" I asked offering her some of the cake I was eating. "I am doing good," she answers. She does not refuse the yummy ube cake I offered. "Have you got the nursery prepared?" I ask excited to know. She nodded "Yes! It's ready for them to come!" she giggled. I feel my heart swell in excitement for her. "Audrey, How are you doing?" Talia asks offering some of her own sweets to Willemina. I nod "I am doing a lot better." I answer with a thankful smile. "The stress of that long trip must have been too much for you." She sighs. I nod understanding that was the story my Dad had given them. "Yeah, If I'd known sooner I would have probably avoided such a stressful trip." I agree. "It's okay Audrey, I'm sure you and the leader will be blessed with another child soon," Arnie assures me. I smile at her half hoping that was true and half dreading the possibility of it. "Arnie, I'm sure Audrey will need time to recover from such a traumatic experience," Talia states. I looked at her seeing she was watching me. I nod "Yeah, I think it's better to wait a little bit." I agree with her. "My I would have thought Kogen would strike fear into these young ladies." I turned to Aurora and Helen who sat with us. 'Oh right, a lot of the people fear him.' I smile at them. "Fear? The Leader? No, we respect him." Arnie explains. Talia nods "He is a good leader, its upsetting that a lot of people want to keep judging him for what he needed to do to protect our tribe." Willemina adds. "oh, my such praise." Helen giggles "Have you three met him?" She asks. They nod "yes! We have! He is such a caring husband! It's crazy to think my father was so scared of him." Talia scoffs. "Oh? You admire him?" Helen teases. Talia nods "Yes, He is strong and very capable." she explains. I nod "Yeah, I agree." I answer. "Audrey, you are head over heels for that man your opinion is not asked for!" Aurora laughs. I giggle knowing that to be true. "What made you respect him?" She turns her eyes to the girls. "He always made sure our families had enough supplies during the winter when we were snowed in." Talia answers. "He helped us find a good place to settle after we got married!" Arnie adds. "He hosted the gathering so well! And he is doing such a good job protecting the Island," Willemina adds her piece. I smile feeling a bit prideful of how well they spoke of Kogen. "Doesn't he scare you?" Aurora asks. The girls shake their heads "No! He always does his best to seem less threatening when he is around us." They say in unison. I giggle seeing how shocked Aurora looked. Helen nods "I understand what you girls are saying." she agrees. "All of the reports he sends to the city are always so organized he makes it too easy for the record keepers," Helen adds her praise. We spent the rest of the day just talking about everything and anything we wanted. I did not rush anything with them wanting to spend as much time with Helen and Aurora before they had to leave tonight. 

Yuri had sent a report to me with what he found on the needle. I look at the packet of papers he sent me. I decide to wait for Audrey so we can read it together. "Do you want us to take over?" Idris walks over asking for the packet. I shake my head "I need to read this over with Audrey." I explain. He nods "Alright, then we will be heading home for the night." they let me know. I nod setting the packet down and look at the door. "We are practicing how to use our auras to create a barrier around our bodies!" Yyvonne's voice caught my attention. "Oh! Thats great! with how fast things are going it's good to learn that." Audrey answers Yyvonne. "Oh looks like you are being picked up tonight." Leo chuckles. I would normally glare at him but hearing Audrey was no longer staying in the house was good. I stand up ready to greet my wife and kid. Leo and Idris let them in first "Oh! hey guys are you two heading out?" Audrey asks. Leo nods "Yeah, it's Monday a good night to drink!" Idris answers. Audrey laughs at his response "Idris you will drink any day of the week." she giggles. He smirks "damn straight." he answers before walking to the door. "Well! Don't stay too long Sir." They walk out of the room leaving the three of us in my office. Audrey looks around the office and smiles "Man, It's been too long since I've been here." she sighs. I watch Yyvonne find her usual spot on the couch. Audrey walks over to me holding her hands behind her back. "Mind If I join you?" she asks. I feel at ease seeing the smile on her face. I sit back down and offer her a spot on my lap. She takes it without hesitation "Do you need some help?" She asks. I nod "I got the report back from Yuri, Do you want to read it?" I offer. She nods "I do!" she answers. I pick the packet up and let her read it with me. 'they are living things? It's a form of parasite that feeds on its host's aura.' I frown 'That thing was feeding on Audrey's aura.' I look at Audrey as she keeps reading. 'The parasite does not benefit the host; it only damages the host's mental state and gives off a weak aura that aids in tracking.' I let Audrey flip the page 'It has an odd property that allows it to block the host's aura redirecting it to the parasite.' I had noticed that with Audrey before. 'I have found several of these things in the bodies of previous snake tribe attacks.' He wrote it down. 'That army from before.' I frown hearing Audrey sigh. "Are you alright?" I ask. She nods "Yeah, I asked Grandpa to track down some of the snake beasts in the forest." she mutters. "Why would you do that!?" I ask. She puts her finger on the packet. "I want to warn them against interacting with any leviathan tribe members," she explains. "Why?" I demand knowing the dangers she could be putting them in. "Those snake beasts that came to the village the first few months I was here, they still had auras. This gives me hope that they have avoided interacting with the Leviathans," she answers. "Why would you want to save them?" I ask not understanding her. "I want to prevent a witch hunt if I can," she mutters. "A witch hunt?" I ask. I recall what she told me before when we found it on her. "So, you want to warn them before they try to hunt your family for the blood?" I ask. She nods "If I can stop them from coming into contact with the leviathans they won't lose their auras!" she sighs leaning back on me. " Alright, I will go with you if he does find them," I answer. She nods "I would appreciate the backup." she giggles. I feel uneasy with this plan but I understand she is doing her best to preserve her family. 

That night Audrey, Kogen, and Yyvonne saw Helen, Aurora, and Loki off.  Audrey waved bye to her dad feeling uneasy about him leaving the Island but remembered he was very well-versed in danger. They watched them till she could no longer see the wagon. "We should head home." Kogen leads Audrey and Yyvonne back to their home. The next morning Audrey woke sore and tired from her choices the night before. She slowly unsticks herself from Kogen not wanting to wake him up. She was woken by the feeling of her grandfather's Aura nearby. "That old man," Kogen grumbles sleepily. Audrey giggles at his grumpy grumbles. "I hope everything is alright," she whispers freeing herself from Kogen. "We should quickly wash up and head out to see what he's got to say." she puts on her robe and gathers some clothes before going to the bathhouse. Kogen groaned not looking forward to looking at that stubborn old man. After washing up Audrey and Kogen rush to the location of the elder's aura. The auras that gather around him give Audrey some hope. They spot the elder waiting by the lake talking with a small group of snake beasts. The appearance of Audrey and Kogen startled the snakes. "Wait! wait!" the elder tries to calm them. "Please wait!" Audrey shouts. The snakes turned to her curious about what she wanted. She steps up to her grandfather. "Listen, I understand we met on the wrong foot." She starts. "What is it you want?" A man steps forward. She nods "I want to offer a peace agreement." Her words startled the snakes and Thoren. " A peace agreement? What do you want this for? We have been suffering for years and your selfish tribe has turned a blind eye!" The man frowns. Audrey nods "I understand, but you must also understand that our tribes are both being backed into a corner." her statement was true. The man closes his mouth "Why do you seek us Miss Naga?" a woman steps up. Audrey takes a deep breath "I asked my Grandfather to gather you all here so I can impart some information that might help prevent any more trouble." she states. "Why?" the woman asks. Audrey lowers her eyes before looking at the woman again. "I find what is happening to your tribe is cruel." She answers honestly. "A cruelty placed on your tribe by the Leviathan god." The woman nods "So you have become aware." The woman asks. Audrey nods "I learned of the danger the Leviathans pose to our tribes only after forcing your tribe out of the village." she explains. "I apologize for my previous transgressions." Audrey bows her head. "Is that all your reason?" She asks. Audrey shakes her head "A part of it is because one of my grandmothers was part of the snake tribe." she explains. "I see, so you wish to fix your wrongdoings?" she asks. Audrey nods "I wish to include those who made it possible for my family to remain alive." she explains. "Audrey." Thoren tries to step in. 'I trust the snake tribe was tricked by the Leviathan tribe.' the ancestor mutters. Audrey nods "I see, then I accept your offer." The woman holds out her hand. Audrey looks at the woman. "I am the Leader of the snake tribe, My name is Alma." she introduces herself. Audrey takes her hand "I am the heir of the Naga tribe Audrey." she offers her name. The woman nods before bowing her head. "We should be the ones begging for the Naga tribe's forgiveness." she starts. "We abandoned your struggling tribe when the Leviathans first offered our elders power," she explains. Audrey looks at Thoren. "My father refused to leave but The elder at the time had taken our hesitation as desertion," she explains. "We came before to ask the heir for forgiveness but, your attack only proved we have not calmed the anger in your clan." She explains. Audrey shakes her head "N... No, well it was more like one of your men took my adoptive daughter." She explains her reason for attacking. The woman seemed shocked. "I see." she sighs "I apologize for my brother's stupidity." she scoffs. "Audrey." Kogen reminds her. She nods "Right! The reason I gathered you here!" she pulls out the report Kogen had allowed her to take. "Can I ask what is causing you tribe issues?" She asks not wanting to jump the gun. She nods "A lot of our tribe members have lost their auras, They have gone crazy resulting in ending their lives." she explains. Audrey frowns "Have you noticed anything on their bodies?" She asks. The woman nods "Our coroner found odd roots inside of the deceased bodies." She answers. Audrey looks at Kogen who nods "We have found information on what it is." she hands her the packet. The woman takes a while to read the information "I was inflicted with it as well." she explains touching the back of her neck. "Thanks to my husband we managed to extract it before it caused any severe damage." The woman looks at Audrey. "W... where did you get it from?" she asks. Audrey nods "The Leviathan tribe attacked me during a trip out of the Island." she explains. The woman frowns "So the leviathan tribe has been causing our trouble." she knits her brows. "My father was right to refuse their offer." she sighs. She hands the packet back to Audrey. "I understand, we will avoid the Leviathans." She answers. "Why not come into the village?" Kogen's offer startles Audrey and Thoren. "A... are you really?" Thoren asks. He nods "If they were only seeking aid from the Naga I see why not." he answers. Audrey turns to the group wondering if they would agree. The woman looks at her group "Would that be okay?" She asks. Kogen nods "I can get things fixed up for you." He answers. Audrey looks at Thoren who seems unsure. 'Once you feel more comfortable they could be handy.' The ancestor agrees. "We will come back with our families." she answers. Audrey nods "We will wait for you at the main gates."