Icebound

Chapter 12

Thank you so much for sticking with this story! This is the longest I've ever forced myself to stick to one story, so I'm excited for it to continue! I'd love to hear any feedback you may have :)

XXX

Anyu hovered on the edge of consciousness. She tossed and turned, trying to anchor herself in the world of dreams for as long as possible. She'd been having a bizarre and somewhat frightening dream. She'd been out on a hunt, all alone, when a polar bear attacked her. The dream ended right before the bear's teeth had sunk into her flesh.

Anyu's eyes shot open and she sat up as she realized that the bear hadn't been a dream. She quickly took in her surroundings. She was lying on a mat in an unfamiliar igloo. The floors and walls were covered with matted brown furs and dull sunlight illuminated the icy walls from the outside. Kano and Shesh were nowhere to be seen.

Anyu's eyes widened as she remembered another detail of the fight. Shesh had been hurt. He'd attacked Nanuk to save her. Anyu's stomach felt as frozen as the cold winter wind. Why wasn't he here? It couldn't be that he was... Anyu couldn't bring herself to imagine it.

She turned to look at the igloo's entrance at the sound of approaching footsteps crunching through the snow. A second later Kano pushed through the furs over the door and entered.

"Where's Shesh?" She demanded immediately, standing up. She marched to the door, intent on searching for him herself, but Kano blocked her path.

"Whoah, easy there." He tossed the kindling he'd been carrying to the side before turning to face her. "Shesh is fine. Don't bother checking, he's out with Denigi." He added when he saw Anyu move to go outside.

"Denigi?" Anyu arched an eyebrow.

"A friend of mine." He moved past her and took a seat on one of the pillows on the floor. "She really helped us out after that night, healed us and fed us and everything. Don't worry, they should be back any minute."

Scowling, Anyu returned to her mat. The hide was plain and undecorated but soft and comfortable to sit on.

"How long have we been here?" She asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"About two days," Kano replied.

Two days. That made it four days since she had left her tribe. Anyu put her head in her hands and tried to breathe deeply. Four days with one less hunter to gather food. How many would go hungry because there wasn't enough food to go around? Would Anik starve thanks to her recklessness? The shame fell on Anyu like an avalanche. She reached up to hold her tamga- and clutched at empty air.

Before Kano could register her movement, she had pounced at him, shoving him to the floor and holding her dagger to his throat.

"Where is my tamga?" She growled through grit teeth. He'd been the one to tell her about its magical properties in the first place, and she'd seen for herself what it could do when she'd cut his chains- an action she was quickly coming to regret. It seemed obvious that he'd stolen it from her to keep the magic for himself. Well, he wasn't going to get away with his thievery that easily.

Kano remained perfectly still, trying to avoid his skin being sliced by the knife's sharp edge. "I don't have it," he said. His voice sounded completely calm and collected, but his eyes kept darting to the blade held at his throat.

Anyu narrowed her eyes. She didn't quite believe him, but if he wasn't going to confess with a knife to his throat, there wasn't much more she could do to get a straight answer.

"But you know where it is," She prodded. His unwavering gaze suddenly faltered, his eyes refusing to meet hers. That little scoundrel- he did know where it was! She was going to wring his neck-

"What on earth is going on here?" An unfamiliar voice exclaimed from the door.

Anyu turned to look at who had spoken and her knife slipped out of her grasp, clattering against the hard floor. It was a middle-aged woman, an expression of mingled surprise and anger written on her face. Although it was clear that she was aging, it was also impossible to deny her beauty. Clear blue eyes looked out from a narrow, smooth skinned face. Her eyelashes seemed to go on forever, as did the long tumble of black hair that flowed down to her waist. But Anyu barely even registered all of these other features. Her eyes were too distracted and awed by the graceful curve of the antlers that sprung from the woman's head. She must have had to bend down almost to the floor to enter the igloo with those things. As it was, they brushed the ceiling, sending flakes of snow and ice fluttering down as she walked forward.

"I have no patience for violence, child," She said severely, her icy blue eyes locking with Anyu's muddy brown ones. Her voice brooked no argument.

"I... You..." Anyu sputtered for a moment, searching for the words. She knew that it shouldn't have shocked her. Hadn't she just seen a man turn into a polar bear right before her eyes? But that had been in an almost dreamlike place, in the midst of battle. Looking back on it now, she could have easily convinced herself that it had been just a trick of her mind. But standing before this woman's imposing figure, she had no choice but to accept it as the truth.

She let go of Kano's collar, and lowered her head respectfully. "I... I apologize," She choked out. "Thank you for taking us in and looking after us."

The woman's stern face cracked like a mask, revealing a friendly smile and two rows of brilliant white teeth. "Come," She said, beckoning Anyu to sit down near her. "It seems there is much we have to discuss."