VIXEN - The Legend of the Five Totems

Chapter 10 - Nighttime on the Serengeti

The savanna is alive in a way that Detroit never is. Whoops of nighttime animals and the piping of nocturnal birds are everywhere. Some sheep and goats can be heard bleating from the simple wooden pens on the outskirts of the village. Even though Mari and her sister, Ella, have come into the wilderness outside Tantunu, they can still hear the occasional bark of laughter or the trailing lilt of a song from the dinner fires, where the village gathers nightly for their dinners, story-telling, and song.

The two have been walking in silence, simply enjoying the endless sea of sky above, the sounds of nature around them, and, most importantly, the company of one another. Five years is so long that it's almost impossible to talk about. But also, with sisters, five years is only a heartbeat away, and sometimes, when a heartbeat is passed, not enough has happened to discuss.

They come to a massive boulder that they have long known was out of place in this part of the land. Dirt has settled around it in such a way as to create an incomplete ramp. Mari opts not to use the ramp. Instead, she funnels the energy of a frog through her legs and hurls herself up to the top of the boulder. From here, she looks down at her sister and smirks.

Ella smiles back. When she calls on her power, Mari can feel the heat even from the several meters between them. Surprisingly, there is no blast of fire, just heat that propels her sister into the air. Then, as she reaches the peak of her flight, a good meter and a half above her, Ella reaches out behind her and a short burst of flame ripples out of her hand and she covers the distance to the top of the stone.

"Impressive!" Mari says. "I had no idea you could fly."

"You are not the only one who has been practicing the use of your totem, sister."

"No, I guess not. Nor would I expect such to be the case."

The two stand arm in arm as they look out from the platform over the sea of life before them.

"Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you never left the village?" Ella asks quietly.

"All the time," Mari says, just as quietly. "I do miss it here, you know."

"Why did you not return sooner?"

"There are many reasons. At first it was because I wanted to finish my degree. Then, when my scholarship money dried up, it was because I was living in one of the most expensive cities in the world and I made nowhere near the money it would have required to come back here. Then, it was because I felt Lady Liberty needed me."

"Lady Liberty?"

"The statue at the mouth of the Hudson River. She is not as big as she thinks she is, nor as strong. The green that colors her is protection, but her enemies are many, and Tantu's Totem came to me I think because I am bitten by a wanderlust."

"You have too much of our ancestors in you."

"It is sometimes hard to dispose of generations of nomadic customs. The desire runs deep in some of us. It helps keep our people strong. Just as much as the need to settle down and stay here."

Ella releases her sister. Mari can feel the temperature increase just a little.

"I get cold easily. The fire sustains me, but it also sets a standard for me. Where are you now?"

"Detroit. It is a city in the mid-west. It is near Canada, and many think it is a dead city, or at least, one that is dying, but I do not see that. Winters in the north are amazing, and in autumn, the plants ready themselves for the long sleep that is winter. Then, come spring, they awaken. That is what Detroit is. It is a city in hibernation, but soon, it will awaken, and when it does, I should be there."