Rebel

Hintu

When we finished eating, the three siblings wanted to give us all a tour of their village. I couldn't deny that I was curious about their traditions, their food, their animals, their everything. But we had come to the north for a purpose.

And I didn't want to leave the Council members waiting. They would be waiting for me. And I didn't want to let them down, they already trusted me less than I deserved. I wanted to uphold my promise.

"Do you think we can---"

Valerya cut me off before I could ask the question again. "The Assembly will not take any visitors right now." She reminded me, her voice full of slight annoyance. "The Lunar Festival is tomorrow. No Assembly." I sighed in defeat, giving Bo a shrug. He nodded in understanding. "Well, thank you for the tour, Valerya. But I will scout the area. Get familiar with the adults." He said with a brisk nod as he turned away.

"Come, sun people, we need to show you Toundrah." Dothon said with a smile as he pushed himself to his feet. As he helped Asenka to her feet, Valerya rose. I glanced at everyone else. Hussain shrugged, offering me a simple smile. Eugene stood, grabbing my hand before I could protest and hauling me up. I muttered a thank you.

I walked over to Esmeralda, helping her to her feet. She winced, leaning back as she placed her hands on her hips. "This is going to be hard." She whispered. I nodded. "Well, I told you so." I whispered back.

Valerya walked over to us, pulling her hair out of her mouth from the soft wind picking up. "Here, Esmeralda. We can bring you to the healers. We need to see if that baby is healthy." She told her, taking her hands in hers. Esmeralda pressed her lips together to keep from frowning.

I've seen that face too many times. It means she was set on one thing only. "I'm fine," she said curtly. Her hands automatically went to her rounded stomach. Valerya gave her a flat look. "I am sure you are fine. But the baby is our first priority, is it not?" She asked with a swift lift of her eyebrow.

Esmeralda's shoulders dropped. "Yes. Yeah, I guess you're right." She agreed with a sigh. Valerya nodded. "This way."

We followed her through the crowds of people getting ready for the day. I rolled up the sleeve, looking down at the time.

8:26 ms.

It was already eight in the morning shift. "What do people do here?" Hussain asked beside me. Dothon looked back from the front of the group. "It all depends on your moons." He replied. Valerya nodded in agreement.

"Children mostly play most of the day, or help with cleaning the smaller caves. The specially selected ones get trained at a young age to become warriors, hunters, religious leaders, or even breeders." She explained. "Please do tell us what all those foolish things mean." Jako muttered sarcastically from behind.

Everyone snapped their heads to look at him. His face grew slightly red as the attention was shifted to him. I glowered at him, hoping he would feel the disgust I felt for him. But nonetheless, Valerya explained which role was which.

"Warriors are the people who guard our borders, go to fight for our lands." She said. "I am already a warrior." Dothon interrupted, puffing out his small chest. Asenka giggled, poking his side which made him wheeze. "You are nothing but an annoying little brother." She teased.

"You're older than him?" Hussain chuckled. Dothon rolled his eyes. "She is only one moon older than me." He complained. Asenka beamed proudly. "You are still little." She said, sticking her tongue. Dothon returned the favor, stepping across Valerya to reach his other sister.

Valerya rolled her eyes. "Huut." She said, shoving him away.

Huut was a small gesture or emphasis in the Nomadic dialect when someone meant to stop something. It didn't mean an actual hut like in CL. Dothon stumbled away from Asenka, grumbling in protest. Valerya continued. "Like I mentioned before, hunters are chosen. It cannot be just anyone. They have to be great people in order to honor the food we eat."