Gifted Pelt

Chapter 24

It takes over an hour to go through all of Ainsley's questions, and by the time they get through all the questions, Astrila can't even remember her fear over her running. There is a shout from the distance and Ainsley looks up. There are some more shouts and she stands, giving Astrila a small smile.

"I have to go now, can we talk some more later?"

Astrila smiles warmly. "Of course."

Ainsley darts off through the snow, her boots sinking up to her ankles, but not farther than that. Her footprints remind Astrila of her fear, and Astrila swallows nervously. She tries to hide it and looks up at Kōri, her gaze questioning.

"What are we going to do now?"

"I would take you to one of those spots I told you about, but you can't use your hands or their flipper counterparts. So that's out while you heal. Why don't you go spend some time with your father?"

Astrila shifts nervously. "Won't he be busy?"

"At most, he'll be walking around the island checking on everything. You won't be bothering him."

Astrila sighs and forces herself to stand. She can't let herself be afraid of talking with her father. In fact, why is she afraid? He won't hurt her. She doesn't realize Kōri stood as well until he places his hands on her shoulders.

"Astrila, what's wrong? I may not have known you for long, but I can tell that this isn't like you."

She sighs and twists around to look at him in the eyes. "Is it wrong to be scared?"

"Why are you scared?"

"I'm scared of what my running ability means, I'm scared that if he finds out, then I'll be kicked off the island. I know it's irrational, but I'm scared."

Kōri pulls her into a hug and murmurs into her hair. "It's alright to be scared, Astrila. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't go talk to him."

She looks down at the snowy ground, resisting the urge to wring her hands. "Alright."

"Good. Let's go find him."

Astrila nods and follows Kōri away from their iglu. They stop at Kayi's igluit pair first, but he isn't there. A wind passes her and she shivers, blinking as the wind stings her eyes. When she opens her eyes again, there appears to be a shimmering tendril of air stretching out across the island. She squints at it, trying to figure out what it could be. She almost stumbles when a voice speaks from the back of her mind, her magic.

"Follow it."

"What is it?"

There is silence from her magic and she internally sighs. So it wants her to follow something but won't tell her what she is following. Great. She glances at Kōri and nudges him to make him stop. He looks at her, eyes slightly wide in confusion.

"What is it?"

She carefully motions with one hand in the direction of the tendril. "We should go that way."

He frowns slightly, raising his eyebrow at her. "Are you sure?"

"No, but my magic is."

His eyes widen in shock. "Is your magic taking control again or did it speak to you?"

"It spoke to me."

"Did it say why you should go that way?"

Astrila shakes her head and hesitates before speaking. "No, but I can see this shimmering tendril of air stretching in that direction. My magic won't tell me what it is but it's telling me to follow it. So we should follow it."

He shrugs. "Alright then. Follow the tendril. You're leading the way though because I can't see it."

She grins lightly and starts off toward the tendril, shining like a beacon, brighter than the glittering snow. As she gets closer to it, she examines it, curious. The tendril is moving slightly, the air within following the currents of the wind. Astrila waves a gloved hand through it, and the air within the tendril stirs slightly, but the tendril itself remains unchanged. She follows it across the tundra, her keen eyes following it across the snowy expanse. There is a movement in the distance and she halts, surprised to see caribou on the island.

Kōri doesn't see it yet. "What is it?"

Astrila wordlessly points to the light brown animal and has to hold in her gasp when more appear beside it. It's a herd of caribou, not a single animal. Kōri chuckles from beside her.

"You didn't expect a herd here?"

Astrila shrugs. "I don't know how big the island is, so I can't say."

Kōri frowns. "I'd say that the island is big enough for a herd of caribou to roam on, but it isn't their full territory. They swim across to where your village is. We have a small pack of wolves here that hunt the caribou. The island is big enough for them."

"Do the wolves ever attack the selkies?"

"Yes, but it's very rare for them to attack if we aren't in seal form."

Astrila nods and continues along the tendril, tracking the caribou herd with her eyes as they make their way across the tundra.
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What do you think about this island information? What was that tendril from? What does it mean? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.