Gifted Pelt

Chapter 57

The storm didn't last as long as Astrila had hoped, only two days, but they have the treaty and she has a plan. The same two men are waiting at the bay, but this time another man is with them. His parka is a dark gray and he is standing just behind and to the side of the man in red. Astrila frowns slightly. A guard of some kind perhaps? The man in blue has a new parka this time, this one a slightly darker shade of blue. As the selkies approach the trio, Tonraq lays a comforting hand on Astrila's shoulder. There aren't any healings needed at the moment, so he can join Astrila and her father. Kōri is there too, just out of sight by the igluit. If anything happens, he's supposed to help them get away. Astrila frowns. She has a feeling that her father gave Kōri orders to help her specifically. The red man raises an eyebrow at Tonraq.

"Who is this?"

Tonraq speaks, his voice firm, stronger than the oldest ice. "I am Tonraq, the village healer and shaman. What business do you have in our village?"

Astrila and Kayi had filled him in, of course, but he wanted to hear it himself from the outsiders. The man in red turns to Kayi, an arrogant smirk on his face.

"Do you always let your people speak for you?"

Kayi's chin tilts up with pride. "Everyone in my village has an important role to play and they can speak their own minds. The two you see before you are equally as important to the village as the leader, so they have the right to speak for me and our people."

At last, something bothers the man in red and he shifts nervously. He turns back to Astrila, steeling himself. He must think she is the weakest-willed of the three. Oh, how wrong he is.

"As I said before, your people must vacate the island."

She raises the island. "And why would we do that? You have no right to take it from us."

He laughs. "Yes, we do. There is a valuable gold ore deposit beneath your island, and we are going to claim it."

Astrila scoffs. "Again, you have no right to take our home from us."

A cruel smile spreads along his face and his voice takes on a sing-song tone. "Your island isn't protected."

Astrila plays her hand at last. "It is, actually."

His eyes widen and take on a hint of fear. He must have been hoping they didn't know of the treaty, or at least that they didn't remember it. But he plays along as if he doesn't know what she is talking about.

"You aren't protected by the Clyde River treaty, so how could you be protected?"

Astrila looks to her father and he pulls out the copy of the treaty, showing it to the man. He glances at it briefly.

"What if we gave you a share of the money gained from the mine, would you give us the island then?"

He must be trying to use the loophole. If he can buy it from them, then he can take the island. Kayi gives him a smile, but it isn't warm.

"Why would we do that? Everything we need is here on the island."

The man in red tries again, desperate. "Wouldn't you like to live with modern comforts? Heating, air conditioning, food you don't have to hunt? We could relocate you to a place where you can have all of that."

Kayi shakes his head. "There is nothing we want, nothing we will give away our island home for. You have tried, and you have failed. Go, and do not come back."

The man rips the treaty in his hands to shreds in rage, then gives the group of selkies a sickly sweet smile. "How strange. You say you're protected, but I see no proof of that. I can't take you at your words, I'm sorry. You're going to have to vacate the island."

Astrila can see the rage that lines her father's face, so she lays a calming hand upon her arm. It takes him a moment before he stills, and Astrila waits to act until he's calm. She hums to get the man's attention and he looks to her, that insufferable smile still upon his face. She wordlessly pulls the original copy of treaty out of her belt pouch, where she had carefully folded it. She doesn't even have to unfold it before his face darkens with unbridled fury and he lunges toward her. The man in gray follows him, much faster. She stumbles back, stuffing the treaty back inside her pouch as she turns and runs. She pulls her pelt tightly around herself, just in case either of them gets close enough to make a grab for it.

She passes Kōri, still tucked out of sight, and he gives her a nod. She puts on a burst of speed as he leaps out towards the men, trying to stall them. Astrila hears his shocked cry, but she doesn't dare turn back to see what happened. She has a job to do, a dire one. Astrila races towards seal rock, staying slow enough that the men can keep an eye on her path. The plan won't work if they don't follow her to the rock. Astrila sees a group of wolves as she crosses the tundra, and one of them almost seems to bow its head to her. She begins to approach Seal Rock and she slows, preparing to make her way across the ice.
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Do you guys think her plan is a smart one? Will it end well? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.