the false shaman

Rumbleback, he and his wife didn't talk much these nights, their baby girl always slept early, they did not want to wake her up.

born last week, there was left only two more weeks for the celebration cause, the parents ought to wrap their girl in the most expensive white wolf skin or the finest silver one, the tribesmen attending will perform the sacred stormsong dance, they had to present a variety of dishes for them.

it was a delightful matter for everyone other than the parents themselves.

"dear, will you be able to get the...wolf skin?" his wife lightly spoke in his ears, she kept glancing at the girl wrapped in fur beside their bed.

"sigh, Dusknose did not accept as you foresaw." he paused"Fay, I fear we do not have much time, we will do with what we own...." though he portrayed a calm facade, his heart felt heavy.

"NO, MY GIRL WILL GET WHAT HER MOTHER GOT!" anger and sadness mixed together, she faced her husband and shouted, the little girl woke up and started crying.

Rumbleback silently wore his clothes, pushed her back, and comforted his child.

the celebration cause was an important tradition of their tribe, every single tribesman was obliged to hunt a wolf for his newborn daughter, not simple but not too difficult a task, considering they had a little less than nine months to prepare.

but this year the matter was tricky to handle, he kept asking, nevertheless, not a single white wolf was sighted at the wood's vicinity, only brown ones, but using those was most shameful.

"if you must help your daughter, then.....make a divination." he supported his child with his left, he gazed at his wife, his trembling right hand pointed at the firepit, made with stones and sticks, lying at the edge of the house.

Fay turned her head staring at the firepit for a second, she clenched her fists, made up her mind"I_I'll do it again, I'm not afraid of the shaman." she walked while trembling.

divination is a practice made by ancient shamans to foretell specific future events, each tribe used different methods. for the Stormsong tribe, a firepit was needed, a drop of blood required for the subject of divination, furthermore, the spiritual ability of the shaman which was the most prominent factor.

and thus, if anyone had heard what they were talking about they'll be shocked beyond belief, Fay was not the shaman, how could any women just casually perform this sacred ritual...

Rumbleback helped his wife in igniting the fire, as for Fay she held a small needle-like bone in her hand, she drew a few drops of blood from her daughter's hand gently rubbing her ears, trying to soothe the crying girl.

she used an animal skull to store the blood, the fire slowly grew higher and higher, Fay raised her hands her eyes closed, her forehead filled with sweat, she was a step away from the pits burning flames.

opening her eyes widely, she didn't make a single move before her husband threw the skull with the blood on the fire, the fire flames became hotter as it grew smaller, the child cries were concealed by the storm and the booming lightning.

'bam' 'bam'

the fire vanished leaving behind a black firepit, smoke floated up, Fay's eyes opened wide as she concentrated on the smoke, she saw a big tree, a child, and a silver furred wolf" head for the woods, find the child, obtain the wolf"her voice became ghostly, yet Rumbleback was collected in the entire process.

'the woods, hah' he gritted his teeth as he made up his mind.

he supported his woman as she was about to faint, he carried her to their bed which was a big brown bearskin.

"you've done well, go sleep once rain stops I'll get the skin, no matter what." his eyes glinted

"okay"

*********

many nights passed without any sign of the storm stopping, the tribesmen worried but the couple worried more, fortunately for them, the sky became clear five days later.

wearing his hunting clothes, he carried his ax and the spear he sharpened every single day, he was about to leave when he noticed his wife standing beside the door looking down.

"what is it?" he looked at her sternly

"a_after you find the wolf, y_you must kill him"

"haha, woman, will I let him kill me? of course I'll kill him, we need his skin." he laughed as he started moving.

"I meant the boy" she raised her head and saw Rumbleback's face distorting, she got scared and started to explain"if_if you bring him back to the tribe and that bitch made divination using his blood, they'll find about me, they'll kill me!"

"....."

******

Rumbleback stared into space, he kept pondering the mess they were in.

"hey, why the gloomy face, it's our first hunt in the year, let's go, the leader is waiting."Blubbertongue had the same cheerful smile, he greeted his friend as he exited his hut.

a hunt has its own rules and regulations, a single person could not enter the forest alone, he must join a group or form one, the group's tribesmen should be recognized by the chief as hunters before they could hunt.

Rumbleback was in the chief's brother group, a group of seven strong hunters.

"Okay," both made their way to the village's west as they reached the place known as the beast's edge, the border that separates the forest and village.

whenever the hunts begin you would notice a lot of villagers standing near this beast's edge, either being hunters or family members blessing their relatives.

each person joined his respective group, Blubbertongue and Rumbleback soon found Tumblehunter and the others, they greeted their comrades and moved.

Blubbertongue looked back, he waved at the direction where his old mother was standing and continued on his way.

his mother looked worried, though she couldn't be blamed, the last fiew times many didn't return.

"don't worry, they'll be okay."Fay comforted the old woman.

"How can you be certain?" she asked.

'because I had a divination' certain things could not be disclosed.

"they are in Tumblehunter's team, they're strong." she assuredly spoke.

"i_i hope." the old woman held a bone tooth and muttered prayers.