Village Council

Zichri woke early. He went for a run. Then he returned to the village as the sun was beginning to rise. The Wolf Elder waved him over when he saw him. They were calling a council. He wouldn't say for what, but his expression let him know it was something serious. He agreed to come. Then went to his tepee so he could let Sibbecai know.

Sibbecai was sitting up when he entered. She had tears in her eyes.

"Good, you're awake," Zichri said.

"Zichri?" she asked.

"Yes, Sibbecai."

"So, it wasn't a dream. You're here. You welcomed me back. You… We mated." Several tears slid down her cheeks.

"Yes," he said, wiping her tears away."I need to leave again. I just wanted you to know that the Elders have called a council."

"Do you want to eat before you leave?"

"I'll eat later."

"Okay." She kissed him and he pulled her to her feet before giving her one last kiss and embrace.

The council took the morning and started into the afternoon. Sibbecai brought corn cakes to him before turning to leave, but he grabbed her tail to keep her from leaving. Turning back, she sat beside him and leaned her head on his shoulder. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, and he purred softly in her ear. This whole meeting was wrong. Rumors were starting to reach their village of war. Members of the Zuled tribe were getting antsy. They wanted revenge for Zichri's disappearance. The various rumors and markings the hunters had found in the last week alone, upset him. Upset him enough that he just held the corn cakes Sibbecai had brought to him, despite being hungry.

Sibbecai purred a little and he laid his head against hers. She shifted slightly beneath his arm, and broke off a piece of corn cake. Reluctantly, he took it from her hand. Tears filled his eyes. As he slowly took pieces from Sibbecai's hand, he listened to the Elders discuss possibilities to soothe the wound before it turned to war and Sibbecai's comforting purr. He had missed her so much while she was away and now that she was back, he might have to leave for a stretch of time. Sibbecai acted as if she wasn't listening, since women were not usually permitted to stay at councils. She kept her attention on getting Zichri to eat. Zichri ran his fingers through her hair.

There were a few bites more of corn cake, but he wouldn't take anymore. No matter what the council suggested, until the Zuled tribe could accept that he had become one of the Hominal tribe members their efforts at peace would not be accepted. Was there a way he could get them to accept that on his own? It seemed wrong to get the whole tribe involved just because of one member, yet that is what his old tribe was doing. Many of the other tribes had learned never to approach another, unless they meant war, so how were they going to soothe this wound?

The Elders and other men of the village were still making suggestions as darkness fell. The council decided to break until sunrise when they would reconvene to try and put a plan into action. Zichri remained by the fire with Sibbecai. The rest of the corn cake and the leaves were thrown into the fire once the others had gone.

"War may be inevitable, Sibbecai," Zichri sighed.

"Only if the Zuled tribe turns a blind eye to the truth the peace attempts would reveal."

"I don't see how they would accept it, since they wouldn't listen to me when the Tiger first changed me."

"Maybe it's a matter of speaking to the right person."

"The Zuled Elders are blind fools. They condemn the Hominal tribe for how we worship the spirits though they don't understand even the smallest part of what our people do. They are set in their ways and not likely to be open to reason."

Sibbecai was silent for a while. "Of everyone you know in that tribe, who would be the most likely to recognize you?"

"Geran or my mother."

"So, why don't we start there?"

Zichri yawned. The day had dragged as they had talked and he was ready to be done. "It may work," he mumbled, letting his head slide to her shoulder. Sibbecai helped him stand, and they walked slowly back to the tepee. Zichri was the first to fall asleep, exhausted from having sat in the hot sun all day.

Just before sunrise, Zichri woke to find Sibbecai gone. Where would she have gone? Then he remembered her question and left to make sure she had not gone to his old tribe. He sprinted, but was cautious, since he knew many of the hunters from his old tribe would be out hunting. He hid a few times as they walked passed then continued on. Sibbecai's smell was getting stronger. Zichri didn't find her until he was almost to the edge of the village. Sibbecai was sitting crouched in a cluster of bushes. Her legs were bent and her hands and arms were between them—much like how the children crouched when they were mimicking the frog.

The tip of her tail twitched as she watched the members of the Zuled Tribe walk about their village. Zichri knelt beside her, but she never turned. He felt his teeth rotate and he moved his mouth a little. It was odd feeling his old teeth, when the Tiger teeth had been in place since his changing.

"Sibbecai, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Just watching. Which one is your mother?"

"If she is mourning my disappearance, she will not be seen."

"What of Geran?"

"Likely he is currently out with the hunters."

She thought for another minute. "Would she change tepees because you are gone?"

"No."

She started to move forward, but Zichri stopped her.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting your mother."

"No, Sibbecai. It would be better to…" He stopped when he saw his mother come out of the tepee.

She wore the mourning clothes as she had for his father when he had died from disease, yet her expression was calm. She turned to the forest and seemed to look right at him. Zichri ducked lower then started to pull Sibbecai away. Sibbecai's hand slipped from his and she crouched behind a nearby tree. His mother caught the movement and started towards them.

"Sibbecai," Zichri hissed.

But she only watched and waited until she was closer.

"Zichri?" his mother asked. "Are you out here?"

He closed his eyes. First reactions never really go well. Slowly he stood and looked at her. Her eyes widened and she took a step back.

"You're one of…."

"Yes. I am from the Hominal Tribe," Zichri said.

"Zichri?" she asked, recognizing his voice. "Zichri, is that really…?"

His mother came closer and touched his face. Her fingers ran through the fur 'X' and up to his ears. Then she felt his arms and chest. Zichri could see in her eyes the same questions he had had when comparing the real thing to the Elder's stories.

"How is this possible?" she asked, as she started to move around him. He felt her hands tug on some of the fur on his back and pull his tail to make sure they were real.

"The spirit of the tiger has overshadowed me and become a part of me."

"How did this happen, Zichri?" she asked, looking at his face once more. "I don't understand."

"Sibbecai," he said, turning to her.

Slowly she stepped out from behind the tree to stand next to him. Mother's eyes widened a little more.

"It's a long story, Mother, but I want to share it with you and the Zuled tribe. We do not wish for war. Is there a place we can talk?"

His mother looked from Sibbecai, back to Zichri then to Sibbecai again. "I want to understand first before we bring in The Elders."

"Alright."

She turned slowly and led them back to her tepee. Once inside, Zichri's mother sat hard.

"Why have you discarded your people Zichri? Why…?"

"Mother, I have not abandoned our people." His ears flattened a little. "When I discovered the Hominal Tribe to be real, I left the village hoping to learn more. I got more than I bargained for."

"But why the tiger?" she asked, still having a hard time accepting that the tiger parts of Zichri were a permanent part of him now.

He sighed. "It is because of Sibbecai that the Tiger's spirit has overshadowed me."

Sibbecai kept her attention towards the tepee door, her ears moving slightly as she listened to the other members of the Zuled Tribe move about.

"It was Sibbecai who stopped me from killing the deer, because it was actually another member of her tribe. Because of that I had gone out alone to try and find her again. To confirm what it was I had seen. Geran had followed after me and was attacked by a real Tiger. Then, in my anger, I left to find her. I believed her to be the one to have attacked Geran. We ended up fighting and she bit me." Zichri pointed out the faint white scars from her teeth.

"Her bite was deep enough that it allowed the Spirit of the Tiger to join with mine. Which has changed me until I am as you see me now."

"So, all of this has happened because of her?! Then why did you bring her?"

"Because of the change, Sibbecai has also become my wife."

"Wha…? I…"

Sibbecai turned to Zichri. "Supi needs a word with me."

"If you wait a moment, I'll come with you."

"No. I'll only be gone a moment." She kissed him then left the village.