Black Ice-Completed

Nyota travelled a great distance that night, the cool breeze gently blew against her face with the smell of cactus flowers on the wind. The desert had a beauty at night that not many could appreciate. The sand looked like ripples of water with a silver cast from the moon. As she took in the beauty, she brought the canteen to her lips to take a drink, but nothing came out. Nyota sighed and threw the canteen down. Nem had certainly pulled a fast one on her.

Not only had Nem taken her water, she had cursed the canteen so that when someone filled it up, it would later deplete so that it was as if you had never filled it.

Looking up at the moon, Nyota bared her teeth, “For your treachery, witch, should I ever find you in Azgetian lands, your life will be forfeit!”

Sighing, Nyota looked back the way she had come, contemplating on going back to the oasis. It was only a couple of hours away, whereas Kimaryn was several days. Could she make it there with just kroskisk meat?

With no good choice, Nyota started walking towards Kimaryn. There was no use in going back, she only prayed she would get to the city in a decent manner of time.

Nyota travelled only at night and would sleep during the day. She would often dig into the dry sand to make a decent size hole and have a cloth cover over the top of her much like a tent. She would eat the kroskisk meat which staved off a portion of her thirst but as she walked, she felt the heat starting to make her suffer, even though it was night.

After several days, Nyota saw firelight in the distance and cautiously made her way over. When she was several yards from the camp, she called out, “Hail friend! I come in peace and wish to break bread with you and yours!”

The men jumped up in agitation and Nyota found herself surrounded by swords. She kept her own sheathed though as the leader came forward, his features easy to read as he entered the shadows.

The man looked at Nyota and narrowed his eyes at her when the glow of the fire retracted in her eyes and made them glow her unnaturally green eyes. The man relaxed and used his hands to tell his comrades to lower their swords.

“Mi laoba, you are more than welcomed to join us at the fire,” the man said and stepped back to welcome her into the campsite.

“Amatsu! Are you sure that’s wise?” one man said as he held Amatsu’s arm in warning, his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he looked Nyota up and down.

Nyota paused as she looked back at Amatsu and the man, waiting for the all clear. She could see many packs around the fire and many canteens. Nyota was very thirsty but she would not go into a camp until she was certain all would welcome her.

Amatsu saw the lovely lady pause and turned his scowl onto his sister’s son, “Do not mind this poor paovraf, amorie. The sun, it gets to his head sometimes,” he said and then laid into his nephew in Iskrit, the language of Uscyte’s tribesmen.

Nyota acted as if she didn’t understand them, ever thankful that Veronica had taught her the language even though she was in no danger now.

“Idiot, this is a wolf shifter! If she had wanted to harm us, she could have easily snuck up on us and killed every single one of us to take our supplies!”

“She could still decide to steal our supplies!” the younger man snapped.

Amatsu had to clench his fist to keep from hitting his nephew, “She evoked the words of peace. If she should do anything, the Goddess Alta will deal with her. I have accepted her into our camp so if we should do anything, Her wrath will fall on us!”

The young man rolled his eyes, “You know I don’t follow the way of Alta. Kaseen and his words are the true ways. The High Priest has said so!”

Amatsu grabbed ahold of his nephew’s collar and shook him roughly, “Listen here boy, I don’t care to hear your psychobabble about that vile old man across the sea, if you put your cousins and younger brother in danger, I will personally chain you to Agoroth’s Rock and make sure that sand viper eats you and spits your bones out! Do you understand me?”

Nyota kept still, her face a mask of patience. Glancing over at the fire, she saw a small boy peeking out from behind a wagon wheel, his brown wavy hair falling into his hazel eyes.

“Yes Amatsu,” the young man said and stumbled when his uncle relased him with a sudden push.

“Laoba, please sit,” Amatsu said in the common tongue and graciously gave Nyota his seat by the fire, “We were just about to eat.”

Nyota gave him a smile, “Thank you, but I have plenty of food. But if you could spare some water, I would be most appreciative!”

The younger man scoffed and muttered softly in Iskrit, “I’m sure you would,”

Feigning ignorance, she didn’t acknowledge the comment, instead she smiled gratefully as another man came forward with a water bag and passed it to her, “Thank you!” she said.

As she brought the canteen to her lips, Amatsu nodded in pride, “We don’t have much water. Instead we drink Pomaberry juice. Its quite refreshing and slakes the thirst far better than water.

Nyota took a deep draw of the juice and felt it rejuvenate her better than water ever would, “You’re right, it is far better than water!” as she sat the bag down near her feet, her eyes landed on the boy staring at her in curiosity, “Come here little Loneio,” she said softly, using the Maskirin word for lion. At Amatus’s nod the boy nervously came out to stand in front of Nyota.

As he looked at her, the boy frowned and pulled a small bit of her hair into the firelight, “You don’t dye it in blood do you?” he asked as he looked down into the soft blood red curl.

Nyota laughed and shook her head, “No a’lisonia,” she chuckled and hugged the boy close, “My hair is naturally that color, just as my skin is lighter then yours,” she said as she held her arm out next to his, “We’re all different but we all are connected through our acts of kindness, compassion, and loyalty,” she said giving the script of an Alta follower.

“Didn’t think wolves followed the ways of Gods or Goddess” the young man spat and Nyota narrowed her eyes, releasing her emotions until her eyes glowed.

“Everyone believes in something, whether they are a God, a being, or even just themselves. To believe only you humans worship is ignorant,” Nyota spat as she gently put the boy away from her and passed her container of kroskisk meat to the others in the camp.

As the night wore on, many of the men went to their bedding until the only ones up were Amatsu, his elder nephew and Nyota.

“Karmia, you may rest assure you are safe, go sleep. In the morning we will depart and go our separate ways,” Amatsu said and Nyota smiled.

“Thank you for all your kindness, but I will be leaving shortly. It is easier to travel at night then during the day. But this has been a good respite,” Nyota said as she started to gather her things to pack.

“Amatsu,” the young man said softly, speaking in Iskrit once again, “Why not knock her out? She’d fetch a decent price at the slave market in Kazmyr. They specialize in shifters and furs!”

Amatsu narrowed his eyes on his nephew then looked at Nyota. She would fetch a decent price but he had stopped in slavery trade long ago. His family was not in great need and to go against Nyota’s grace would cause devastation. “NO Nygera, we have promised safety. I will not go against it,” he growled and stirred the coals to stir up the fire.

The young man glowered, then paused as a mischievous grin spread across his face, “Would it be against the words if I took her after she has left the safety of the camp?

Amatsu was about to answer when Nygera saw the old man looking over his shoulder and blanched white. Curious to see what the old man was staring at, he too turned around and came nose to nose with a giant wolf.

The muzzle of the beast was so big that it could literally take his head off in one snap. Amatsu and Nygera were so terrified that they could barely speak as the wolf looked at them, her eyes were glowing a bright green.

“Nygera,” she began in a deep hypnotic voice, the Alpha tone reflected within, “Before you make plans to take someone, first learn about your subject, such as the fact that does this person know my language?” Nyota snarled and shoved the man back off his seat and watched him sprawl onto his back in the sand, “It would do you good to listen to your elders. They are wise and still alive due to it. You may not be so lucky.”

Amatsu sat staring at Nyota, his mouth opening and closing as Nyota turned her glowing eyes onto him, “I thank you, Amatsu, for your hospitality, but should anyone from this camp come after me it’ll be your youngest that will be punished,” she growled as she moved to the side to show the young boy staring wide eyed while he stood behind the wagon wheel.

“My Karmia, no one,” he said emphasizing his words with a glare at Nygera, “will follow after you. My word is good!”

Nyota stared at the older man for several minutes, her green eyes clashing with his brown before he turned his gaze away. Giving a glare at Nygera once again, she turned away and picked up her pack in her teeth. The last thing the people of the camp saw was her tail disappearing at the edge of the firelight.

“Amatsu, you don’t really believe her? That she would come back and hurt Sasha?” Nygera growled as he stared after Nyota, his fists opening and closing in frustration.

Amatsu looked at his nephew with contempt. If the boy wasn’t his blood, he’d kill him for even thinking of putting his family in danger but before he could say anything, his oldest son came forward.

Onadai was well into his late thirties. He had his father’s soft brown eyes and white was already creeping into his black hair. Stepping forward, he brought Sasha closer to the fire as the small boy trembled, “Nygera, you are an idiot to believe that she wouldn’t come kill him. You are still learning the trade to selling merchandise. You have yet to leave Uscyte to sell to others but I have dealt with many people. If you try to take that wolf, you will die and the rest of us will be in danger due to your stupidity and greed!”

“She’s just a wolf,” Nygera snapped as he moved from the ground and swiped the sand off his clothes.

Onadai glared at his cousin’s impunity, “She’s a Black Ice wolf, you’d never even get close to her before you’d find yourself ambushed and dead. I can see the resemblance between her and the previous Alpha and she has inherited much from him. Best leave that wolf alone.”