Ah! I'm so sorry for the wait! I had three school projects to finish and had absolutely no time to write! I literally just wrote this chapter an hour ago, so feel free to tell me if you see any grammar or spelling errors. I was half paying attention and was very rushed to finish this chapter because my mom just got out of the hospital yesterday and even now, I have to take care of her. Please R&R~! Since summer is coming, I hope to update much quicker! I'm not sure if I like this chapter, but I'm not going to rewrite it now! Hopefully the next one won't be as rushed. Enjoy my two hour work! Oh! And "toqguos" means "twin"
The sun passed the noon mark of the day and disappeared behind a cloud. Most of the forest was quiet, except the occasional chirping of birds or the sticks breaking from a nearby deer. Above the tree-line, wingspan of seventy-five inches, a grand bird let out a loud squall. Dyami-Yuma eyes snapped open and he jumped up, hitting the branch above him.
"Ow!" he cried, falling back to his knees while rubbing the back of his head. The bird perched itself on the tree and stared down at the half-nation. "Kwahu, stop doing that to me! You're going to give me a concussion someday..." he looked up and scolded the eagle. "Tch... do you want food? Is that it? Why can't you go hunting on your own, huh?" The bald eagle leaned forward and squalled again, flapping its wings and hovering down to sit on Dyami's shoulder.
The native leaned his head over to the side as the bird's sharp talons clutched to his shoulder. "What am I going to do with you..." he said, standing up and looking around. "I was asleep longer than I thought... my toqguos will be arriving soon."
Weaving his way through the large forest, the chief's son sat down at the rivers edge, dipping his legs into the cool water. He sighed contently and ruffled the back of his guardian bird's feathers with his hand. "Hey, Kwahu... did you see the strange white person today? I saw him looking around with a really long, silver stick. I gave him some food, but there was this strange feeling around him... Almost like my mother's," he mumbled. Kwahu turned his head and began nipping at Dyami's ahoge. "Ow! Ow! Stop it!" He pushed the bird off his shoulder and slid more into the river. "Go eat a mouse or something if you're not going to help me!"
The boy pouted as his friend flew away; quietly he crouched down in the quick moving river, letting the water rise above his chest and slap him in the face. "Stupid bird..." he thought.
The river led straight to the ocean if one went through its twists and turns through the east. To the west, a large waterfall fell into a larger lake; Dyami stared and looked at both ways before curiosity hit him once more and he swam east. Slipping under the surface, the native quickly reached the bank of the river, crawling up the sandy dirt and into the grass. Though his spying skills weren't great, being a hunter gave all of his people the skill to move quietly.
Glancing up, Dyami gasped and slapped a hand over his mouth. Thin, white clouds were attached to a long tree, blowing desperately in the wind. The `tree` was connected to... to... a giant house? Dyami-Yuma squinted and continued to stare at the object. Was this the eyebrowed man's home? He moved his way through the grass and slid behind a rock.
"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be helping the others will the food?"
"Oh! My apologize, Captain. I lost track of time... I'll go do that right now!"
Dyami watched as another white-skinned man talked to his familiar yellow haired one. A small smile escaped his lips as the other person left, leaving him all alone with the stranger. The man faced the ocean and sighed, leaning his weight over to his left foot and placing his hands at his hips; Dyami couldn't help but notice that the strange clothing he wore clung very tightly to his butt. Pressing his lips together, the native peered more from behind the rock. The white-man looked up at the sky and talked aloud in his different language –causing the yuma to cock his head in confusion.
"Another personification... not really looking forward to that..."
As Dyami continued to stare, Kwahu descended from the sky, landing with a soft thud near the native's feet. He nipped the man's toe and squalled.
Dyami whipped his head around and grabbed the bird, holding his beak together with his thumb and index finger. The yellow-haired man turned around, sword already in hand.
"Who's there?" he demanded, walking slowly to the rock, eyes alert. Dyami wrestled silently with his guardian bird, trying to keep him quiet. Kwahu squeezed through his partner's arms and sauntered out in front of the Englishman. "Oh my.. well you're quite the large bird..." The native's eyes widened in fear. He wasn't going to hurt Kwahu was he? He listened to the sounds of the man's boots clicking on the ground, coming closer. Dyami couldn't take the chance.
Rolling out from behind the rock, Dyami grabbed the bird and landed in a crouch. The green-eyed man sucked in a quick breath and didn't move. The two had a silent stare-down until Kwahu clambered out of Dyami's arms and walked onto his back. The native broke his eye contact with the Englishman and reached back to his friend. "Enõmbre-kan-to yo nah!" he said aloud, causing the other man to rise a brow.
Arthur watched the native wrestle with the large bird, spitting out words and phrases in his home's language. He looked down at his drawn sword and sighed, taking it and slipping it back inside the sheath. "I remember you," he said, catching the native's dark brown eyes with his. "You were the lad who gave me some food... Thank you... for that..." With little fear, he held out his hand. "My name is Arthur Kirkland."
Dyami-Yuma looked at the pale hand in front of him, letting Kwahu fly away. Something about the way the man spoke made his body shiver. "I... can't understand you..." he said in his native tongue, still looking at the hand –half expecting it to do something.
The native-American language was quite hard to decipher. It wasn't like any of the languages that Arthur learned from the other nations. Instead of withdrawing his hand, he crouched down and took the others in his; it was larger, rougher, and especially darker toned than his own. He smiled when the native didn't pull away, only tensed his shoulders when the Englishman touched him. "Arthur," he repeated, shaking the boy's hand and using his other hand to point to himself.
Hand contact with the stranger definitely made the chief's son's mind go blank. He parted his lips and glanced up into the grass-green eyes. With words bubbling up into his throat, he mumbled out, "Dyami..." and shook the hand back. Pursing his lips again, he pointed to the man and repeated. "Arthur."
Arthur's face lit up; he never expected a real response from the native. "Dyami... your name is Dyami?" he asked, pointing to the boy. He received a nod and another mumble of his name.
The two sat down and continued to talk in their different languages, pointing and asking about the objects and clothing the other wore. The sun drifted down to horizon. Dyami's shoulders relaxed and he let out a laugh when he couldn't get Arthur to understand something he said. Arthur chuckled lightly and glanced around, wondering if there was anyone watching.
"Dyami... I was wondering, are your people aware of mine?" he asked slowly, spending the last hour or so trying to teach and learn languages. Nations often learn things much quicker than humans; the fact that this one native caught onto his language so quickly made him wary.
"I..." the native scrunched his eyebrows down as the English rolled off his tongue. "I think I am... t-the only... one." Arthur nodded to the broken words and sat back.
"We should probably-" He was caught off when Dyami stood up, eyes alert. "What? What's wrong?" he asked, standing up, following the gaze of his new friend.
The wind blew by, carrying the mist from the ocean and a cool breeze to make Arthur shiver. "The drums..." Dyami said quietly. "They are here... I must go..." He began to run off; the blond reached out and grabbed the taller's arm.
"Wait!" he shouted, finally taking interest in someone on this unfamiliar land. "Can we... will we meet again...?" Chocolate brown eyes looked back at him and a warm, heart-melting smile gave him his answer. Reaching into his pocket, the native pulled out one of Kwahu's feathers and propped it behind Arthur's ear.
"Promise," he said and disappeared into the trees, leaving the Brit alone on the shore.
Dyami-Yuma ran faster than he ever did, a genuine smile grazing his lips as he let out a whoop. "Arthur," he repeated. "Arthur, Arthur, Arthur~!"
The village was filled with cheering people and the happy cries of two tribes meeting. Dyami searched the crowd and found his mother –who was crying in joy and hugging her human husband –his father.
"Father!" He shouted, feeling slightly odd when talking back in his own language. The boy made his way through the crowd and ran to his father. "You're back!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around the growing-old man.
"Yes, yes! Oh my, you look exactly the same," the chief said, pulling his son back by the shoulders and giving him a long stare. "It's been a long time!"
"Where's my hug?" a small voice came from behind. Dyami peered over his father's shoulder and his smile grew wider.
"Ahmik!" he cried, pulling his smaller-built twin into a tight hug. "Oh I missed you, my togquos! How were the snow-mountain range?"
Ahmik-Yuma, Dyami-Yuma's twin brother, smiled and hugged him back. "It was cold! But my people brought back a lot of meat and my hunting skill improved... I may be as strong as you one day!" The brothers left the loud tribes and sat by one of the fire's. "Your coronation is almost here... are you nervous? Father was twitching the whole time when we were walking back."
Dyami laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "A little, I guess. I'm not sure if I want to lead everyone just yet." He smiled at his brother's words. "Strong as me, huh? I doubt it," he joked. "That's like me being as smart as you."
Ahmik smiled back. "Like that would ever happen."
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