"YOU GOT HIM TO TALK?" Practically everyone in the clan said in unison after hearing the apparent, "Incredible news". Jin just laughed at them, almost confused by the sudden excitement. Jaime and Kendle started to parade him with questions, whos and wheres were seemingly essential to their own bewilderment.
"Come on now..." Touya began. "It's not that amazing...I mean the kid had to talk eventually. Besides, if he didn't, I'd be worried." The two ignored him, still amazed by Jin's amazing feat, and Jaime started to speak in celebratory rhythm.
"That's it! We have to do it!" His light voice chimed.
"Do what Jaime?" Kendle questioned with an attitude of eagerness.
"We'll be performing initiation tomorrow night!" Jaimie replied excitedly, his red ponytail dancing as he spoke. "Starting now Timmy will be accepted in our clan! Is anyone opposed!" Touya raised his hand.
"You really are too trusting sir...how do you know he's not some kind of spy for the humans?" He stated with a hint of arrogance in his assumption. Jaime's eyes flickered a shimmering green as he spoke his next words, a sentence that seemed to hit deep into Touya's mind.
"I trusted you didn't I?"
Slowly, the boy's hand lowered, and he briefly nodded.
"So what d' ya say Timmy? Would you like to join us?" Jaime asked through the crackling fire.
I thought for a moment, taking deep glances into everyone's eager expressions. They all seemed quite accepting, and not once had one betrayed me yet. Touya was still below my trust level, but I didn't want to judge him just yet. After all, there seemed to be a lot more to him than what met the eye.
"Come on Timmy. We like you." Little Shitai smiled brightly.
"Um..." I said in thinking, my eyes shifting to the side, and then I nodded.
"Hurrah!" Jaime celebrated with a thrust of his fist to the sky. "Just know dear boy, once a part of a clan, you're a member forever!" The short man said with a boyish grin. "Now, let's eat!"
Once again dinner was amazing. I scarfed everything up like a hungry little pig, once again amazing the others. Kendle and Jaime joked around together about how Shitai thought the bats were too cute to kill, meanwhile little Shitai himself had been hiding behind a large leaf to cover up his embarrassment. Jin patted him on the back, reassuring the boy that they were only kidding around, while Touya sat alone and silently ate his meal. After that the clan exchanged stories about previous hunts and spooky tales of folklore and magic, each of which I believed to the full extent. You'd believe them too if you had gone through the events I have. Then soon as the night grew old, we readied ourselves for another night of good sleep. Jaime said that we had to get up early again to hunt, so a long rest was important.
It was dark that night, so it was hard for me to fall asleep. I tried to use my fire again, but I could only use so much of it without burning up the entire tent where I had been laying for the past few hours, not to mention it was still difficult for me to even use my powers at all. It was cold too, and even with the thick blankets surrounding me it was hard not to shiver. Shadows of tree branch limbs spilled across the cloth walls, cold air burned my nose, crickets chirped and owls hooted. I was alone and afraid once again in the gloomy dullness that was night.
Hours past, and I still couldn't sleep. My eyes were on fire just from staying open too long. That was it! I couldn't just stay awake like that or I'd never be able to get up in the morning! (No telling if morning had already come.) I was cold, tired, and lonely; So very carefully I wrapped the blanket around my body and started to sneak out of my own tent. It was a bit brighter out there than what it was inside, probably because the moon was out to help light up my path. I've never loved that planet more than I did that night. It was so bright and full, however my fear still lingered.
There were three other tents. One I assumed belonged to Jaime, the biggest one to be precise, while the other two were most likely shared between the rest of the clan. I wasn't sure who was pared with who at that point, so I simply chose the one closest to me. It was a good size, not as big as Jaime's, but still good. Comfortable looking. Carefully I peeked in through the opening, letting only a little bit of moonlight shine in so that I could tell who was inside. It was Touya and Jin, both in seperate bedding. I was afraid to enter, but it seemed the darkness and the simple sound of an owl chased me in anyway. The two didn't budge, and I was careful not to step on them. In doing so I got on all fours and crawled up into the middle. They were warm in body heat, so at last I was able to fall asleep without being afraid.
When we woke up and to everyone's surprise, Jin, Touya and I had all cuddled up to each other in our sleep! Touya leaped back up against the tent walls as though he had just seen a ghost, while Jin flailed back himself, I however was a bit more calm about the situation, sitting up casually and rubbing my eyes of the sleepies that had crusted up in the corners.
"When did he get here?" Touya shouted while pointing a finger directly at me.
"How should I know? I was sleepin' soundly!" Jin retaliated.
Finally realizing what was going on, I lowered my hands from my eyes and looked around. I had nearly forgotten about sneaking in the tent with them, but seeing their scared faces and exactly where I was, it wasn't hard for me to find that memory. This made me feel awful, not to mention completely embarrassed. My eyes welled up with tears, hoping I wasn't in too much trouble.
"Gah! Don't be cryin' now Timmy!" Jin waved his hands in front of his face in a mild panic, then scooted up close to me again to pat my shoulder. "We just weren't expecting you is all." His eyes flashed like lightening bolts as he glared through to Touya who was behind him. "Comfort him!" He said almost menacingly. I could practically see an imaginary snake tongue flicker out of his mouth after his statement.
"Alright alright gee!" Touya flailed. Then he too was beside me sighing. "Yeah...sorry about us being all panicky..."
I looked to the ground, still thinking about what had just happened and not responding to Touya's statement.
"So if he talked then why won't he talk to me?" Touya said as his eyes shot back a glare to Jin.
"Probably because he's scared of ya Touya! You and your negative attitude and all!" The red head retorted. That struck Touya like a giant arrow in the heart and he toppled over just because of the abrupt retaliation. "Now then, where was I?" Jin smiled once more to continue. "You don't have to worry about it much. Here, just whisper real soft, I'll be able to hear ya! It's the ears y' know, I can hear a mile away if I wanted to!"
I smiled partially, then whipped away the access tears. The words came out nervously, even though Jin had reassured me that Touya wouldn't be able to hear me very well, it was still hard to conjure up words in front of someone I was still iffy about. Not to mention I was embarrassed by my own fear.
"Um...I...mm..." At this point, stuttering was the easiest thing I could do, it was amazing to me how I managed to continue, only this time, I decided to lean into Jin's ear so that Touya couldn't see. The boy eased into me from the side, interested in what I had to say. Touya watched, a single eyebrow raising as he tried to hear what I was saying for himself. Jin's mouth parted as he began to react to my words.
"Oooh!" His head rose a little as he spoke.
"What? What is it?" Touya replied, a bit too eager, even for him, and Jin took notice.
"A bit eager there Touya?" He laughed at his friend's expression. Touya only swiftly looked away.
"Um...no." He coughed.
"It's not too much really, but I'm gonna ask permission to tell you anyway, you know, just in case. Well Timmy? Can I tell him? I'm sure he won't laugh or anything!" Jin reassured me with a smile. I nodded. Part of me found it funny that Touya wanted to hear about it so badly, so I wasn't too scared anymore. "Timmy's just afraid of the dark is all. See, since he doesn't have anyone to sleep around, it's hard for him to fall asleep at all, so he decided to join us!" The red haired Jin explained giddily.
"Oh really?" Touya smirked.
"Now Touya, no need to laugh! You know you're afraid of things too! Everyone has a fear I'd say." Jin's eyes narrowed. "You're fear of mice for example. . ."
Touya's entire face pruned up as though he ate something extremely sour.
"AM NOT! I'M JUST A BIT JUMPY AROUND THEM IS ALL!" The blue haired male retorted. Jin laughed loudly.
"That's not what Shitai said! I asked him just the other day I did. He said that when you two were in the caves together, there was this big ol' mouse that tried to attack you, and that you nearly climbed up the cave wall because of it! Then realizing how high you were, you leaped down like a scared kitten! So that makes two fears! Heights and cute little grey rodents! Heh ha! Squeak squeak!" The wind user teased.
"That mouse was more than just big Jin...I'd like to see you handle something like that." Touya said before sticking out his tongue like a little child. I couldn't help but laugh at that, considering he had been so serious otherwise.
"You got a laugh out of him yet Touya! Good for you!" Jin clapped his hands together as though cheering on a second grade student. Touya just brushed it aside. "See, he's not so bad Timmy! A good laugh when you get to know him the right way!"
Once again I smiled at him. At least now I was getting to know everyone better.
It was a quiet afternoon. Everyone in the clan decided it would be a good idea to take a two hour break at the campus between huntings. As for me, I stayed comfortable resting on a large rock and chewing on grass blades. This was the male/goat side of me I guess, not that every man/goat is lazy, but still. Nobody was around at this point, however I did happen to hear the shuffling of feet not too far from where I sat. The others were most likely running around like usual. I perked up my goat ears to have a listen.
"This isn't good Jaime..." It was Kendle's voice that spoke first, and I continued to listen.
"Sure isn't. If they find him. . .who knows what will happen to us, not to mention our land. . ."
"I don't want him to be taken away. . ." Shitai's voice chirped. "I like him . . ."
At this point I knew for a fact that they were talking about me, so out of curiosity, I got up and walked towards where I heard their voices in the woods. I could see them past more trees, but I didn't want to get too close. They seemed to be looking at a piece of paper that was nailed to a large oak, studying it carefully as they conversed. The paper was blurry from the distance I stood, but I could tell by the long hair and bright purple eyes on the page, that it was a picture of me above the bold words,
"Wanted, Reward, 500,000,000 zenny."
I was appalled! Was I really worth that much to the spirit world? It was clear, I had to stay in hiding no matter what. No one could be trusted but my own family. My new family; The Clan of the Southern woods.