Chapter 7 The Chase
The elephant made a short charge; a warning. He made two more such charges, ears flared and trumpeting loudly. Dust flew up in the air from his large feet when he entered the gully.
Amba and Moriko, choking from the dust, backed up along the gully floor, going sideways along the steep bank rather than climbing out. The elephant, which had come from the direction they were headed, was now facing north, the direction he had just come from. He trumpeted again and shook his huge head but didn't move. As Amba and Moriko backed away some more, the elephant lifted his trunk and sniffed. Lowering his trunk after a few minutes, he turned and made his way down the gully.
"I don't want to do that again." Moriko sighed with relief. Being a youkai with supernatural abilities, Amba could have easily stopped the elephant. But neither he nor Moriko had any wish to harm such a magnificent animal, even though being charged by a large bull elephant is scary, no matter who or what you are.
The gully, surrounded by trees and brush in most places, was fairly cool in the shade; but the late afternoon sun beat down on the parts that weren't shaded. Stopping in one such shaded area, Amba again looked for signs that animals knew where a water source was. From the tracks, Amba guessed that the animals used this as a regular trail, moving from one place to another; most likely from food to water.
"We'll keep following along here," Amba told Moriko. "It might lead us to water."
Moriko nodded. Youkai, at least the youkai she knew, didn't need food, water or sleep as much as humans. But Africa tends to get hot and she was getting thirsty.
"So what is this 'wandering soul' you mentioned?" Moriko was as interested in Amba as he had hoped. He was charming with a sense of humor. He was aware of the seriousness of their situation but didn't let it suppress his cheerful nature.
"I'm not content to sit at home. I want to see the world, learn what I can."
"So how much of the world have you seen?"
"Mostly the Japanese docks and university." Amba laughed. "On advice from an uncle, I came straight down from my home in Siberia. Got a job at the docks and started school."
"So now you're stuck here in Africa, being chased by horrible humans."
"At least I get to see Africa." He glanced over at Moriko. "Africa isn't so bad and the company is nice."
Moriko blushed, shaking her head. "What about the men chasing us?"
"We'll deal with that when the time comes." Amba gave her a confident smile. "What about your Father? Will come looking for you?"
"Most definitely." As she walked, she gathered her thoughts. She wanted to tell Amba everything. Of course, she wasn't sure how her Father would feel about that, but Amba was risking his life for her and deserved to know the whole story.
"Father won't be very happy either." Moriko glanced at Amba. "I'm sure you've wondered about my being half youkai."
"Well I kind of assumed your mother was human since your father is a youkai."
"But you still wondered about that."
"From what we have heard, your Father doesn't care much for humans, so yeah, your mother being human is a bit of a surprise."
"It's a long and complicated story." Moriko scuffed her feet in the sand. She wondered what Sherrin thought of the current situation and how she was taking it. She knew her father would be angry. 'Why of all times for this to have happened?' Moriko asked herself.
"Well, you can tell me the story when you're ready." As much as he wanted to know about Moriko's family, they were still on the run and in need of water. Pushing his curiosity aside for now, Amba looked around for tell-tale signs of a water source. Seeing nothing but the sandy gully, not even an animal, Amba continued down the dry watercourse. "Right now we need to find water." Not only did they need to keep hidden, they needed water and eventually they'd need food.
The shadows were getting longer as the sun slowly made its way toward the horizon. They picked up their pace, following the trail down the gully. At one point, they followed the trail up out of the gully as the way was blocked by brush, most likely placed there by a long ago flood. A hundred yards further, the trail went back into the gully. After an hour, the gully ended and they found water. Unknown to Amba and Moriko, they had entered Addo National Elephant Park.
Lenka was barely able to control his anger. His plans had always worked. This time, nothing seemed to go as he wanted. He lay in bed, going over the events of the day.
Killian had wasted time by cutting short his first search and coming back to report to Lenka. Then more time was wasted waiting for the extra men and the helicopter. Finally able to start a more detailed search, Lenka had thought things were finally going his way. Once in the air, he radioed orders to the two search teams on the ground. One team went west and north from the estate; the other team went east and north.
Lenka had the pilot fly low so he could search for movement. He had thought he'd have a better view of the surrounding area. Which he did in the open areas; but wooded areas he couldn't see thing. As far as he could see, nothing moved. He called his men to have them widen their search.
On the ground, Killian could hear the helicopter. He and his team were headed east and north. He looked up at the helicopter and shook his head. If he could hear it, so could the prisoners. They could go to ground, hide somewhere. In response to Lenka's orders, he spread out his men, about a hundred yards between them to cover more ground. The problem was, they hadn't found anything so far.
"Here!" One of the men yelled out. Killian walked over and looked at what the man had found. One set of human tracks. They appeared out of nowhere and led toward the west, lasting about 50 feet before disappearing again. Killian wasted more time looking over the tracks trying to find where they came from or where they went. He swore. "It's a trick, trying to lead us in the wrong direction." He gathered all his men and sent them in a more easterly direction to search.
As evening grew closer, the shadows longer and the sky darker, one of Killian's men stumbled down a bank.
"Hey boss!"
Killian made his way to where the man, one of the poachers, was standing in a gully. The gully was a dry stream bed. The dusty sand was a jumble of tracks. Killian wasn't a good tracker, he couldn't make out anything.
"Lots of animals here." The poacher, who went by the name Senzo, pointed to the tracks. Being a poacher, he had learned to read tracks and other signs that wildlife left. "Animals move along here, searching for water." He looked at Killian. "Easiest way to go for someone on the run."
Killian agreed. "Let's go." He called the rest of the men. A few minutes later, the men were heading down the gully. Killian radioed Lenka and let him know what they found and where they were going.
"Any human tracks?" Lenka had the pilot fly in the direction Killian had indicated even though it was getting too dark for him to see.
"Not yet, but there's so many animal tracks all mixed up it's hard to tell." Killian kept an eye on Senzo. The man was obviously a really good tracker; hopefully he'd find something.
Senzo looked up at the sky, noting how dark it had become. "Can't track in this light." He looked over at Killian. "Won't find anything now. Come back at first light."
"You find anything?"
Senzo nodded. He pointed to a scuff mark that Killian couldn't make heads or tails of. "Scuff mark, made by heel of boot."
Killian called Lenka, telling him they found a track, but it was too dark to continue.
Lenka sighed. "Very well, head back to the estate. We'll head out again at first light." Lenka wasn't happy about having to call off the search, but at least this time they had a lead. He instructed the pilot to go back to the estate. Once there, he told the pilot he wasn't needed anymore. While his men made their way back in the dark, Lenka had the cook make him dinner. He didn't think of his men, as far as he was concerned, they could fend for themselves.
Lenka enjoyed his meal, a variation of Sweet Lamb using imported Big Horn Sheep with dried prunes, pear, white raisins, blanched whole almonds and seasoned with ground cinnamon, sugar and orange blossom water and served with rice, salad and bread. Afterwards, he went to prepare for bed. He started the shower, got out pale purple silk pajamas and laid them on the bed and put his cell phone down on the nightstand. Heading into the bathroom, he tossed his clothes on the floor for the maid to pick up, and took a long hot relaxing shower. Once he felt a bit more relaxed, he stepped out of the shower, dried himself off, wrapped the towel around himself and went into the bedroom. He tossed the towel and dressed in the pajamas. As he was settling into bed, his cell phone rang. Picking it up he snapped "What?"
"This is Roka," the voice said. Roka was the man in charge of the rhino.
"What do you want?" Lenka got a sinking feeling about this call. Roka sounded nervous.
"The truck delivering the rhino had an accident and the rhino escaped." Roka was glad he wasn't anywhere near Lenka. As it was, he was sure he would be fired at best, missing at worst.
"If you show up in two days without a rhino, I will personally make sure you never work another day in your short life!" Lenka couldn't believe it. After all his planning, all his hard work, not only was the shipping company deal slipping away, the rhino hunt was going sour too. He managed to get his anger under control before throwing his cell phone against the wall. 'Maybe tomorrow will bring better results' he thought. Using a meditation technique, he calmed his frayed nerves and was finally relaxed enough to sleep. He wanted an early start in the morning, an end to this crisis that seemed to be getting out of hand.
Hi'Iki slowly made his way into the valley, following a vague trail through the dense forest. He couldn't see far as the trees and under brush were thick but he sensed that he was being watched. Even though he had sent a message ahead to let the Tiger Folk know he was coming, he didn't want any misunderstandings about his arrival. The Tiger Folk would know he wasn't human and he had no idea how often they met other youkai like themselves, if at all.
Hi'Iki stopped when he sensed a presence close to him. A tall man, with chestnut red hair streaked with black, golden eyes and an athletic build, suddenly appeared. He was wearing clothes that blended into the forest: a dark green shirt, black jeans and hand made moccasins. In contrast, Hi'Iki's shirt was white with turquoise trim on the shoulders and collar and his pants were white.
"You are Hi'Iki". He had a deep gravely voice.
Hi'Iki nodded. "I've come on behalf of the Great Dog Demon, Sesshoumaru."
"We have heard of him. I am Alik, leader of the Tiger Folk." Alik motioned for Hi'Iki to follow him. "So what does the Great Dog Demon want of us?" Alik asked as they made their way through the forest to the village.
"There has been an incident and it seems one of your clan members may be involved." Hi'Iki was hesitant to reveal exactly what happened. Depending on the youkai, such a revelation might reflect badly on Sesshoumaru; allowing his daughter to be kidnapped may be considered a sign of weakness.
"Incident?" Alik paused at the edge of the forest, allowing the visitor his first glimpse of the village.
Hi'Iki paused in amazement when he stepped into the clearing.
The little village was situated up against one side of the valley, surrounded by a lush green meadow. Sunlight sparkled on a small fast running stream that gurgled over several small waterfalls as it past the village. The stream turned closer to the edge of the forest just past the village and headed down the length of the valley. The forest dominated the valley and stepping into the clearing was a surprise to visitors. The village itself was made up of seven small buildings in a semi-circle around a larger central building. All were made of stone. Outside the central building was a community fire pit. Three women were sitting around the fire, cooking something.
Hi'Iki was reminded of his own clan as he took in the scene. He got the impression these were peaceful folk and not quick to judge. Making a decision, he turned back to Alik with a smile. "I imagine all your visitors react the same way."
Alik laughed and agreed. "Yes. Not that we get many visitors here." They made their way to the fire pit. The three women stood up and were introduced to Hi'Iki. Zhara, sister to Alik, was wearing a shirt and long skirt in shades of tan and red. Her long dark hair was braided and wrapped around her head. Gala, Alik's mate, was tall and graceful. Her short russet red hair framed her oval face. The blues and green she wore complimented her red hair. Sveta, Amba's sister, was outfitted in a vest over a shirt and jeans, all in shades of pale yellow. Her long dark reddish brown pony tail contrasted against the pale yellow of her outfit.
Zhara and Sveta smiled at Hi'Iki and quietly made their way to one of the houses, leaving the leaders to talk to the visitor.
Gala smiled at Hi'Iki and offered him some stew, which was what had been cooking.
As he ate, Hi'Iki explained about the kidnapping, and that the scent of a feline youkai was detected.
Gala expressed concern for Moriko.
"My son, Amba is in Japan, studying. He has the wanderer's soul, as well as the wish to learn." Alik considered what Hi'Iki said. "Amba has been caught up in something not of his making." He knew Amba wasn't involved by free choice; he was the victim of circumstances.
"Well of course you'd be concerned," Gala said, understanding the concern of the situation. She smiled at Hi'Iki. "Knowing Amba, he has come to Moriko's aid and gotten himself in trouble as well."
Hi'Iki agreed. While he didn't know Amba, he knew these people were peaceful and not in the habit of causing trouble for themselves or anyone else.
"We're going after Moriko's kidnapper. You're welcome to come if you wish."
Alik shook his head. "We are not comfortable with leaving our home and we know Amba's abilities. He won't use them unless he knows he can without repercussions. Of all of us, he is the strongest."
"Thank you for helping us." Hi'Iki shook Alik's hand and bowed to Gala. "It would have been more pleasant if not for the circumstances."
"Come back and visit when things have calmed down." Gala smiled as she waved.
"I will." Hi'Iki waved, then turned and made his way back through the valley. He would send Kodo and Podo to inform Sesshoumaru what he had learned here.
Moswen crouched behind the big bush. His sandy coloring and light brown tunic helped to hide him. Knowing his opponent was right on the other side, he prepared for an attack. A giant top came sailing over the bush, nearly landing on him. His bright green eyes flashed with glee as he dodged the top and tossed a wooden snake. "Inyoka!" he yelled. His hair blew around his face as he followed the snake in the air. The snake appeared to come alive as it twisted and wriggled before falling to the ground.
"Fox Fire!" A blue flame arched over and down onto the snake, causing it to go up in smoke.
Moswen leaped, tackling the owner of the blue flame. "Gotcha!" He yelled as he wrestled with his opponent on the sandy ground.
"That was great Shippou; I haven't been able to practice like that in years." Moswen grinned at his best friend from Japan as they picked themselves up off the ground.
Shippou grinned back. "I know, the last time we had such fun was when we were at the training school, earning points for playing tricks." Shippou brushed the dust off his clothes. In contrast to Moswen, Shippou wore a bright turquoise blue shirt with a lighter blue turquoise vest over it and dark blue pants. Everything had a dusty look to it after their tussle in the sand.
Standing together, clothing wasn't the only contrast. Shippou was slightly taller and had chestnut red hair. He no longer looked like the little child that tagged after InuYasha and friends. He looked more like an adult, taller, leaner and more muscular. He had developed the ability to hide his tail and wore boots to hide his foxy feet.
Moswen, being a Cape Fox youkai, was slightly smaller with lighter, sandy colored hair. His tunic, a vest and pants and moccasin type boots, were of a soft tan colored cloth.
Shippou had gotten a message from Moswen and had decided to go visit. Moswen lived in South Africa and Shippou thought it might be a good place to practice their "magic" without fear of discovery. His visit so far had gone well. He and Moswen had lots of fun catching up on the last 500 years and testing their skills.
Now though, they felt it was time to take a break from the heat. They found a shady spot and sat down to a light lunch. After, they planned on going for a hike, as Moswen wanted to show Shippou Africa's wildlife. The best place Moswen had mentioned was Addo National Elephant Park. He explained that it was because they had some animals no longer seen in the southern most parts of South Africa.
Notes:
For Shippou I had to use my imagination and decided that once he was an adult, he was able to cover his tail and wore boots or shoes to cover his feet. The training school refers to an episode where Shippou meets other fox demons and they play tricks on Inu and company in order to earn points and recognition as tricksters
Inyoka is Zulu for snake (at least I hope it is). Alik is a Siberian name meaning "Defender"
For my story, some of the animals encountered are imported to a game reserve. Addo National elephant Park is a real place; animals added are my invention though. Not all African animals are found all over Africa and a lot are no longer seen in their former ranges. In the area the story takes place, you probably won't see hippos, lions, rhinos or cheetahs. You might see wildebeest, impala, elephants, giraffes, ostrich and cape buffalo. You most likely will see mountain zebra, greater kudu, hyenas and leopards.
The sweet lamb recipe is a real South African dish served with rice, salad and bread.