The people seemed really surprised with the sudden move.
"What are you?" Ruqnik asked in a low voice.
"We are no threat to you." Fili told them trying to make his voice sound calm. "Let me talk to them, and if you decide you do not wish to have anything to do with us we will leave in peace."
"And then you will tell others what you've seen here! No one must know we are still here!" Ruqnik spoke in a strong voice.
"We will keep your existence and location secret. I swear." Fili told him in a strong voice.
"What good is the word of a man who travels with the worst type of beasts?" A very old men stepped forward. "We have suffered their kind before! We have moved seven times in the last four centuries! We will not let anyone endanger our tribe."
"What are you talking about?" A white woman in a red coat stepped into the circle. "And why are these men on the roof?"
"I told you letting the scientist in was a bad idea." The old man growled to the chief.
"We had no choice." Ruqnik growled back. Fili slowly started adding facts, the chief was the human representative of the tribe, but the old man clearly had an aura of power around him. He's their pack leader… Kili whispered to him. Try talking to him in wolf talk.
Fili focused hard, still unable to reach his top form due to the latest experience. We did not come here to hurt you. He said using wolf talk.
The old man looked at him surprised. Then who are you? And why are you here? He asked in a low voice.
I need to talk with you, that's all. Fili told him. If you decide so, we will leave, but it would be best if we talk first.
Fine, we can talk. I can always kill you later… The man sniggered. First we need to get rid of this bitch and find a plausible reason why you guys are sitting on the roof.
Fili winked to Kili. Kili just jumped towards the woman and landed in front of her.
"What the?" She gasped as his hand touched her forehead. She slowly became unconscious.
"What did you do to her?" Ruqnik asked in a low voice.
"I made her forget anything she saw here." Kili replied calmly.
"You can manipulate the mind of humans?" The old man seemed very surprised.
"Only of humans. So you needn't worry." Fili told him lightly. "Can we go somewhere less public?" He said coming closer to the man.
"You smell funny!" One of the younger men gasped.
"I couldn't smell you because they reek." The old man came closer to him and sniffed him "You're not human either."
"No, I'm not human." Fili admitted.
"Follow me." The pack leader told them and led them towards the forest.
They walked for nearly twenty minutes followed by several men, some young and some old. Finally the pack leader stopped in a meadow shielded from the sight of anyone unwanted.
"So what do you want to talk about?" The old man looked at them strongly.
"Beorn go first." Fili told the taller man. "First we're going to explain some things to you."
"I'll never get used to this." The grizzly growled taking off his clothes in public. The men watched the transformation with some kind of frenzy, taking in the sight of the grizzly with weary eyes and fever.
"A bear?" The man gasped. "A brown bears? We had no idea…" The old man was in shock.
"You had little idea of many things…" Fili added taking off his clothes. "This way it's going to be easier to talk." He smirked, taking off his clothes, thanking Mahal his abilities gave him a lowered sensitivity to cold.
"What?" One of the younger men gasped seeing the unexpected transformation. It was evident they had never seen a wolf before. It was clear on their faces they never even considered the possibility more tribes had similar abilities.
The old man just smiled and took off his clothes. He nodded to the other men.
If anyone would take a photo now, they would have the most hilarious picture ever. Two wolves, one golden and one red, one grizzly bear, eight polar bears and two men sat in a circle.
It is hilarious. Fili told his mate, when Kili showed him the mental image of them sitting in the circle.
The bears all laughed when the same image reached them using the wolf talk.
So you can talk like this with us? The old bear asked Kili with amusement in his voice.
I'm his mate. Kili added smiling at the bear.
Strange. The bear noticed. So who are you?
Fili slowly told the bears where they came from, about their tribe, about how Beorn found them and joined them. He told the bears about how me met his mate, and about his special connection to the vampire. He told about the perils of the tribe, about the wild vampires and the attacks. He told then about what happened to Beorn's tribe, and Kili added some images to make it more real. Later Fili told them about the Noatak tribe and their gruesome experiences.
What you say speaks the truth. We have suffered a lot as well. Our tribe had to run seven times, we had to sacrifice everything, many lives were lost. This location seemed safe for us, how did you find us? The old bear asked surprised.
One of my wolves is a specialist in history, he analyzed the history of Inuit and compared it with the research about bear sightings. We have visited several locations in Alaska before we found you, but it was possible. The location made it difficult, but only for humans. Fili explained. How many bears is your tribe now?
The numbers have been falling, we try to keep the blood pure, but less are born with every generation. Now we have four old bears like myself who still remember the past, three middle age and two young bears who still need more training and experience. The bear explained. My name is Sauri.
You don't have a next pack leader? Fili asked worried.
No, we do not. I'm the last born as an alpha. The old bear told him in a sad voice.
That's very surprising, our tribe is growing. We have over twenty wolves at the moment, twelve of them young. I'm the next pack leader. Fili explained.
I think I know the answer. Kili told them seriously. Beorn's tribe mixed the blood too much, and the Inuit too little. The Khuzdul accepted a line of Irish blood and kept the two lines in proportion. The wolves thrive when happy, and they never stood in the way of love within or outside the tribe. The Carrock forgot their traditions. They mixed their blood too much forgetting about the ability to transform as such. Both Inuit tribes did the same thing meaning they secluded themselves in fear of losing the bear power. They kept inbreeding leading to weakening the blood lines. The abilities would probably prosper if there was balance like in the Khuzdul.
Or it was the Luin blood which made the tribe strong. Nori noticed.
You are our brothers and you are welcome here. The old bear told them. I was wondering, could we go away for a minute? He asked Fili with some kind of strange merriness.
The bear and wolf slowly walked away. In a few images the bear explained what he wanted the wolf to do.
I can try… Fili told Kili using their bond so that the other couldn't hear him. Fili walked into the meadow with strength.
He stood in front of the bears and did a pounce hitting the ground. You shall bow before me! He told the bears using his alpha voice. The bears at first hesitated, they seemed lost and surprised. But when Fili growled at them and gave the command a second time, all bears slowly lowered their heads.
I knew it! The old bear noticed with joy. The same as you can talk in the same voice as us, you have the ability to control my bears being an alpha yourself.
Why does that make you so happy? Kili noticed.
I am frail and old. Too old. I have seen over nine hundred winters. I have seen hundreds and thousands of my kin die. I'm tired. The bear told him with a sad grin. This way I can be sure someone will led my bears in times of danger. The old man came back to his clothes and shifted to human form. "This calls for a celebration!" He told the bears and wolves.
All of them shifted and returned together into the village. Many people were waiting for them, clearly agitated.
"So why are the scientists here?" Fili asked Sauri curiously.
"The national park has its own rules. This is the last place in the world they see polar bears, so now they decided to come and take a closer look. We had no choice. Will the woman remember anything?" Sauri wanted to make sure.
"Kili's good at manipulating humans, she'll be clueless." Fili confirmed. "His powers against our kind are limited."
"Good to know." The old man mumbled. "Yakone get dinner ready, we have special guests to honor!" He yelled coming into a house.
"You didn't ask the scientists again?" A young girl glanced from the kitchen.
"No! Our newest tribe members." The man smiled at her. "Dear friends, this is my great granddaughter Yakone."
"Yakone this is Fili, Kili, Bofur, Nori and Beorn." He introduced them. "They came to seek us out from two equally ancient and special tribes like ours." He told her with a huge grin. The woman looked startled and fazed.
"Count me and Bofur out for dinner." Kili gently told her. "We don't eat much, but they eat a lot to compensate." He grinned.
The girl glanced at him strangely. "Why aren't you wearing a proper coat?" She asked surprised seeing them dressed a bit lightly for the weather.
"We don't really feel cold." Kili smiled at her, he could feel her agitation and a mixture of emotions. She was fazed with them, allured, but guarded and slightly menacing.
"What are you?" Her eyes narrowed and became cold.
"They are our guests." Sauri told her firmly. "And yes, you have guessed correctly, these two are vampires."
She glanced at Kili with huge anger and hurt.
"Calm down." Sauri told her. "Get dinner ready." She slowly nodded her head and went back to the kitchen.
"Sit down." He pointed towards comfortable chairs. "So as you've probably guessed we will support you in your mission, but I have a request to ask of you Fili."
"What kind of request?" Fili asked slowly.
"You will take the five youngest bears and train them." Sauri suddenly told him seriously.
"Take the bears?" Yakone's voice was furious.
"My bears need an alpha, and I'm weak and dying." The bear told her seriously. "No young alpha had been born in centuries. Our bears need leadership, Fili until a new alpha is born take care of my bears."
"Why? You barely know this person!" The girl gasped.
She's going to be a handful. Fili noticed with a premonition.
"He is an alpha wolf. He will take care of my bears." Sauri spoke in a strong tone.
"I can led the bears!" The girl gasped.
"No woman has the ability to transform and lead." Sauri spoke coldly.
"No woman has ever been born like us in any of the tribes." Fili noticed grimly.
"That actually makes sense, men can have more children than any woman." Bofur noticed dully.
"Yeah, especially those who are gay like us…" Nori added with a snigger.
"Yakone and three other tribe members of my choice are going to go with you. You will train my bears for your mission, and later you will send them back." Sauri spoke in a strong tone. "The others will decide for themselves if they want to return or not."
So that's his plan…Kili realized.
The old bastard knows what he wants. Fili noticed.
"Fine!" Fili told him with a grin.
"Where is our dinner?" Sauri asked the girl with a sly grin. The girl seemed shocked so much by the idea she was going to go away with them she seemed in a different world. She suddenly ran back into the kitchen to bring in the food, but she did not say a word.
"Granddad just because I've always dreamt of seeing the world doesn't mean I can leave you." Yakone said in a deep voice when she came back.
"You're not leaving me, you're going to forge the future of our tribe. I'm sending you with my bears to learn, to listen, to become a future leader." Sauri told her with confidence. "This alliance will give us a safe future, and if their mission will succeed we will all be free of our greatest enemies." He spoke in a strong tone.
"When you said he's a wolf, you don't mean as in a wolf wolf?" Yakone asked surprised.
"Just like we are bear bears, they are wolves." He explained with a smile.
"So there are more people like us?" Yakone asked surprised.
"More than you can imagine, they are wolves, he is a brown bear." Sauri pointed towards Beorn. "They are in search for more tribes like us, because all of us have been persecuted by wild groups of vampires. You will help them and make our tribe proud."
"But grandfather…" She gasped.
"No buts child! You will listen to me for once without any discussion." Sauri took his alpha tone.
"Eat up!" He told the wolves and bear. "When we finish we're going out again for a traditional Greeting Celebration."
"Greeting Celebration?" Beorn asked surprised.
"It's our tradition, when a family member comes home from a long hunt all the tribe gather and dance to greet him." Sauri told them with a smile. "You are our brothers, and after thousands of years you rejoined us. The celebration is going to be grand."
"I'm surprised you would go so far…" Yakone noticed. "Why would you take vampires with you if you are searching for people like us?" She suddenly realized adding all the facts together.
"It's only logical child, anyone like us would sense the vampires and try to attack." Sauri told her with a smirk.
"You would endanger your friends like that?" She asked Fili curiously.
"He's a grown boy, he can handle himself. He might look young, but he's over six hundred years old, and he's very strong and powerful." Fili spoke with a dreamy tone.
"Yeah, right…" She gasped sensing the sexual tension between both men.
"Let's go!" Sauri told them. "I need my official coat!" He ordered Yakone, and she passed him a decorative coat.
"I'm coming, I need to change my dress." She told him and disappeared into a room. She came back several minutes later dressed in a long white dress, laced with beautiful red linings.
When they came out of the house, they could hear music coming from the more traditional ice houses.
The few scientists were delighted to see the traditional celebration, the woman clearly had no memory of seeing a few men jump around roofs.
The whole tribe greeted them as long lost relatives. The word about the extraordinariness of their visit spread fast, the whole tribe gathered for the traditional dances and music. The women and men were all wearing decorative traditional clothes, the view against igloos made it seem as if they all travelled back in time.
"Dear family!" Ruqnik stood in the middle. "Tonight we greet long lost relatives with all the warmth and sincerity in the world!"
The scientists looked puzzled glaring at the blond, red head, and two men who did not seem native American at all, not to mention related to Inuit.
"We have never had such an emotional homecoming! And a sad one at the same time. The council and our leader have decided to bind an alliance with the Khuzdul tribe, and to forge a firm bond between our people. Yakone, Aputi, Atuqtuaq and Lusa you will accompany our grand warriors in their journey to Erebor. Pamiuq, Qamut, Qimmiq, Taliriktug and Tulimaq, you will learn from Fili and Beorn. You will make us proud, and when your training finishes and you pass the test, you will return home to make our tribe even stronger!" The people gathered there began clapping.
"Let us pray for the future of our tribe!" The chief raised his hands to the sky and began chanting in their old ancient language. All the Inuit picked up on the incantation and sang with him in deep voices. As they sang into the night, the sky became lit by a green aurora. The whole sky became a light in green, making the village seem surreal, adding to the magnitude of the ceremony. Everyone glanced at the sky. "The Gods have answered our prayer, our warriors will come home safe and their venture is true and just!" The chief called into the sky.
"It's beautiful!" Kili gasped holding onto Fili's hand.
"The Gods speak in our favor using magnetic plasma." Fili sniggered with a grin. "This might actually mean we will succeed." He held into his vampire's hand.
"First we need to tell Frerin we're coming back with nine Inuit tribe members, five bears included." Kili whispered to him. "We need to think of a way to fit them in."
"I have a plan…" Fili whispered.