Act I

Aranck had always hated the cold.

It was such a dormant, harsh period of time. The plants that he loved dearly would die or be hidden by the snow underneath. The animals hid to find warmth, which made it even harder to find food. That was another thing too, food in general was scarcer to find and unfortunately for him there had been conflict within a few of his tribes that had gotten so bad by the time it was resolved he realized he wouldn't make it out of the northern lands in time before their winter came. At the current moment, Tlingit had been gracious enough to invite him to stay over with his tribe until the this blizzard calmed itself enough for him to travel again.

Aranck begrudgingly accepted, making sure he was doing his share of the work despite his people trying to dissuade him and telling him to rest. He would simply not allow himself to become a burden and take advantage of their kindness and immense respect they gave him.

That was something that always made the man nervous about his position in the world. He had no sprawling empires like Mexica or Inca did or even borders— instead his people had been scattered around the land and forming their own groups and their own Guardians. He supposed that the Earth Mother herself had created him to watch over all of them which was...difficult.

There were so many tribes across this vast land that he couldn't keep up with which ones appeared and which ones died off (both were difficult, because it would mean he would have to stay for some amount of time to make sure the child was taken care of or mourn the loss of a fellow Guardian) or which ones wanted to help him in war efforts. Those were something he tried to avoid, acting as mediator instead if he could help it. As much as he prided himself as a warrior, Aranck much preferred to keep things as peacefully as he was able to. He has had some instances where a Guardian themself would come after him for not siding with them to which he would swiftly put them back in their place.

Despite what he viewed as his short comings, many still did come to him for his wisdom. His face was young, some would assume maybe twenty three summers, yet there was the way he held himself and the look in his eyes that told many he was no normal human. They knew he loved his people and protected them fiercely, ready to give whatever he could even when he barely had any for himself. His connection to the land was strong, the magic he could preform (which was rarely) even stronger than some humans they knew.

Aranck sighed, a deer he had fell dragged behind him as he wrapped his cape tighter around him with one hand in an effort to fight against the biting cold. His ears perked up at the sound of running water, making a beeline towards it. To his great delight, he found a small stream of running water that had miraculously not frozen over from the cold winter. Aranck beamed as he pulled out his nearly empty waterskin and would fill it up. "Thank you Sky Father," he muttered quietly as he glanced at his reflection in the pond.

It was a bit distorted due to the moving water, yet he could still see himself clearly. His long, brown hair that had been tied up earlier was slowly coming undone due to the wind with that one stubborn strand of hair sticking up. Brown eyes stared back at him, tired and with dark circles under them. Despite the deep tanned skin, it was obvious that his lips had a slight tinge of blue due to the cold. He frowned, getting up once his waterskin was filled up and ready to turn back until a loud shrill made him nearly fall into the water.

Unfortunately his right food landed in it and immediately felt the stinging cold water. Aranck began to curse until the loud shrill made itself known again and the immortal felt his heart drop in his stomach. He could recognize the cry of a baby from anywhere, but there wouldn't be a nearby tribe close enough for that. There was no thought as he made his way to the cry wondering if maybe a mother had gotten lost in the storm, it wouldn't have been the first time something like that happened.

He made his way closer until he stopped in front of a tree, where there was a large hole at the bottom where the source of the crying was. Aranck tutted as he bent down and felt the tiny form of a baby, ready to curse whatever cruel soul put such an innocent life in the cold. Though he stopped midway when he pulled out the tiny figure and nearly dropped him out of shock of seeing the baby's appearance, barely making it in time to catch it again which made the baby cry louder.

Aranck stared at the tiny bundle for a moment before realizing that the creature's skin was ice cold. He frowned and took off his cloak to wrap it around the babe as tightly as he could, running towards the deer he left and picking it back up again.

Aranck couldn't remember a time where he ran as fast as he did then.

The people noticed Aranck was in a hurry when he practically threw the dead deer at them and headed straight into Tlingit's dwelling, ignoring the questions of whatever it was he was holding close to his chest. Aranck made sure none of the villagers could see the baby's face. He practically slammed the door open, scaring the personification himself who was resting by the fire. Before he could open his mouth in greeting Aranck cut in. "Make sure no one enters, and get me some warm furs. Quickly." There was a hardness to his voice that immediately put Tlingit on edge, but he didn't dare argue with Aranck when he was like this. He went to quickly grab the furs and run back to where the man was at when he stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the...thing on the ground.

It looked to be a baby. It's skin was as white as the snow outside, with small tufts of sickly yellow hair growing on top of its head. Aranck had placed it near the fire, rubbing its stomach as a means of warming it up as he spoke to the thing softly. Tlingit could only stare in shock and horror at the thing, which seemed to get Aranck's attention. "I know, he looks much more...different." Aranck mumbled as he reached over to grab the furs from Tlingit's hands, wrapping the squirming baby in. "Perhaps the snow did something to his skin? No matter, he is alive and well. Do you think he will like dancing or will he be one of those people that stay hidden in the corner?"

The question alone was enough to bring sense back to Tlingit, looking worriedly between Aranck and the thing. "Are you out of your mind Aranck?! It's deformed, never in my life have I seen skin that pale before! What if it's-"

"He is one of us." Came his angry reply, a fire burning in Aranck's brown eyes. "Do you not feel the connection— no human child would have survived in that cold, or the trip back here. As such, I cannot leave him to fend for himself, no matter what he looks like." There was a tense silence between the two, the elder nation staring at Tlingit as if daring to argue with him. And it would be a lie to say that he wasn't ready to, but he focused on the thing who was fussing a lot less now and realized its violet eyes stared straight at him. He suppressed a shiver at them, but...the connection was there.

"...Him?"

"Him. I checked." There was a silence before Aranck could hear his fellow Guardian's footsteps receding to another room. He let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding, glancing at the small baby that laid on the floor. Aranck cleared his throat, looking around the room to make sure he was alone before speaking. "Hello there. I am Aranck, and from now on I will be taking care of you."

Violet eyes held his as he spoke, as if he could understand his words. Aranck knew there were no people that looked like the baby around here, and he hadn't heard word of any new tribes forming and staying for longer. He gasped as he spoke softly. "Maybe you are just like me? Tied to no one and everyone, a small companion to wander the world with me. Did the Earth Mother finally hear my wishes?" He asked the baby, the only response soft coos and a small smile.

Aranck felt warmth as soon as he saw him smile, a bright beaming one of his own. He slowly held the baby up, pleased to see he could hold his head up as he poked him in the chest. "Your name will be Hania, yes that fits you nicely. I'll play with you and show you how to fish and then I'll make sure you learn of all of the history of different tribes and the gods, for we are bound to protect them. We'll be-" He paused, for a moment not actually sure what title to bestow himself as. The others he looked over simply just called him by his name. With this little one, he felt it was going to be different. Was he a brother? A father? Hells, he didn't know. He stayed quiet for a moment before Aranck spoke again. "Brother. Yes. I will be your brother." Yes, that would do for now.

While Aranck was having a mini crisis on what this new relationship meant, Hania blinked up at him as he yawned, giving the man a sleepy smile. The man couldn't help himself, pulling the child towards him and hugging him gently.

"No matter what, I will protect you Hania. I promise."

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