.: Getting to the big 5.0. in this story is so insane to me. On one hand, I feel like it took me way too long to get here, but on the other hand, I remember how this story was never meant to be this long either. Not to say I am disliking or disappointed in where it's ended up. I think it's on the road to success. Although I definitely don't want to reach 100 chapters because that's just dumb for me to stretch it that far. So, I say we try to finish this backstory by the 60th-65th mark and get back to the main storyline. I believe this is the second phase of three for this backstory. I needed to draw the lines in the sand, now I have to prepare for a conflict resolution, and lastly, I have to establish Aurilee's bloodline. :.

The Girl with A Half-Soul

Chapter 50:

The Wolf Woman: Allies

After searching the battlefield, the Lun'aecho warriors came up empty. Even with darkness washing over the island, they checked all bodies that were left to find none of them were of the Mink Tribe. When Kiyaya found that out, her worries doubled. She advised the tribe to not split back up into their respective factions just yet. Guards were set up for the night and nobody was to lose sight of their buddy.

The wolf woman volunteered to also be a guard. This whole thing was stressing her out to the point that she did not feel tired. Lakota was kind of worried about her. She was quieter than usual, probably because she was trying to focus. Her field of Observation Haki had yet to sense something other than wildlife entering or exiting it. He was on the ground next to her, noticing how unwavering her gaze was. Even though she wanted him to sleep, he could not drift off.

As a moonbeam graced her through the leafy branches, he found himself unable to close his eyes. Her fur was shimmering, looking metallic from his perspective. He swore that her profile appeared to have a visible aura lining it. Why would he sleep when he had something enamoring him?

Crickets and other nocturnal insects sang out incessantly around them. It drowned out any snoring or chatting that may have been going on behind them. At the same time, he found himself lost in time. Kiyaya really caught his attention today. Her fighting was commendable. Her steadfastness in her allegiance with the Lun'aecho people was declared and believed by them all. Then he got to see more than he ever bargained for. As he continued to revere her beauty, he had to admit that time may have been short between them, but that did not stop him from feeling comfortable around her.

In fact, his being on the ground was contributing to his being unable to fall asleep. It was like she had spoiled him enough to adjust his body to what was deemed appropriate for rest. He spent his whole life sleeping on the ground. Why would it only take a couple weeks for it to not be adequate? That was pretty bad.

Eventually, he wanted to sleep. But he could not. If he had to be picked up, he would be embarrassed again. Although Kiyaya would not mind. He was weightless to her. Maybe it was just knowing that he wanted to be close to her that made his fight or flight instincts activate. These feelings were completely new to him. He did not know how to deal with them. All he knew was that those original feelings of disgust toward her felt sinful now.

She looked down at him when she felt her fur being tugged. Lakota wanted to sit up straight. "You-teia are still not sleeping?" she questioned, flabbergasted.

"And leave you stressing by yourself? That's kind of rude."

She tittered and shook her head. "Rest will help you-teia heal, and that'll make me feel better." Her hand reached down to caress his entire side as he leaned against her thigh.

Her touch lightened any reservations he had. "I was hoping having someone to talk to would be better."

"Oh, alright. I do like talking to you-teia." She pulled her hand away and visibly relaxed. "Is there something on your mind?"

"A little bit."

She waited for him to elaborate, but all she felt was his hand stroke against her fur in a backwards direction. It was like he was trying to reach her pale skin underneath. She lifted her arm out of the way to see what was up, only to find him watching the shimmer wave through every fiber like flowing water would. His face gazed up at her with a candid fascination creating a sparkle in his irises.

"You're very majestic at night," he said as genuinely as he could.

His candor took a second to register for her. She was unsure what he was referring to at first or why he was. Then she saw the color reflecting off her pelt. For as long as she could remember, it turned silver under moonlight. It was just part of her appearance; there was nothing special about it. But to see a lesser mink think differently made her smile. "I thought I was a monster," she joked.

Well, there went the moment that he tried to build. Either she did not appreciate his sentiment, or he made her nervous enough to blurt that quote out. "You're not. I know better than to be afraid of you now."

"You-teia can't deny that I gave you a bad first impression."

"But now I can't even sleep unless I–"

He stopped, realizing he was about to embarrass himself.

"Unless you-teia what?"

He indignantly averted his gaze to drop the conversation. "Nothing."

"Tell me."

"You hear that owl? It sounds pretty close."

"Don't change the topic!" she giggled. "You-teia saw me naked today. You can tell me anything you want."

"I didn't see all of it," he rebuffed with what dignity he had left.

"Still. I say that means you-teia can be as honest with me as you'd like." She scooped him up and held him in front of her. "Now if you want to sleep, you could've just told me instead of forcing yourself to stay awake for me. What do you need?"

His entire face flushed as he was metaphorically backed into a corner. They could keep going back and forth in this banter if he continued to avoid the issue. Her light green eyes blinked as she waited for him to answer. For a natural predator that would scare a warrior if they ran across one, he could not recall that same reaction now. He had grown past his initial aversion to her in exchange for yearning her.

Evading her openness was pointless. Not wanting to say it out loud, he settled for leaning forward until he was trying to crawl out of her hands. She tried figuring out what he was doing by holding him closer until his hand grabbed the fur on her chest and he pulled himself free from her grasp. She caught him as he slipped perfectly into her cleavage and laughed. His face kept burning in embarrassment as it stayed buried in the pillowy fluff.

"Well, well, well," she teased. "So it was the boobs all along."

"Just– Just shut up!" he demanded, his voice muffled.

She laughed some more but allowed him to stay so he could sleep. All he had to do was ask.

Until he fully succumbed to slumber, all he could think about was how he was in heaven. He probably would never tell her, but yeah. Big boobs were awesome. And a big woman to go with them was even better.

The forest was the epiphany of a succulent habitat. Seemingly bowl shaped thanks to the mountains that cradled it, the interlopers were sucked in. The ground contained healthy soil that could sustain the ecosystem growing from it. Whenever it rained, the water drained into the lowest point, creating the river that meandered throughout the entirety of it.

Without that water source, nothing here could survive. The minks knew that most of all. Back in Zou, the entire dukedom flooded twice a day. Everyone had to be ready for it since it was dangerous and undrinkable; however, it brought bountiful food with it. Eating seafood or things not covered in fur was a mink's normal diet. Without the floods, they could never survive on Zou.

Even traveling through the cover of night, they could see why the Navy wanted to get their hands on this paradise. It had everything a civilization needed to be built up.

Spinach kneeled next to the river to scoop his hands down. He brought them up to his mouth for a drink, finding it clean with minerals. Roxanne made sure to wait for him before catching up with the rest of their group. Ever since they slipped in the mountains yesterday afternoon, they were on the move. They expected the whole place to be crawling with savages, but they had yet to sense a single one. Either they were incredibly good at shrouding themselves, or they simply were congregated somewhere else.

Until they got a hint of what the current situation was, Mogul was not planning on stopping for a rest. He and Gomer followed the river until they found a place to cross. They wanted to leave as little evidence of their existence as possible, so they refrained from fishing or setting up a camp. It was so they could plan accordingly and be swift with it. The battle was long over, but they could hit them when they were least expecting it.

Despite being near fertile soil, they started to notice how the grass started to recede and trees thinned out. They were reaching an edge of the forest that was almost completely opposite of where they had entered. As they stared down a pitch black canyon, the minks knew they had to change course.

"Where does this river go?" Barb wondered aloud, her voice echoing slightly.

"Shh," Roxanne reminded her.

"What? I'm being quiet enough."

"Rivers originate from groundwater," Gomer explained. "These mountains get rain frequently, and it collects down here only to find where it sinks lower into the land. I can only assume it leaves this territory and ends up back in the ocean eventually."

"Do you-gara think they stay near the river?" Spinach questioned.

"I would hope so. But not here." He turned his back to the abyss to continue the search. "Let's try upriver instead."

Roxanne, Barb, and Spinach followed without protest. Mogul, on the other hand, found himself staring into the abyss longer. It was strange to him that the river flowed the same, yet it lacked as much sound. The biome had quickly switched to desert. The bare rock was very visible to his nocturnal vision, which should have resulted in more susceptible ambiance. He found it quite odd. And the longer he stood there, the more he recognized the sinking feeling growing inside of him.

Then he saw it. A pair of eyes reflected back at him from deep within. The baboon mink froze from how unexpected it was. The eyes were prominently round with a dilated pupil. As the clouds shifted in the sky, he was able to make out the outline of a canine.

"You-teia will get left behind, Mogul," Barb quietly called.

He ignored her. The animal did not move or blink as they kept eye contact with each other. The river was the only thing in motion for what felt like the longest standoff in his life. Was it sizing him up? Not wanting to be disturbed? There was no telling. It just seemed out of place as it was found in a lifeless habitat.

Then it happened. Mogul could hardly suppress his body's involuntary reaction to seeing the canine stand on two legs. He was shocked and horrified. It did not possess a body like his; it was not a mink. Standing that way was unnatural.

At this point, the demon of the canyon had him locked in. He did not know what he was looking at now, but he wanted to know. Barb stopped when she saw him start to go toward it. "Mogul?"

Gomer paused and looked over his shoulder.

"Hello?" Mogul said as his body vanished into the abyss.

Barb hurried after him. "Where are you-teia going?!" she whispered urgently. She halted right at the edge as she looked in. The river continued to flow past her left and out of sight as the canyon twisted away. Other than that, she could see nothing. Mogul was gone.

"What's wrong?" Gomer questioned as he came up behind her.

"He's gone," she revealed with confusion. "He was just here. I swear!"

"Did he see something?"

"I-I don't know."

He held her shoulder to reassure her. "We'll find him. Stay close to me."

After she nodded, she beckoned Roxanne and Spinach to join. Together they all entered the canyon to search for their friend. Things grew mysteriously quiet, and as dusk waned, they never reemerged.

Cherokee abruptly opened her eyes. It took her a moment to register where she was. There was some light showing through the hide that wrapped around the teepee, and she was swathed in fur that kept her warm. Her mind was foggy, but her body felt heavy. She wanted to roll over and go back to sleep as she failed to blink evenly.

The only problem was that the activity happening outside her shelter told her that she should rethink that desire. Footsteps both hasty and sluggish danced as long shadows against the ground around her. Nobody was yelling, but it was obvious that fretfulness was stirring. A familiar name was spoken more than once. They were trying to get Kiyaya.

The stand-in Chieftain knew she had to push through her fatigue. Whether her tribe was ready for her or not, she had to be vigilant with her duties. They had to come before her because they relied on her and her abilities more heavily than they ever realized. Pulling out of the furs she was swaddled in, she crawled to the opening of the teepee and peeked outside.

Kiyaya's heavy jog quaked past her as she hurried to where she was being called to. With Lakota perched on her shoulder, she arrived at the edge of the forest that overlooked where yesterday's battle took place. Her worst fear was that yet another front was coming. She expected to see a similar grayish mass in the distance. Instead, she was met by seven individuals – the minks.

They all stayed away to try not to pose as a threat. A warrior was standing by with a spear in hand, but they were not planning on provoking him. They were down on their knees with their heads bowed. Their swords and other weapons were pushed away from them in the grass. Rodencia gave them strict instructions to not raise concern. Even if they were to be attacked or restrained, they could not defend themselves.

The wolf mink gasped when she recognized them. The seven she personally expelled from the territory had returned alone. "Box them in," she told the warriors. Only numbers could give them a chance at overcoming them. They were encircled in seconds with weapons drawn on them. None of them lifted a gaze or a finger.

Lakota looked beyond to try catching a glimpse of other activity. Maybe this was a distraction for something bigger, just like what they did to the Marines yesterday. His senses did not pick up on any other presence besides what was currently here. "I believe they're the only ones," he communicated.

"I agree," Kiyaya concurred. "And they look to have given up their weapons."

Cherokee came next to them both to get involved. She summoned her witchdoctor and immediately hexed the minks to keep them at bay. When the black words shot out to imprint on them, Kiyaya and Lakota flinched. "Keekee?" Lakota said with surprise.

She petrified the minks to keep them still for a few minutes. With a tired smile, she looked up at the two. "Good morning."

Lakota wasted no time in sliding down Kiyaya's arm and being placed down to greet his friend. She immediately held him up so he could stand. "I can't believe you're awake already," he shared.

"Me, too, but good thing I am. What's going on?"

"Not sure. Warriors alerted Kiyaya that there was trouble. We found this."

"They're alone," Kiyaya repeated for her.

"Have you found out why they're alone?"

"No. I haven't talked to them."

"Then allow me." Cherokee helped Lakota hobble over with the help of her witchdoctor. Once they were in better earshot, she relinquished the petrification curse in exchange for a truth curse. "You. Rat woman," she identified. "What are you doing here?"

Rodencia could feel her mind only thinking of her change of heart and how they had abandoned everything to come here. Something was preventing her from teetering away from that. Considering she could not move at all for a few seconds and now she could, she had to guess it was that woman again. Well, what was originally bitterness toward her was now indifference since they were no longer going to be fighting against each other. She answered the inquiry honestly. "We have abandoned our contract with the Navy. Their port is in ruin, and they will not be a threat for a while. Please, allow us to help you-teia win this war."

The response surprised Cherokee more than anything. "Why?"

"I came to regret my actions. All of us have. We risked the lives of your people in the name of malicious justice. Kiyaya was right when she called us hypocrites. If the Marines marched into our home wanting to take it from us, we would be doing exactly what you-teia are: defending yourselves."

Kiyaya came up behind them. She wanted her friends to see the light, but she figured it would take more convincing than her little speech for it to happen. It moved her to know her friends were not intrinsically cruel like she was starting to see. They used to have no hand in this conflict. Now it was getting personal. Kiyaya knew she was susceptible to more emotional predicaments than logical ones. It turned out that she started a chain reaction. First, she switched sides. Then, her friends had to fight against her. Now they understood why she did it.

"We can't possibly trust you blindly," Cherokee argued calmly. "You're strong and powerful, yes, but that isn't enough to win a war."

"We can help your people become powerful like us," Rodencia offered. "The only thing we can't teach is our electro. It is an ability of the minks only."

"Is that all?"

"No. I have another idea." She lifted her head to look up into the sky. Cherokee, Lakota, and Kiyaya followed to see nothing out of the ordinary at first. From above the forest, a white bird swooped down. Rodencia lifted her arm to signal it to land. Recognizing it made it swoop lower to perch. Despite having webbed feet, it still held on as good as a bird of prey. "This bird is equipped to travel the world to send messages to and from destinations. We have been sending updates of our travels back to our home. I can request reinforcements to come here, and we can win this war for you-teia."

Lakota glanced at Cherokee. What was going through her head about the proposition? If he was in her shoes, he would accept any help they could get. The handful of minks had already taken out dozens of their numbers. Having them as allies was already a huge step in the right direction. Even more minks coming here could only be good for them.

"How many would come?" Cherokee continued.

"I can request as many as our duke is willing to send. Could be hundreds. Could be dozens. It will take them a few months to get here, but I'm confident that they'll come."

The curse was forcing her to tell the truth, but Cherokee was still not very convinced. The deer mink lifted his head to add his two berries. "The Mink Tribe has a relationship with another group of lesser minks," he endorsed. "The Kozuki Clan and Mink Tribe have an agreement that if one was in danger, the other will help. No matter what it is. Perhaps we can establish a similar agreement for your people."

"That's right," Kiyaya responded with awe. "I forgot about that."

"If you-teia will accept our offer, we have to start now," Rodencia implored. "It'll take time for the Marines to recuperate. We can hold them off until the minks arrive, but I can't guarantee they'll keep up the small exploration teams. It's very likely I've angered them enough that they'll come back with heavy artillery and try to take these mountains more frequently."

Cherokee wanted to remain stern. Her fatigue made it hard for her to concentrate, though. Not wanting to collapse again, she kept her hold on Lakota steady so he did not fall. "Joining our side will not be an easy task. Kiyaya has had to prove her worth. So will you."

"Fair enough," Rodencia replied. "Just out of curiosity, have the other five minks visited yet?"

"What?"

"Not yet," Lakota confirmed. "We're still on the lookout."

"Five are missing?" Cherokee pried.

"Yes," Lakota said. "Sorry. You've been out of the loop."

"They don't know we're no longer affiliated with the Navy. I'm afraid they'll attack," Rodencia informed them, standing up straight so the others could do the same. "We can prove our worth starting with them. I don't want you-teia to suffer any more casualties by our hands."

Cherokee felt herself sway a little bit. Lakota noticed and tried to relieve some of the reliance he currently had on her. "Deal," he said for her. "As long as Kiyaya and other warriors go with you to make sure nothing is a trap."

Kiyaya scooped up Cherokee when she noticed her start to struggle. The Chieftain faded back into a deep sleep rather fast. She still needed time. Knowing that the minks no longer had curses tying them down, the wolf woman tried to act as natural as possible. They did not have to know that information. The last thing she wanted right now was for Cherokee to be seen as weak. She scooped Lakota up as well so he could tend to her.

"Send the message," she told Rodencia. "If we're really on a time crunch, then don't waste it."

She gave a singular nod and pulled a small piece of rolled paper from her pocket. It was secured in an attachment around the bird's leg. She then boosted it up to get it to fly away, and it immediately used its internal compass to start heading back to Zou. The wind was blowing in the right direction, and the sunshine was wanting to grow brighter. If it could miraculously avoid storms that randomly brewed, it could arrive at the duke's doorstep in half a week. There was hope that the bird would return soon with a response about what they were to expect in the next few months.