Soul of a Human

The young hunter group neared the gate to the glacial fortress and was promptly waved over by the entrance guard. The grizzled Ice-kin guard looked at them and then nodded.

"You're of the first hunt kids." He needlessly stated. "Seems you lost a few."

"Yes." Elly hissed, not liking the emotionless voice of the guard.

"What village are you from?" he asked, not getting thrown off balance by the girl's hostility.

"Mainly Snow." She answered.

"I got it. Your chief will debrief you. Please go promptly to him." The guard answered, turning away, no longer interested in the young group.

"What's going on?" Jorgen asked the guard. "Why is there so much hustle?"

"You want to know?" The guard said, looking back at Jorgen. "Because shut up and get to your chief."

The challenge in the guard's voice disgruntled the whole team. Even Mor felt insulted. However, there was one in the little gathering who was more prone to acting out of pride, and if on cue, Thor got right in the face of the guard, glowering up to the half-head-taller adult.

"I'm the son of the Snow chief, so tell me what's going on. I won't let some guard tell me to shut up."

"Congratulations." The guard stated and went back to ignoring the youth.

Thor was almost ready to throw a punch, but Jorgen placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

"Forget it. We will just ask the chief." Jorgen said, with Thor glaring at the guard.

The group entered the city proper, grumbling among themselves about that unfriendly guard. However, in the end, they had no choice but to accept that they wouldn't get any information from there and instead made their quick way to the Snow village chief. Mor also threw a few glances into his surroundings and let out a relieved sigh as there was no sign of the illusory fox.

"Are you relieved it didn't follow you inside the city?" Elly asked quietly, and Mor nodded.

"It is for the best right now. The little one is far more intelligent than you believe so that it will find its way to you soon." She continued.

°It's also more intelligent than you.° The human teased.

°Very funny.° Mor replied flatly.

°While you get that whole bureaucratic shit out of the way, I'm thinking about a name for the little one. It has adopted you, after all.° The human stated.

°Shouldn't it be the other way around?° Mor asked.

°Nope, foxes run on cat software, so they adopt you.° The human said confidently.

°I have no idea what you are talking about.° Mor grumbled, knowing better than to get the human to explain.

°However, do we even need to join Elly and the others? We're done helping, so shouldn't we get back to your kin? Your mother is probably terrorizing the whole city. Maybe she's the reason there's so much hustle and bustle at the gate, ° the human said, and Mor put on a sour face.

°I hate that this might be a possibility.° He grumbled.

"Why are you making such a face?" Titania asked.

"Nothing. I'm still angry at the gate guard." Mor lied.

"I see. But you're right. The guard was a prick." Titania agreed.

°Back on topic.° Mor told his human. °You're right. We don't need to join Elly and the others, but I want to know what is going on. If it's my mother driving everyone crazy, I want to postpone the meet-up for as long as possible.°

°And what about the rest? Everyone might be concerned about your well-being. We were gone for quite a while, after all.° The human said.

°You're right. I'm going to see them right after we're done with this. I want to see it through to the end.° Mor explained.

°Got it! On another matter, how do you like the name Fix?° The human asked, and it was Mor's turn to lament the human's lack of a body, as he would like nothing more than to glare at the idiot.

The little group arrived at the section where the Snow village was housed and walked through the entrance. They noticed a trio of figures standing in front of the big house and talking. The chief was just talking to a concerned-looking Gorn and an even more nervous Sophie. Mor had only a second to wonder why his mother was there when she turned around, and her eyes locked onto Mor, making the boy flinch at the intensity.

Mor instinctively braced himself, which was a good idea, as Sophie rushed over to him, starting a smothering barrage of questions and concerns. It got so bad that even Thor felt bad for the Soul-kin. The group of Ice-kin quickly retreated toward the two Ice-kin men, and Gorn smiled at his daughter, visible relief on his face.

"I'm glad you're back, " the chief intoned, then stopped with a questioning look that quickly grew dark.

"What about Tark and Doron?" The chief asked.

"They died," Thor stated.

"Because of you." Elly hissed, and the chief raised an eyebrow.

"Let's talk inside. There, you can tell me what happened, and the Soul-kin can have some space, " the chief said, looking at the overbearing mother.

"Father, do you know what's going on? There was a lot of commotion at the gates when we got here." Elly asked.

Instead of giving his daughter an answer, Gorn looked at the chief and grimaced. However, the leader of the Snow village shook his head lightly, stopping Gorn from answering.

"That shouldn't concern you right now. Let's get the results from your first real hunt over now." The chief said, ushering the young Ice-kin into the big house, where they retold their experiences to the point where they met up.

As Elly told about the group of dead Ice-kin hunters, something in the chief's face showed a different kind of concern. However, he continued to listen quietly, not even commenting on the fact that they had continued the hunt longer than necessary. When it was Thor's turn to tell his tale, it went quite as the chief had expected. His son had blundered around, and without a scout, something he was advised to get, they found Elly's team quicker than something to hunt.

The following tale of the fight against the alpha howler was an infuriating affair, and both the chief and Gorn had to hold themselves back. Elly and Thor snapped at each other, interrupting each other frequently and, in turn, making a mess out of the tale. However, the core of the matter was clear. The boys and the big guardian girl ignored the warnings of Elly and the Soul-kin, which led to the death of the two other boys. This was something the chief couldn't let go like that.

The scolding aimed at Stren, Thor, and Jorgen was furious and loud. Loud enough to interrupt Sophie and provided Mor a chance to escape his mother. The young Soul-kin joined the discussion right when the chief acknowledged their successful hunt, with Elly handing over the spoils while at the same time punishing the four Snow-village hunters to prolonged guard duty. For Elly, it wasn't a punishment at all, as she quite liked staying in the safe village. It was tough for the three more adventurous boys, and all three protested the decision. However, the chief told them quietly to shut up, his tone of voice not allowing any protest, and the quiet was far scarier than any loud shouting.

In the end, Titania was sent back to where her village took camp, a hunter with an alpha howler kill under her belt, something the council of chiefs will reveal to the respective villages. Thor, Jorge, and Stren were ushered out of the room by Gorn. Mor was also told to leave, as what the chief had to tell Elly was something that shouldn't concern the Soul-kin.

"I would also like to hear it. If I'm right, it is about the commotion at the gates, " Mor said.

"I understand, but this is a matter of the Ice-kin. Go back to your kin." The chief answered.

Mor sighed. "You could be a bit more thankful for bringing your son back home."

"I am thankful, very much so. Still, it doesn't need to concern you. However, as a token of my appreciation, I have left something where your friends stayed." The chief stated, waiting until Mor had left before addressing Elly again.

"You are not allowed to tell anyone of it. However, you are the most cool-headed of the bunch. Therefore, I will tell you what is happening. I know that a scout might seek answers on their own, and in this case, it is not advisable to let them poke around on their own." The chief stated, and Elly nodded.

"Good. You have told me about those four dead, looking like they killed each other." The chief stated. "We know what it is, and the veterans are hunting it. It came to our attention when the first team returned with half their members lost. They told us that the missing two started to attack them without any provocation or reason. They tried to restrain them, but it was useless in the end. They needed to kill their teammates."

Elly looked shocked at that revelation. "How do you know they didn't lie?" She asked.

"Because they weren't the only ones coming back with similar tales. At first, we did suspect them of having murdered their companions, but they also were shaken to their core. Even going so far as dropping out of becoming a hunter." The chief explained.

"And what was it?" Elly asked.

"A mutated monstrosity, it is some kind of small winged creature. It has a strong psychosomatic poison, leading to anger and blind fury. Because it is no illusion, it can't be dispelled easily. At least the leader of the Soul-kin explained it like that, and we have no information to doubt his evaluation. They are the magic experts, after all." The chief said.

"So the whole chaos is because you need to find the other young hunters and because some of the veterans are also getting attacked by the thing. In addition, you want to keep it secret because if word gets out that something like this is out there, some might strike down their team comrades because of an imaginary slight. More so with all the different inexperienced hunters running around, which are far more hot-headed than the experienced ones." Elly mused, and the chief nodded.

"It's just as you say."

"However, it is strange that it works without magic. The mutations seemed all about magic after all." Elly said.

"Indeed. However, it is what it is, and we need to deal with it. Still, keep that to yourself." The chief said, and Elly nodded.