Soul of a Human

The scouts didn't return that night, robbing the chief of his drinking and making him worry a bit. Still, there wasn't any reason to panic, yet. The team was more than adequate for this mission and had probably decided to make camp. Traveling by night is far too dangerous, after all.

Mor's night was terrible. Everything spun. His throat was dry, and his bladder was about to burst. He systematically tended to those problems and, on the recommendation of the human, also ate some of the provided salted meats. Even while Mor cursed the human with every breath and every time he awoke afterward. Thirst and the need to pee provided an exhausting night.

On the next day, it took a while for Mor to be called again, and he wondered why. But with his "prison," he had no choice but to wait or make a breakout, then get overwhelmed and draw the ire of the village chief. Still, Mor was finally fetched sometime later and again brought to the long house.

As he entered, he saw the chief talking to the tired-looking group of scouts, though they didn't look worse than Mor. The only positive after this crappy night was that he was spared the hangover, keeping his mind unclouded.

°I don't believe it.° The human said, surprised.

"Snow!" Mor shouted excitedly, and one of the scouts turned around, looking just as surprised.

"Mor?" She asked and rushed over. "When the chief told us a Soul-kin had been found, I didn't think it would be you!"

To the shock of everyone present, Snow embraced the Soul-kin in a tight hug.

"Lize? Do you know him?" The chief asked, and after letting go of Mor, Snow answered.

"Yes, this is the strange Soul-kin I told you about."

The chief let out a groan. "Why didn't I realize it sooner? He's far too different from normal Souls. Track, could you please get Fortress and then take your rest."

Another scout nodded and left, fetching Fortress.

"You look awful," Lize told Mor, and he gave a light smile.

"Bad night, but that's not important. What about my friends? Orth, Clare, and Saphine had been on that glider." Mor answered.

"I have good and bad news for you," Lize said, and Mor got nervous at her tone but nodded.

"When we reached the crash site, nobody was there, but we also found no signs of a scuffle or fight. So your friends are probably safe and on their way home, and here we're getting to the problem. We have no way to contact your kin, and even if we could get you to the next Island, there's no way to get you up there." Lize explained.

Mor sighed, relieved, "I think I can contact my kin, but this might explain why it didn't work initially."

Lize looked a bit confused but then shrugged. "And here I was prepared to let you stay with us until the next grand gathering."

"Well, I might need to stay a few days, a maximum of two weeks. Then my friends should have arrived home, and my spell will work again." Mor said.

°Hopefully.° The human added.

"Lize! I'm glad you're back!" Fortress called out, while entering the house, continuing with sweeping his wife off her feet and kissing her.

"Stop it, you big goof." Lize protested jokingly and struggled to get let down on the floor.

The human giggled at this show of affection, and Mor couldn't help but smile sadly. Except for the height difference, this display reminded him of his parents. At least he wouldn't keep them waiting for too long before he would be able to establish a connection and get picked up. But for now, seeing the 2+ meter giant smooch the 1.75 meter woman was kind of funny.

°Wait a second.° The human stated. °If the big lug is Snow's husband, then the girl has to be her daughter! No wonder she looked so familiar.°

°You're right, meaning she would be the one. Snow wanted us to help with her adulthood ritual.° Mor stated.

"Where's Elly?" Lize asked her husband. "I want to introduce Mor to her."

"You know her. She's wild, just like her mother. Always out and about, and well, the two of them met yesterday." Fortress answered.

"Really?" Lize asked, looking at Mor.

"Not really. I saw her, but nothing more." He answered honestly.

"If you had already decided to take him in, I won't have to ask." The chief said, and Fortress looked questioning at his wife.

"I had invited Mor to stay with us and help our daughter with her first hunt. If she wants him too. He might be a year early, but if he can get picked up by his family, he won't stay that long." Lize quickly explained, and Fortress nodded.

"If you want to, you should have asked me," he said, then shrugged. I guess if you didn't have this spontaneous side, I wouldn't be with you."

"Thank you." Lize purred, pulling herself up by holding on to his muscular neck for another kiss.

°I now understand the Drop dude's statement. I love sick, both of them, ° the human said, and Mor agreed, smiling.

Fortress then held out his giant paw for Mor to take, and when the Soul-kin youth saw his hand vanish in the giant's grip, he got pulled into a bone-crushing bear hug.

"If my Lize trusts you, so will I," Fortress stated, and Mor groaned in pain.

"Thank you, Fortress." Mor gasped.

"Call me Gron," the Ice-kin warrior said. Fortress is my hunter's name. Family and friends can use my regular name."

"Great, then everything seems in order. Go ahead. I want to speak to the boy for another moment," the chief said, and the two Ice-kin left the longhouse.

The chief waited for a hot second, then put his hand on Mor's shoulder. "Thank you for not saying anything about making you drunk, and I apologize for testing you. Still, you held yourself admirably yesterday. Few other kin can hold their own when the Ice-kin pulls out the ale."

Mor nodded with a careful smile.

"I understand, don't mention it." He answered.

"Great!" The chief said, giving Mor a pat on the shoulder, which was supposed to be light and friendly, but Mor almost went to his knees from the surprising force.

"Now, while you're here, you must follow a few rules. First, be respectful to the elders, and don't embarrass Fortress. He's responsible for you. Second, help where you can. Everyone needs to work, and third, remember you're a guest. If an Ice-kin tells you to do something, you do it. Except if it's a stupid request." The chief explained, and Mor nodded.

"Good, then don't keep them waiting."

Mor was released from the chief's clutches and left the longhouse, following Lize and Gron to their "love nest" and his home for the next few days until somebody could come and get him.