A Place to Belong

Six years later.

“Please, Elian-teacher, can we go fish instead?” Elian raised an eyebrow as he looked down into a pair of pleading dark amber eyes.

“Soon, Myan. We’ll finish this class and head to the lake. We can fish and learn at the same time.”

“But all these human words make my head hurt. Look.” Myan pointed to her now drooping pointy ears, putting on an exaggerated pained face. “My ears might fall off, and I’ll get small pale ones like yours.”

Elian smiled and stretched. “Somehow I believe your ears are safe.”

“Really?” Now all five of his students were looking at him with pleading eyes and drooping ears. But their fluffy tails were flicking mischievously behind their backs.

“Really,” Elian nodded. “A little discipline won’t hurt you. Now who can tell me what ‘fish’ is called in human?”

“Me, me, me!” Lyco's grey ears perked up, his amber eyes shining.

“Anyone else?” Looking at his little class, a few more hands were raised.

“Shoot,” He pointed at Lyco, who shouted out the right word. They stayed on the food topic for a while longer, then Elian stood up.

“Good job, all of you. Now, those of you who want to fish with tools, go grab them. And your waterskins. I’ll find us some snacks, and we’ll meet back here before you can count to a hundred.”

"Yay!" After a few spontaneous hugs, the pups scattered across the camp to fetch their gear. Elian walked up to the main fire, stopping as soon as he felt the heat from it.

“Hey, Ryn,” he greeted the older woman who was preparing roots and greens for the evening meal. Her ears flickered, and she gave him a big smile, revealing sharp canines behind dark lips.

“Elian. Let me guess. The pups are hungry?”

“As always. Do you have something…?”

“Sure.” She wrapped slices of smoked meat and fish in a cloth and held it out, giving him a little smile as he hesitated to step closer. Instead, she smoothly got on her feet and handed it to him.

“Thank you.” It wasn’t just for the food, and she knew it.

“May your hunting skill guide you,” she said. “We’re expecting guests any day now, so we’ll have more mouths to feed.”

“We’ll be successful,” he promised, giving her a polite little bow which was answered by an amused flick of her tail.

Soon he was walking along the small trampled path toward the lake, the pups excitedly running ahead brandishing their fishing spears - and in Lyco’s case, an actual fishing rod. Not long after, they reached the grassy beach and took off their shoes. The pups were all in their usual shorts, which would allow them to wade out into the shallow waters. A few of them wrestled off their tunics as well, almost certainly because they were planning an 'accidental' dip.

Except for Myan, who preferred to use her hands and strong nails, the pups grabbed their tools and headed into the water. Elian took off his shoes and pants too. His loose, long-sleeved shirt stayed on, just as the cloth he always kept tightly wrapped around his right hand and arm. Picking up one of the spears, he joined the others in the water, wincing at the cold. The late summer sun might be pleasant still, but it wasn’t strong enough to warm the lake.

The water was clear enough that he could see any large rocks on the bottom, or any moving shapes. His legs shone pale in the water, unlike the pups. Their skin shifted in soft browns and greys, making them almost disappear against the lakebed. Now all ears were pointy, tails still, and amber eyes focused on locating prey as they slowly spread out.

“Lyco, why are you using that thing?” Leon asked curiously, pointing to the long fishing rod with his own short spear. The look on his face clearly revealed that he found it an inferior choice.

“This?” With surprising skill, Lyco swung the line closer to the giant reeds lining the edge of the lake. The little twig he used as a floater bobbed merrily in between the stems. “Since we’re learning about humans, using human tools means learning more. Right, Elian-teacher?”

“You are correct,” Elian nodded, then took the opportunity to ask, “So, does anyone know why humans favour this fishing tool over, say, those spears?”

“Because you’re slow.” Myan grinned at him as her hand shot into the water, bringing out a flopping fish held firmly around the tail. She calmly took her short dagger and stabbed it deep into the gills, making the fish go limp.

“Good catch.”

She beamed at him, and he continued. “And you’re right. Humans don’t have as fast reflexes as Lykar do, so letting the fish hook itself is easier for us.”

“I got one too,” Lyco shouted, pulling the rod up, easily catching the emerging fish in his free hand.

“Good job. That makes… six. Let’s try to catch a couple more before we take a snack break.”

Soon ten sizeable fish lay in the grass, the sunlight creating rainbows on their shiny scales. Predictably, Lyco had ‘lost’ his fishing rod and was now busy ‘retrieving’ it with Leon and Myan’s help. The rescue involved lots of splashing and diving, making enough noise to ensure there wasn’t a single fish left in this area of the lake. But they had enough anyway.

“Who’s hungry?” Holding up the wrapped-up food, Elian caught the attention of most of the pups, and soon they were all seated in the grass. Some more dripping wet than others as they munched on dried meats, letting the sun dry their clothes and thick tails. Leaning back, Elian relaxed, the birds chirping and the wind through the leaves sounded so peaceful. Of course the peace didn’t last long.

Energy refilled, his students were soon up and about, most of them chasing frogs at the edge of the water, while simultaneously playing some sort of tag. Only Myan was strolling around, quietly, looking at the flowers. At least no one was climbing trees at dangerous heights.

“Someone needs to clean out those fish,” Elian called, but not an ear turned his way. “You know what Ryn will say if you give them to her like that.”

“I guess I’ll do it then,” he muttered to himself. Not that he minded, but he was very comfortable where he was. Besides, they had some time before the fish would go bad. He lay back, watching the clouds drift by, while happy shouts told him the frog hunt had been successful.

“Here, Elian-teacher. I picked these for you.” Myan smiled proudly, holding a handful of red berries toward him. Red spots around her mouth showed that she had tried them herself first.

“Thank you. They look delicious.”

“I know you like sweet, Elian-teacher,” she beamed, pouring them into his hand while licking the juice off her own. “And they’re really sweet. I tried many to make sure they were good.”

“That was very kind of you,” he said with a straight face, popping a berry into his mouth. Sweetness exploded on his tongue. “And you’re right. They’re very tasty.”

They shared the last of the berries and then cleaned the fish together, threading them onto one of the spears for easy carrying. Another spear held five chubby frogs. The pups had been successful, and they knew it, proudly carrying their catches back home.

“Frogs are great in soup,” Lyco told him as they walked, and Elian nodded. While not one of his favorites, he knew it was a popular dish among the Lykar.

“I’m looking forward to some grilled fish,” he said, nodding to the spear Lyco and Leon were carrying.

“That’s Roahr-leader’s favorite food too.” Lyco looked down, tail and ears sinking a little. “Do you think he’ll be back soon?”

“I think so. He’s been gone for two long moons already, and Ryn said we’re expecting guests. I’m thinking Roahr might bring someone from the tribe he was visiting…”

“Really?” They all paused and looked at him. “He went to see the Kharun, I’ve never met one of them.”

“No, I’m not sure, but it makes sense, doesn’t it? We often have people from Saira coming over, so I don’t think Ryn would call them guests. Not in that serious tone.”

They started walking again, and smiling a little smugly, Elian asked,

“Now, who can tell me what Kharun would be in human?”

“Noooo, no more classes today!” they whined, then Lyco piped up:

“Dark forest?”

“Almost. Deep forest, but that was really good. They must live far away?”

“Mmm, we never cross campsites with them. But I hear,” Lyco stroked his soft gray ears proudly, “that all of them have the prettiest dark gray ears and tails. Like me.”

That set off a burst of laughter and teasing, and they were still grinning as they reached the camp. Pulling themselves together, they proudly delivered the fish and frogs to Ryn, who promised to cook both soup and grill some of the fish. Then they scattered again, off to tell the other adults about their day.

Elian accepted a large cup of herbal tea from Ryn and retreated to the large tree where he kept his bedroll and large backpack. Leaning against it, he sipped the tea, watching the shadows from the leaves dance on the ground.

Visitors from a new tribe were on the way. He hoped they wouldn’t mind a human.