Chapter 36 –– Resolution & Answer

Varda and Nura, Noam's mothers, asked about their son's decision about the mating proposal proposed by his suitors from Felixia tribe and Caninus tribe. After giving it some thought, Noam finally gave them an answer.

Varda and Nura were surprised to hear the unexpected answer. They looked at each other and nodded. They respected Noam's decision and agreed to go along with it.

"We understand. Thank you for being so understanding."

His mothers then gave him a kiss on the forehead. Noam was embarrassed because he did not want to be treated like a little child. His mothers then exited the room and left Noam by himself.

Soon after, Jared and Enoch knocked on the door to ask for Noam's permission to enter the room. Noam had no idea what they were about to say to him, but he let them in to listen to what they had to say.

"Noam....I'm sorry for everything."

Jared apologized to Noam the moment he entered the room. He looked sorry for what he did and repented on his mistakes.

"I know that I should have treated you better....it's just....I guess I just wasn't the right person for you."

Enoch was just listening to them talk. Even though it was painful for him to see, he was mature enough to give them the closure they needed.

"And neither was I to you. I'm sorry for being so mean to you earlier," Noam also apologized.

They both knew that they were in the wrong. They apologized to each other despite how much resentment they felt towards each other.

"I am sorry."

Jared bowed down and put his head on the floor, asking for Noam's forgiveness. Noam and Enoch were startled.

"It's fine, Jared. I'm all good now. I guess we were just too young and dumb to understand that we were not compatible."

Noam told Jared to raise his head. Jared then looked at Noam in the eyes.

"I wish you good luck with Enoch. I hope you two get your happy ending."

Enoch and Jared were startled to hear that from Noam. Just in the span of a few hours, Noam's attitude totally changed from being spiteful to being merciful.

"Thank you, Noam. I wish you to be happy, too," Enoch thanked Noam.

Having resolved their conflict, Jared and Enoch excused themselves to leave the room. Noam was then left alone in the room again.

Not long after, two other people came into the room. This time, it was Dawoud and Moshe, Noam's suitors.

Just when Noam thought he could get some rest, turned out there were others who wanted to get their turn to talk to him.

"Dawoud....Moshe...." Noam mumbled.

The moment they entered the room, Noam felt emotional. He was trying to hold his tears in, not wanting to show any sign of weakness.

"Feeling any better?" Moshe asked straightforwardly.

"Yeah....I guess...."

Out of all people, these two were the ones who had been the most understanding to him. Noam wondered if they could still be understanding once they heard what he was about to say.

"So, about earlier––"

"It's alright, Noam. We heard about everything," Dawoud cut him off.

"We heard about what happened between you and Jared," Moshe said, after hearing all their conversation on the rooftop.

"We also heard about the conversation between our parents. That's why, you have nothing to worry about," Dawoud added.

Even without saying a single word, the two of them already understood what Noam was about to explain. They just wanted Noam to be okay and not to think about his relationship with them.

"No. I need to say this."

However, there was still one thing Noam needed to say to them. Noam could not let this chance slip away, so he made sure to say it right.

"About our mating proposal. I have to let you two know that, I cannot decide it for now. In fact, I don't know when I could come to a decision. I don't want to give any of you any false hope, so if you decide to choose someone else as your mate, you are free to do so."

Noam finally said it. He finally told his suitors the truth. He didn't want to say it at first, but deep down, he knew it was the right thing to do. He did not want to hold them back to wait for his answer, so he let them pursue whatever they wanted to do.

His suitors totally did not expect what Noam just said. They looked at each other. They did not know what to do with that information since it never crossed their mind that Noam was thinking that.

"But.... how do you feel about us?" Dawoud asked.

Noam took a moment of silence to reflect on himself. He had been asked this question several times before by several other people. However, this time, he really reflected on himself to think of a genuine answer.

Previously, during Noam's conversation with his mothers, his mothers asked a similar question. Noam then answered this to his mothers.

"I do have feelings for both of them, just not sure whom I like more. I will take one of them as my mate for the sake of our village. However, I still need more time to decide."

His mothers were surprised to hear Noam's unexpected answer. However, they respected his decision.

After giving it some thought, Noam finally came up with an answer. A similar one to the answer he gave to his mothers.

"To tell you the truth, I have feelings for the both of you. I can't say that it's love yet, but I am interested in getting to know you more."

Dawoud and Moshe were relieved to hear that, even though it was such a vague answer.

"However, as I said earlier, I cannot give you an exact answer right now. I need to find out about what happened to me, and I need to figure out the truth about my grandpa."

Noam pointed at parts of his body that had changed over the past few hours. He needed to find out what happened to him and how he could fix it.

Moshe and Dawoud understood well that Noam still had things he needed to resolve, however, his answer still made them feel disappointed nevertheless.

"That's why, I don't want to hold you back. You are free to pursue what you want to do. You can either wait for me, or find someone else as your mate."

Unlike what they had in mind, they wished that Noam would fight for them. However, knowing how he was as a person, they understood that Noam was the type to chase after his dreams rather than be tied down to someone. At least not until his dreams were fulfilled.

"I see. Thank you for telling us."

His suitors thanked Noam for being honest about his feelings. They then excused themselves to go meet their parents, before leaving the party of the day.

After the mating reception was over, Yeshua and Talia came over to Noam's room to talk about his condition earlier.

"Noam. Listen."

Yeshua handed him a scroll containing a map and a handwritten letter. Noam was confused as hell to see Yeshua's sudden serious expression, as if Noam just made a grave mistake.

"You need to go to Burrow Town to see Sage Soloman. Give him this, and he'll know what to do with you."

Noam tried to open the map, but Talia stopped it. She said he should not open it until he reached Burrow Town.

"Why...? What happened to me?"

Noam asked. He suddenly became anxious about what just happened to him.

"If our predictions were correct...then....you'll be stuck looking like that unless you got it cured," Talia said.

Noam felt like his heart just sunk. He did not want to be stuck looking like an alien for the rest of his life. He just realised how serious the situation was.

"Then....will you come with––"

"We can't, Noam. This is something you have to deal with by yourself," Yeshua said.

Noam was stressed hearing that. He never went anywhere so far by himself. The last time he went to another village, he was escorted by a squad full of guards sent by the chieftains of other villages. He could not imagine that he had to go to the capital by himself.

"But...how––"

"In Burrow Town, you will also find out more about our grandpa. He used to live there before he came to Hyaena Village, before we were born," Yeshua added.

Upon hearing that, Noam suddenly felt motivated. Even though previously he was scared to think that he had to go alone, now he had enough motivation that drove him to go to the capital. He had so much to find out about himself and the world.

"When should I go?"

"The first daystone in the morning. Talia and I will help you pack. Don't tell our mothers, they'll stop you from going. I will let them know them later on," Yeshua said.

Noam nodded in agreement. He will keep this away from them.

The next day, Noam carried a backpack on his back and wore a cloak to hide his figure. Yeshua and Talia told him to cover up so that people wouldn't notice about his strange appearance. Noam did as he was told and got ready to hop on the downkey to travel to Burrow Town.

"Remember, be careful of bandits on your way there. Keep it low and don't attract attention. Burrow Town is a dangerous place," Talia warned him.

Noam nodded. He was ready to start his journey.

Right when he was about to depart, Noam saw two downkeys hanging around in front of his house. He was curious to see the riders who were approaching him.

"Going somewhere?"

Noam was surprised to see who they were. He totally did not expect them to wait for him in front of his house.

"Dawoud? Moshe? What are you doing here?"

He was perplexed to see them both looking similar to him, wearing a backpack and riding a downkey. It was as if they were going somewhere far just like he was about to.

"Your brother told us. We're going with you," Moshe answered.

Noam was even more surprised to hear what Moshe just said. He thought that he had to do this alone, but his brother sent his suitors to come with him.

"But... after what I said...?"

Noam did not want them to keep hoping that he would give them an answer anytime soon. So, if they were hoping to hear it on the journey, Noam would rather that they did not to come with him at all.

"We know. We don't care about that. Let us come with you," Dawoud said.

Noam was touched by their gesture. Even though he could not give them the answer they wanted, they were still willing to help him fulfill what he needed to do.

"Let's go."

After having put their minds into it, they finally departed from Hyaena Village on their downkeys. Their destination: Burrow Town.