Chapter Text
The lanterns around the village swayed a little lazily in the evening breeze, their golden glow spilling across the stone paths of the village like scattered fireflies as everyone gathered around for tonight's meeting.
It was last minute like most of their town meetings lately but the inn was more packed than usual tonight. Hodari was over to the side with his daughter, trying to keep a somewhat grumpy Najuma calm. He still didn’t know what he did to get on her bad side that badly, but he was apparently at the very top of her mortal enemies list because every once in a while, she’d try to glare in his direction before her dad noticed and told her to stop in a somewhat hushed whisper.
Elouisa and Caleri were talking in hushed whispers at their own little table. Well, Elouisa was talking. Caleri was just nodding along with whatever her sister was talking about while she worked on some kind of notebook on her lap.
Jel was near the back with Tish and Reth, talking in hushed whispers and he still couldn't figure out how Jel managed to go anywhere and look absolutely perfect while doing it.
Even the Galdur were here. Einar was hovering next to Hekla and a half-asleep Jina, who looked close to collapsing from yet another all-nighter.
And Nai’o, well, he was just sitting on a wooden bench near the front of the inn with his family, one leg bouncing restlessly beneath him the longer the meeting dragged on. Anytime they ever had a town meeting this late at night always meant some kind of bad news was coming their way. Last time had been about a bunch of Rolis damaging the fairgrounds. The time before that was about a supply shortage for some of the farm animals. Tonight could be about anything, really.
And that thought alone only made him want to pace even more than usual because he couldn’t see his human anywhere.
He tried, honest, he really, really did try to sit still and wait, but long meetings always made him feel like ants were crawling under his skin, and the fact that he couldn’t see Misha anywhere didn’t help at all. It only made it so much worse since everyone knew his human often ventured into dangerous places. Sure, he was mostly fine eighty percent of the time but it still stressed him out a little since Misha was so much smaller than him.
His calloused fingers drummed an uneven rhythm against his thigh as the Mayor cleared his throat for what felt like the tenth time, squinting down at a bunch of crumpled notes.
“Er, yes… well… as I’m sure many of you fine folks have noticed,” Kenli began, his voice carrying that familiar rambling tone it always did whenever he was asked to speak in public, “things around the valley have been a bit… unusual lately. Strange glowing lights deep in the Elderwood after dusk, odd howls that don’t sound quite like any plumehound or sernuk we know, and, well, the giant pillars of light that were spotted a few months ago.
A few villagers shifted uneasily at the reminder of all of the odd things going on lately. The rare human reappearance was something everyone had gotten used to since it was happening everywhere really but the things going on in the surrounding ruins and the Elderwood were just weird. It wasn't even that long ago that Hekla and Jina were attacked in the ruined temple near his family's ranch.
Tau huffed a half-bark from somewhere in the back of the inn at the mention of the strange lights in the Elderwood and Nai’o turned his head slightly to glance in their direction, spotting Hassian near the back doors with his arms crossed, his plumehound sitting on the floor beside him.
Auni, on the other hand, was practically vibrating with excitement despite the serious mood, whispering something to their mother about his super secret missions. That was yet another thing he really didn’t want to think about to much since his little brother got into just as much trouble as his human.
‘Where was he?’
Misha should have been here an hour ago. He might have missed the first couple of meetings when he first appeared in the valley, since he’d still been getting used to the area, but his mom had made sure to keep him in the loop on the important things like this after becoming his Shepp.
‘Did something happen to him?’ Nai’o didn’t even want to entertain the idea, but it was always a possibility since it was well known that the deeper parts of the Elderwood were incredibly dangerous. It wasn't just the usual beasts you had to worry about when exploring. You had to look out for sudden dips in the water that'd drag you under within seconds if you weren't careful and Infected Essence tainting everything it touched.
Thankfully, Eshe stepped forward to cut her husband off before Kenli could meander any further into yet another rambling tangent. The Magistrate looked unusually subdued tonight, no bold jewelry catching the light, no dramatic winged eyeliner or vibrant colors. Just a simple deep-blue robe and visible exhaustion etched into the lines of her face. That alone sent a ripple of worry through Nai’o’s chest since it meant even Eshe was caught off guard about whatever was going on.
“Thank you, Kenli,” Eshe called out, her voice crisp and just a little strained as she took center stage. “I’ll be direct. As you all might know, our local Watcher has been engaged in a rather classified mission concerning disturbances in the surrounding area. Lately, however, she’s been working closely with our human resident, Mikhail Voss, on several sensitive matters that the human was able to help manage. However, due to the nature of these events, Subira will be unavailable in the village for the foreseeable future.”
Nai’o straightened sharply after hearing that. ‘Subira?’ He scanned the shadowed edges of the inn where the stoic Majiri woman usually stood like a quiet sentinel near the tavern stairs. Nothing. No dark cloak, no watchful gaze scanning the crowd from the second floor. His stomach twisted at the knowledge that the Watcher was missing.
Subira’s absence was never a good sign since it meant weird things were still happening. They just weren't happening bear the village anymore.
Eshe kept going though, choosing her every word carefully. “In light of these recent developments, access to the Voss Homestead and the surrounding area near the wheat fields on the outskirts of the valley will be restricted for at least the next month since Misha has graciously agreed to provide a stable home for a young Umbraan child the pair found living almost feral in the deeper parts of the Elderwood. His name is Ulfe, and Subira will be accompanying Misha and Tamala into the restricted areas of the Elderwood in the coming days to help bring the boy safely back to his homestead.”
‘Ulfe.’
Nai’o’s breath hitched a little at the younger boy’s name.
He would have bolted upright in his seat if his father hadn’t clamped a hand around his forearm, anchoring him in place before he could run off and look for his human. “Easy there, son,” his dad murmured low and steady, voice barely audible above everyone else’s murmurs. Zeki was one of the loudest, demanding to know what would happen to his bottom line if his biggest spender couldn’t come into town for a whole month.
His mother leaned in from the other side, her hand gently rubbing his back as more villagers called out their own concerns. “Nai’o, honey, it’s going to be alright,” she whispered, though the words felt distant, muffled by the sudden roar of blood in his ears. Auni, oblivious to the full weight, groaned loudly beside them.
“A whole month? No fair!” Auni was full on pouting now, crossed arms and everything, as he complained about the new, thankfully temporary rule. “I was gonna try and get Misha to help me build a secret base in the old silo near his home.”
“Shush, Auni,” their mother hissed softly, but his little brother just slumped dramatically against the bench in response, still grumbling under his breath.
“But this stinks!”
Nai’o barely registered any of it though as his thoughts spun back through months of quiet, patient effort in the shadowed trees of the Elderwood.
'Ulfe.'
The boy was around twelve, maybe thirteen. Nai’o didn’t know his exact age, but the kid couldn’t have been any older than Auni so he'd put him around thirteen at most.
Ulfe was, he was slightly taller than his little brother, but dangerously thin from living all alone in the Elderwood for who knows how long and Umbraan through and through with messy dark hair and purple eyes that had seen too much. The kid spoke in broken fragments and growled more than he talked, snapping like an angry plumehound when overwhelmed.
The first time Nai’o had encountered him, the kid had bitten his arm hard enough to draw blood before vanishing into the underbrush like a startled ferris.
It had taken him months of effort and a whole lot of patience.
Months of leaving extra food near the treeline. Months of sitting in plain sight, humming old farming songs while pretending not to notice the small shadow stalking him from branch to branch. Months of scratches, bites, and sudden panicked flights whenever he moved too quickly. But slowly, painfully slowly, the boy had begun to trust him.
Nai’o had told Misha about the wild child weeks ago, when Ulfe had gone missing for nearly two weeks.
His human had listened with that quiet intensity, those pink-quartz-colored eyes of his soft with concern.
He didn’t know what went on in the deeper parts of the Elderwood, but Misha had found him, he’d helped Ulfe over and over and over again in dozens of small ways and with even bigger matters until the kid started to seek him out. And now they were going to try to bring him out of the forests.
‘I should be there.’
Ulfe trusted him, well, he trusted him enough not to bolt on sight or bite him anymore, which counted for a lot.
If anyone could help smooth this over… If anyone could make sure Ulfe didn’t panic and disappear back into the woods…
‘It’d be Misha.’
The Voss Homestead was the ideal place. It was tucked away on the quiet edge of the valley, surrounded by open fields and easy paths that could lead all over the place. The only other person living in the area was the platform for the Gardner, and the Galdur was tucked away in the gardens right outside Misha’s greenhouse.
It was far enough away from the village that an Ulfe wouldn’t be bombarded by so many new loud noises and strangers. If anyone could do this carefully, it was his human. Misha was patient with kids. Auni and Najuma loved spending time with him, and the sight always made Nai’o’s ears burn, and his chest feel too tight because he’d been thinking about a lot of things lately that would have his mom twisting his ear and dragging him over to the temple if he ever said them out loud, since only a few people knew they were dating. Auni was the most recent, and that was only because the little menace had been snooping around Misha’s home.
Still, his heart clenched with a messy tangle of pride, worry, and something warmer he didn’t have a name for yet. They hadn’t exactly defined what they were. Friends, definitely. Close friends who shared long evenings on Misha’s porch, shoulders brushing, quiet conversations stretching late into the night. A situationship. Boyfriends. Yes, a hundred thousand times yes. They hadn’t said the words yet, but the long nights in his human’s bed, watching that flushed face say his name, had him imagining their future more and more lately.
And reality was quick to remind him to get his head out of the clouds as a soft, familiar chuckle brushed warm against his ear from the row behind.
“So,” Kenyatta whispered, low and teasing, “your boyfriend’s gonna play house with the Elderwood wild boy, huh? That whole domestic thing will probably look amazing on him.”
Nai’o’s neck and ears flamed bright red as he twisted around in his seat to shoot her a half-hearted glare that held no real bite. “I, he’s not! Kenyatta!”
They’d only recently ‘broken up’ a few weeks ago, and he didn’t need to give Eshe any more reasons to hate him than she already does now if she found out they’d dated just to annoy her.
Kenyatta just grinned, completely unrepentant, propping her chin elegantly on her hand as she leaned closer. The lantern light danced across her features, highlighting the playful spark in her eyes. “Oh, come on, Nai’o. You’re not even denying the ‘boyfriend’ part with any real conviction anymore.”
“I am denying it!” he hissed back, voice cracking embarrassingly on the last syllable as he dragged a hand down his face. “We’re just… friends. Really good friends who happen to… spend a lot of time together.”
“Mmhm.” Kenyatta raised one perfectly sculpted brow. “Sure you are. And I suppose all those moonlit walks back from his homestead are purely platonic, too? Or maybe it’s the way you disappeared during the last festival. That was really friendly of you to let him borrow your shirt like that. Then again, you did take a-”
Nai’o tried to swat at her, furiously hissing for her to shut up before his parents heard them, and Kenyatta snorted in response, completely delighted with his reaction as she leaned back, sticking her tongue out at him like they were still teenagers causing trouble in the village square. “Whatever you say, farm boy. You get all blushy and stuttery just thinking about him. It's honestly adorable to see you all love-sick about your little human.”
Nai’o groaned, slumping forward and burying his face in his hands for a moment. “Why are you like this…”
“Because it’s fun,” she shot back instantly, laughter threading through her words. “I never would’ve gotten to tease you this mercilessly if we were still dating. So thanks for discovering your bi. It was one of your better choices in life, for both of us, really, since now I get front-row seat to your very obvious pining.”
“Seriously, though… do you want me to put in a good word with my mom? You’ll probably be approved to visit anyway since you’re one of the few people the kid actually trusts. I could nudge you straight to the top of the list. if you want.”
Nai’o peeked at her through his fingers at her, surprised by the sudden offer. “You’d do that?”
She just shrugged her shoulders. “Worst she’ll make me do is play ‘proper lady’ at the next few capital galas. It’ll be worth it to watch you get all flustered around your boyfriend while he plays proud dad to your Umbraan kid.” Her grin returned, sharp and mischievous. “Besides, someone has to make sure you don’t trip over your own feet trying to get your little human to the temple.”
He couldn’t help the reluctant smile that tugged at his lips. “You’re impossible.”
“You know you love me.”