Mawei stayed sitting on the rock, looking up at the treetops and thinking about the future. The child would grow up and Mawei could show her things. Maybe her wild would be near Mawei’s and she would come to stay with Mawei on nights when the moon was gone from the sky. Mawei would comfort her, she thought, and they would talk about the mysteries of life. The wind was blowing the giant pines in rhythmic pulses all around her and their movement made them seem even bigger than they were. There were two brilliant flashes of light and Mawei listened for the thunder, which came quickly and sounded close.
A twig snapped somewhere behind the rock she was sitting on, and in that moment Mawei could smell a yeti close by. She stayed still and listened carefully. It was difficult to hear anything with the wind blowing and the rain coming down, but she caught the faint sound of fur against a branch, farther away than the sound of the twig snap. That meant that whoever it was would probably have their back to her based on the direction they were going.
Mawei slowly stood and saw a night-yeti moving through the woods away from her. Mawei’s fear drove her into the night-yeti’s back. She realized it was a male as they fell together. She was on top of him and she slashed her claws across his back before he managed to turn and push her off. As he got to his feet Mawei saw that it was Ruffer. He was standing and she was still on the ground so she bit his thigh, not breaking the skin, but hard enough to bruise him. She felt his elbow hit the side of her head hard, and she released his thigh and swung her leg across his ankles, tripping him. She scrambled to her feet and stood at a safe distance. “What are you doing here?” She asked.
“You bit me,” he said. “Why are you scratching and biting me? I didn’t do anything to you.”
“You followed me here.” She said. “Why?”
He got up again and flared his nostrils at her. “Why did you lie to me about where your uncle went?”
“Because my uncle’s location is none of your business. If you think I’m afraid of you, you have delusions of grandeur. You may be older than me, but I’m bigger than you. Whatever you thought you could do to me, you were wrong, I’m not a fat fish.”
“You should speak more gently to me,” he said, “considering I know your secret.”
“My secret?” She said. “What would that be?”
“You and your uncle harbor a human.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I saw it with my own eyes, a tiny human that can be smelled even in a rainstorm.”
“It’s a child you half-wit.”
“It’s a human.” He said. “Maybe you don’t realize how much trouble you could get in for that. I know what’s going on, your uncle dragged you into some crazy scheme. It’s none of my business, I just thought I could help, that’s all.”
Mawei considered the smallish night-yeti in front of her. “Why do you want to help me?” She asked. “Why should you care?”
“Because most yetis are stupid when it comes to humans.” He said. “I’m not.”
“I never asked for your help and you don’t know a thing about me, my uncle, or human beings.” Mawei said.
More lightning strikes flashed and wind bent the trees over them and the thunder arrived, louder than before. The rain started picking up again and a few ice-cold raindrops found their way through the tree cover to Mawei who was staring Ruffer down in a stance of aggression. “I know one thing,” Ruffer said, “and that’s that the twins, Sinker and Sichil were coming from these woods not long ago.”
“Did they see the human?”
“I don’t know, but I found you without any trouble.”
“Which way were they going?” Mawei asked. “Were they following Rei?”
“No.” Ruffer said. “They were heading north, toward the Gather.”
“You really think they saw the child?”
“I can’t say for sure,” he said, “but if they did, they’ll certainly tell what they saw.”
“What can I do?” Mawei asked.
“They’re young, you could deny everything and hope to throw enough doubt on their story to cloud matters. Just say that you have no idea what they’re talking about. I can back you up if you want. I’ll say that I was with you all afternoon.”
“You would do that?”
“Yeah,” he said, “a human child shouldn’t die just because your uncle is crazy.”
The sound of movement nearby sent Mawei ducking and looking behind her. She heard something hit the ground next to her and soon there were little noises all around and she realized that it had begun to hail. “The weather’s turning bad,” Mawei said, “I’m leaving.”
“I know a place, not too far from here,” Ruffer said, “a rock overhang where we can take cover.”
The ice falling from the sky was getting larger and more frequent. “Alright,” Mawei said, “I’ll go with you, but I still think you’re a pest.”