Arriving in the village, the group's travel was light up by only the moons and the stars. The small sanctuary though did not have the same calmness as the forest trek.

After announcing their arrival the gates, it took a moment longer as Woh revealed herself from the shadows as she yelled. "Is alrigh'! I only see them an' nobody else. Don't look like they got tailed, kero!"

Inside Rok, Urla, Brekda and Zurra welcomed the group albeit with a bit of caution.

"I see we're getting a warm welcome. Uhm... is everything good?" Michael asked with a groan as he stretched.

"We didn' expect y'all young bloods to take so damn long. We started wonderin' what could have gone wrong, we were contemplatin' sending Rok to come after ya and take a look." Zurra said as she sighed with a clear relief showing in her lowering shoulders.

"Rok?" Michael said as he eyed up the Tuskir, he knew the guy avoided him quite often and honestly he couldn't blame him. Their first time meeting was less than ideal.

"Aye. He is the fastest out of all of us without any magicks and he has an easier time makin' himself hard to see." Brekda said as gave the younger Tuskir man a pat on the back.

"Bein' the shortest an' thinnest ain't the worst thing possible." Rok said with a certain pride in his own strengths.

"Well, feel free to rest and eat. While you do so, please do tell what warranted your late arrival." Urla added after everyone else had already quieted down.

And so the group did, as they unloaded their equipment and took to hot bowls of stew they went into detail about their encounter with the Rock Backs and the situation with the Hay-yen.

"Well... this is indeed troublesome. This will change our plans going forward, but should this endeavor end well, it will grant us favorable position with the Rock Backs." Urla said speaking like a true leader, trying to see an opportunity in any situation, even those less favorable.

"I'm glad that we see things in the same light. My initial plan was different, but dealing with this Bruiza proved more difficult than any- AGK!" Michael said calmly before Zurra wrapped her arm around his neck in a light chokehold. While he spoke she had gotten up and moved behind the human, without his notice, akin to a most unstealthy yet inconspicuous assassin.

"ONLY YA COULD THINK O' SOMETHIN' SO STUPID! You an' your bleedin' logic." She grumbled while lightly shaking the human in the choke hold. "Are ya lookin' to kill me by givin' me a dark heart full o' worry, are ya?! That's the bleedin' plan?! Huh?!"

"Ma, calm yerself. Ya didn't get this upset when I snuck off with Azhul in the heart of the woods to collect lightning beetles during the night." Azhul said with a sort of jealous snort, but more akin to a kid than a fully grown young adult.

"That's cuz yer shite at sneakin' an' I knew where yer going, sweethear'. All I needed ta do is go to da gate and look at Rok till he broke. The boi spilled what ya two were up to quicker than it takes to shape a maul head on an anvil." Zurra said while Michael was still flailing half choking in her arms akin to a spastic chihuahua trying to swim in the air.

"What?! That's why she knew?! Rok! Ya bleedin' backstabber!" Azhul spoke as her gaze and figure shifted at the shorter tuskir male.

"We gave you two truffleberries! You said you'd not squeal a word about it!" Gharna said loudly when she heard Zurra while turning towards Rok as well, snorting upset.

"Two truffleberries don' compare wif the two holes Zurra was borin' in me skull wif her starin'! I tried me best to hold out!" Rok said throwing his hands up in the air at the situation.

"I-if ACK-... HNGH- Yer gonna argue ah-tleast let m-hhg-me go!" Michael barely managed to utter through the choke hold. "Ogh- therwise ya m-might do me in before they do."

"Ah! Sorry me boi. Got caught in da moment." Zurra said while setting Michael down, following that up with a harsh slap on the back that got the human sputtering and coughing like a clogged exhaust pipe. "But! Don' ya think I ain't still upset wif this idea o' yours!" She made sure to add while crossing her arms.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Gah... D-don't... ahem... don't worry. I'll make sure I'm prepared as best as I can. I might not sleep tonight. I do need to prepare some equipment for the road and I might need a good amount of Woh's poison." Michael said while taking a moment to draw in a full lung of air and appreciate how good breathing feels.

"Oh! Ye gonn' need more? Alright. I'mma be needin' help fillin' me bathin' bucket." The tiny amphoran said while stretching with he usual dopey wide amphibian smile on her face.

Michael hearing that would shiver as a bolt of sheer cringing went down his spine. "Please don't call it that... it makes it sound like I'm drinking your bath water, Woh." The human said with a whine as covered his face.

The previous argument had ceased at this point as the participants began snorting and holding back chuckles at Michael's remark. Everyone except Brekda and Urla, who most likely didn't find it funny, was pretty much doing their best to not start squealin' and howling.

"Hmm... then what should I call it? My moistening bucket? Me juice bucket? Or maybe..." Woh continued while squinting with a focused expression, her gullet bulging with a tiny croak of creativity.

"JUST... Call it your bucket! That's it! Nothin' else. Woh's bucket! The bucket." Michael said as he looked at the tiny pink and purple amphoran with a much redder face.

"Could call it an amphoran distillery... pffft." Azhul said semi muffled so she'd be heard while still snickering under her breath. It seems the word play had gotten another good chunk of hollers out of the others present as the snickering exploded muffled anew.

"NO!" The human yelped out as he turned towards the much larger Tuskir woman.

"HAH! I'm a drink now!" Woh said as she fell over while croaking and laughing kicking up her legs in amusement.

As the majority were having a moment to relieve their stress through this little moment of comedy, Urla tapped her staff on the ground lightly, yet the clear striking sound echoed into the silent night clearly, demanding their attention. At this point as the others quieted down she spoke, her usual stoic expression light up by the embers of the fire they stood about.

"As much as I enjoy seeing ease wash over you all, especially after the recent rough times we had to brave as a tribr, there is not much time to spend on revelry. Dawn might seem far away now, but we need to aid Michael in preparing." The elderly woman said as she gazed upon each of them, her soft yet steely gaze looking upon the features of each of her tiny clan's members.

"Since he is to depart soon... this might be a bit sudden. I did wish to at least say something so it may be clear that I acknowledge this officially." Urla then turned herself to face Michael at which point the human seemed to instinctively straighten himself as if to at least attempt to appear more presentable.

The others looked curious, some with a glint of recognition to what this is about, all waiting with anticipation for Urla to speak her mind. Michael, aware of the situation as well, got nervous as a knot built into his throat.

"For a while now, albeit rather short by comparison to the past that most of us share with one another, we had welcomed among us an unknown traveler, but I believe that after the struggles we all shared, that instead we have acquired a new friend. He may not look like us, with no fur, snout or tusks of his own, but he spilled his own blood for us and plenty of us deigned to spill our own, returning his trust..." as Urla paused in her speech she turned with both her body and head slightly to look to the tall tree that now resided at the center of their tribe's home. "... I think, even those of us not amongst the living would agree that he is no stranger, not anymore." The elderly tuskir then looked over her people as she tapped her staff onto the dirt, her eyes then focusing on the human. "Michael, traveler from a world unknown to our own and now a tried and proven ally of our tribe, it is my honor as the Elder of this small village to ask you. Do you join us, not as an ally, but as one of our own? You ate and bleed with us. Will you do so still, but as a part of our tribe, a tuskir in name and in spirit?"

Michael listened as the knot in his throat grew tighter, unused to participating in any sort of ceremony, even more so when he's supposedly at the center of it. As Urla finished her speech, he waited for a second that felt much longer than it truly was, but he spoke. His mind felt blank, not knowing how to reply, but instead his heart lead him to utter forth.

"I will. You've taken me in when I was lost and you've made efforts to accommodate my... outlandish views and way of acting, instead of turning me away. For all of that, I am thankful and more. I said this before to the others, but I wanted to say it again. I view you as people, people that I value and that I have grown to... heh... excuse my nervousness... to cherish. I am not naive to think that my presence hasn't also brewed arguments and controversy and I know that my sheer presence here puts you at risk, should the knowledge of my existence spread widely. I might have proven myself until now, but I know that I'll need to keep doing that. I hope that my actions and choices will not disappoint you." The human said as he turned to look at his newly found friends and more so now, newly found family.

He smiled as he spoke, even though there was a tinge of pain in his gut. This pain came at the knowledge that one day, maybe sooner or perhaps later, he'll need to make a choice, one that he knows won't come easy if things were to keep going like this. He buried that feeling for now and relished in the present time he was stuck in, in the company of those around him and he steeled his resolve at the challenges that were soon going to be upon him.