There's no North, East, West or South in this is fiction. Instead it's:
-North = direction of the night
-East = direction of the rising sun
-West = direction of the setting sun
-South = direction of sun's peak
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Chapter 3
Several days had passed since the incident with the wolf leader. With the voice of their leader, the other wolves backed off of Gannet’s Roost hunting ground but didn’t completely leave the surrounding area. The leader of the pack was the only one that stayed behind as it roamed around the village while using the narrow stairs as his go-between the different platforms. Finally having found her soladis, Circe went back to her previous duty of doing odd-jobs in order to learn the different tasks of her community. Her father also started teaching her more of the duties of a chief. But not everything went back to normal after the incident. The animals living in the plain surrounding the cliff of Gannet’s Roost had not yet returned to their former habitat but that was only a matter of time. The biggest and more serious change was the constant fear in the villagers’ eyes. Sure they treated Circe the same as always. She grew up in this village after all and everybody knows her. But her soladis was a different story. She could see the panic in their eyes whenever she walked around with Aatu. Many went and hid their soladis Aatu approached from fear of them being eaten. This repeated for weeks without end, day after day, week after week. Finally, one night Circe waited for her father to return home from work. Aatu, her wolf, lay beside the chair Circe occupied, his muzzle on the ground as faint sound of breathing filled the room. She watched lovingly as her soladis slept before turning her gaze to the front doorway at the sound of parting curtains.
“Aderyn, you’re still awake?” Tehuti said in a tired voice.
“Father, I…we need to talk.”
Tehuti’s eyes rested on his daughter’s firm gaze before drifting towards Aatu who’d woken up as soon as Tehuti and Shae entered. He sighed, stretched his arms before saying “Alright, I think I can make some time to talk to my daughter” with a wry smile. He took his seat opposite of Circe on the four corner table and waited with Shae perched on the wooden perch.
“I…” Circe opened her mouth to say something. She knew what she wanted to say but didn’t know how. She breathed in; the silence of their home filled her with doubt and made her waver. Was this right, she thought while looking at her tired father. But one glance at the golden eyes of her partner blew her doubts away. “Father, I will be leaving Gannet’s Roost.”
A frown dawned upon Tehuti’s face. “No. I see no reason for you to do such a thing.”
“But father, you’ve seen…maybe not seen but as the chief, you should know how the villager’ been treating Aatu, my soladis.”
“That’s because Aatu’s existence is…foreign to these lands. It will take time for our people to get used to him.”
“Father-”
“This does not entail you to leave!” Tehuti yelled. Silence filled the room as both stared at the table’s surface. Both hawk and wolf watched over their respective partner in silence, well aware that it was not their battle to fight.
“Father.” Circe tried speaking again, softer, gentler, “Father, you know better than anyone in this village about how I’ve longed for a soladis, for a partner to call my own. I can’t simply turn a blind eye when he’s being treated as an object of fear and hate. Some of the youngest even goes about trying to harm him. Father, I don’t want to come to hate either the villagers of Gannet’s Roost who are as good as family to me or the life-long partner I’ve always wanted and waited for.”
Tehuti’s lips were pressed together into a thin line. Seeing her father’s hardened expression, Circe spoke again. “Father, it’s not like I’m abandoning my rights to the next chief. I will return. I…we just need some time.”
His voice hoarse and tired, tinged with a hint of sadness, he spoke “…when are you leaving…”
“At dawn.” She answered deciding to keep it short.
“That soon…”
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She nodded. Not sure if her father saw it, she replied, “Yes, I don’t want to alarm the rest of the villagers and…” I don’t want to prolong my decision…she thought to herself. “I’ve already prepared everything I might need for the journey and some dried meat and fruits for the first few days.” Silence filled the house. Circe stared at her silent father who still looked down at the table. Minutes seemed like hours as both tried to find words to say. Without speaking, her father rose from his seat and Shae stretched her wings before flying to Tehuti’s shoulder. “I’m retiring for the night. Wake me up before you leave.” Circe stared at her retreating father’s back. “…yes father.”
That night, after a long struggle of tossing and turning, Circe fell into a restless sleep where she dreamed of a lurking shadow in the direction of the night. She woke to a light nudge and a pair of golden eyes staring at her. “Good morning Aatu” she smiled through the sleepiness before looking around her room. She’d be leaving this familiar abode in a matter of minutes. The familiar wooden platforms, the worn out lifts and swings, the almost unused stairs and slopes would all be replaced by vast unending wilderness. A sudden surge of dear took root only to be replaced by a gentle softness nuzzling up to her right hand. She looked at her companion and caressed him behind the ear. “I’ll be counting on you from now on.”
Her fear replaced by her partner’s reassurance, Circe didn’t wait any longer to change out of her one piece night gown to her dear leather pants and loosely fitted shirt with short sleeves. She donned her best shoes, the one she always wore whenever she’s out on the hunt and parted with her bedroom. Behind the curtained doorway, she spies a bowl already readied with food. Surprised, she looked around the main room only to find it empty. Without a word, she sat down and ate quietly thanking her father in her mind. As soon as she had cleared the table, her father came out. Without sparing a glance in her direction, her walked to the main doorway. “Let us go see your mother.”
They stood before a grave at the very edge of the village; the sky still dark, the village still asleep. Only a small glimmer of light shone in the horizon marking the coming dawn.
“Mother, I shall be going. But don’t worry, I shall return.” Circe proclaimed to the gave before her.
“Circe, Cee, take this with you.” Her father handed her a necklace woven out of rope and decorated with animal bones and colored cloth. “I received this amulet from your mother in hopes it will protect my soul. Now you take it and return home with it.” She tilted her head forward for her father to put the necklace over her head and around her neck.
“Thank you father.” She smiled slightly before turning to leave.
“Circe!” her father called out stopping her in her tracks. He walked up to her and cupped her face into his two large hands, roughened over the years of work. “Circe, my dear daughter, take this one piece of advice from your father. You…have a great ability but you seem to question it, which is not wrong. As a chief, one must have proof before declaring certain things but…trust your instincts. It is not wrong. And it will help you more often than you think.” She felt like she didn’t understand what her meant by those words but he made a point of not speaking anymore. They both headed to the entrance of the graveyard where both their partners waited before taking the long way to the above cliff.
“Where will you be heading?” Tehuti asked while watching the brightening sky.
“I’ll head in the direction of the rising sun. See where that will take me.”
Tehuti didn’t say anything; just nodded before looking at the wolf beside her. “Aatu, I’ll leave my daughter to you.” Aatu confirmed with a growl.
With a quick hug, one returned to his duties; the other started her adventure, each with their respective Soladis.
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To Vaevicti, the reason my chapters are so short is because these 3 chapters are actually part of chapter 1. But I'm a slow writer and it doesn't help that I always seem to write only during my breaks.