Joy has great affection for her sisters. They’ve been working together for many cycles and know each other’s strengths and weaknesses with spear-point accuracy. Their sisterhood is closer than hatchlings of the same brood – though that’s saying little since the nature of the forest puts hatchlings in direct competition over resources. It’s stronger even than the brotherhood of the Warriors since there tend to be far more of them for every Pathwalker who Evolves.

Joy sends an irritated thought towards the departed Shaman whose decisions have so reduced the numbers of Warriors that there are barely even two of them for every Pathwalker, let alone the usual five or six depending on the year.

Nevertheless, at this moment, she finds herself wishing that certain members would go feed themselves to a marluck and save her the trouble.

“For the last time, Wind-whisperer,” she hisses with her claws curled inwards so they won’t accidentally rip her sister’s throat out, “we voted to allow Runs-with-the-river into this discussion. If you don’t shut up about how she shouldn’t be here, I’ll make you shut up by binding your jaws closed!”

“Weaver, don’t threaten our sister,” Herbalist says wearily. “And Wind-whisperer, shut up. Your concerns have been recognised and dismissed. Let us actually discuss the hunt at hand rather than the one long over.”

As the second-strongest in their most recent ranking matches, she is automatically allowed the authority of being the strongest – until proven otherwise in a ranking fight. Which, presuming their sisterhood makes the right decision, should be before the next Egg-rise.

Joy herself is increasingly convinced that there is nothing to gain from resisting the one who holds her Bond and everything to gain from accepting him. It is rather unusual, accepting a non-villager as overall leader, but if he is strong enough, then Joy doesn’t have any issues in dispensing with tradition.

The strongest creatures survive – if he can make their village stronger, they stand a better chance of surviving.

“The question we must discuss is what role, if any, to let this prey beast take in our village,” states Grower neutrally.

“A prey beast, taking a role in our village,” scoffed Wood-shaper. “Are you listening to yourself, Grower?”

“He is no prey beast,” Runs-with-the-river interjects heatedly. “If anything, he makes us into prey beasts.”

Wind-whisperer looks as if she’s about to interject, probably to protest Runs-with-the-river’s right to speak – again – but the stern looks that Herbalist, Joy, and Grower all pin her with suffice to make her subside without doing more than grunting in disapproval.

“Of course you would say that,” scathes Wood-shaper. “You are his captured beast, are you not?”

“Not,” answers Runs-with-the-river gaping her jaws open in a threat. “At this moment, there is no Bond between us, no lines of obligation or debt. He is not currently my master.”

This is news to everyone except Joy – she had felt the absence of River in their network of Bonds. Quietly observing the body language of both Markus and her newly-freed kin revealed that it was a mutually consensual break, if not pleasant for either of them. Joy was surprised that Runs-with-the-river took it as well as he did – losing the Bond and position of assistant put him in a very vulnerable position.

Not only would he not have been able to continue in Markus’ group without a Bond – that had been made clear enough with what she had heard about the affair with the Great Predator’s cub – but he would not have been welcome back in the village either. Not after his previous actions against the village combined with his attack on Shaman. Justified as it might have been, and Joy had been completely behind him on that matter, the effect was that he robbed the village of its leader when he was only an Unevolved.

Then he had Evolved and become a Pathwalker and everything had changed. Options had blossomed for her, even if Wind-whisperer had done her best to close them down again. Perhaps that was why River had looked so unconcerned about being Bond-less – he had known that his Evolution was coming. Though, if he’d become a Warrior, he wouldn’t have had nearly the amount of leverage she now had as a Pathwalker.

“Is this true?” Grower asks. It takes Joy a moment to realise that the question is directed at her.

“It is,” she confirms, realising that the other Pathwalkers wish her to respond to Runs-with-the-river’s comment.

“Even your master didn’t want you,” snaps Wind-whisperer meanly at the newest of their members. Runs-with-the-river snaps wordlessly back at the other Pathwalker, her spikes rippling with irritation and anger. Still, Joy doesn’t think she’s seeing things when she spots a hint of uncertainty there too.

“Wind-whisperer, enough,” Grower says. She’s the most even-natured of our group, and has said more so far this discussion than in the last two added together. “Your commentary is less than useful. We have a decision to make; let us actually make it.”

Wind-whisperer seems slightly taken-aback by their sister’s uncharacteristic admonition. Joy can only hope that she takes it more to heart than all the others she’s received so far.

“How we’re supposed to make a decision around a carcass when we don’t even have a carcass, I don’t know.” The grumble from Wood-shaper breaks the tension in the moment and directs the attention her way.

“We’ve been almost cut off from the forest for three days now,” Herbalist says irritably. “Where exactly do you expect us to summon a carcass from?”

Joy finds herself thinking about Markus doing exactly that – pulling massive amounts of meat from nowhere. It didn’t always taste great, but it filled the belly and gave their limbs energy to move which was the key objective of eating.

As if her thoughts were some sort of summoning, she abruptly feels a stirring…somewhere.

Hello? Joy hears spoken, yet she doesn't hear it with her ears. She doesn’t even hear it in the same way she normally hears Markus’ messages. This feels…closer. Like she has something in her own mind which is speaking to her. It’s more than a little uncomfortable, if only because she’d had absolutely no warning.

Yes? Joy thinks back cautiously.

OK, so it’s partially working, Markus’ voice – for who else could it be – says with a hint of blue relief to it. But I can’t see through your eyes or hear through your ears right now.

That’s what you’re trying to do? she sends back, slightly intrigued by the thought even if it is her eyes and ears in question.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

It worked once before. Hang on, let me try something…. There’s an odd sort of…rummaging in her mind. It’s like she’s a hatchling looking for worms in a leaf pile again, except she is the leaf pile. And then something clicks into place. Suddenly, she has the sense of another presence sitting at the forefront of her mind, seeing through her eyes, hearing through her ears, feeling through her claws.

If she’d felt even the slightest loss of control, she might have panicked. As it is, she senses that she is still completely in control – to test it, she turns her head from one side to the other, looking at her sisters who are still squabbling pointlessly.

Is it always like this? Markus asks her, a hint of green bemusement in his eerie mental voice.

It’s not usually so bad, she answers, though there’s almost always some in-fighting. Except directly after a ranking fight, she adds, recalling how, with the feasting order so clearly established, the discussions directly after tended to be quick and subdued affairs.

That’s probably why this one is so bad, she realises. With the loss of both Mover and Shaman since their last ranking fight, and the addition of Runs-with-the-river, everyone is feeling uncertain about her place in the hierarchy.

“Well, until we’ve sorted out this decision we can’t send any villagers out into the forest for fear that they might be picked off by this…him,” Herbalist cuts into the growing argument. “So, let us make the decision which we came here to make. How should we respond to his demand for our capitulation?”

“Send our Warriors to kill him,” answers Wind-whisperer promptly and more than a little predictably. The huffing grunts which emerge from Joy, Herbalist, and Grower all show the lack of patience the three of them have for her stupidity.

“And have them consumed by the life-devourer that he controls? Great idea,” Herbalist replies, her spikes showing her insincerity. “I have seen only a portion of his strength, and it warns me not to test him too blatantly.”

“I concur,” Joy says, very much aware of the presence still in her mind. Wary of revealing more information than he wishes her to release, she speaks only in huts rather than individuals. “You have seen only the mushroom head, not the network of roots below the ground. With his abilities, I am confident that he could carry out his threats of destroying our village.” She hesitates, the weight of Markus’ presence in her eyes and ears heavy. “Moreover, I think that he has much to offer our village. Just look at how quickly Runs-with-the-river has Evolved – she is so young and yet she is already a Pathwalker.”

“A coincidence,” scoffs Wood-shaper.

“I agree with Weaver,” sighs Herbalist. “I spoke much with this would-be warlord and observed how he acted. I am uncertain, but I think that he quite possibly could do our village good. At least, he can hardly do worse than our Shaman’s most recent actions.” That silences even the two most verbal opponents.

Grower looks at Joy and Herbalist with calculation, then turns to Runs-with-the-river.

“You are…three Great Egg cycles old, are you not?”

“That’s right,” she confirms.

“How much of your progression to Evolution would you say is as a direct result of your former master’s different approach?”

“A large portion of it,” the newest Pathwalker answers immediately. “Master…my previous master gave me access to powerful carcasses to consume, Cores to absorb, and encouraged me to go hunting frequently. My Bond-sister gave me advice about how to correctly balance the different Energies and how to succeed in and direct the Evolution itself. I fully believe that my previous master’s approach to making resources freely available and encouraging cooperation rather than competition is directly responsible for my success.”

Even Wind-whisperer and Wood-shaper don't appear able to refute this in any way. The fact is that Runs-with-the-river has achieved Evolution at a very young age. It normally takes seven to ten full Great Egg cycles for a villager to accrue enough Energy to even attempt Evolution. More fail than succeed even then. Though there have been early Evolutions in the past, they have been far more the exception than the rule. For Runs-with-the-river to achieve an Evolution at three Great Egg cycles is more than an achievement – it’s almost unheard of.

Joy recalls a time before she Evolved herself where one of her peers had had some sort of fortunate encounter, and had been brought to the point of Evolution at only five Great Cycles old, but he had failed. So this proves either that Runs-with-the-river is exceptional, or that River’s master’s methods are exceptional. The admission of either would work against what Wood-shaper and Wind-whisperer wish to argue.

If Joy was asked, she would say that she thinks the answer is a little of one, a lot of the other. That Herbalist saw something in Runs-with-the-river enough to want him as her assistant and to be protective over him is undeniable. However, what Joy has seen of Markus’ methods suggests that the village, and others of their kind, may have been perpetuating an inefficient method for generations.

“I will agree that, though I expected Runs-with-the-river to reach Evolution, and hoped that he could one day join our ranks as a Pathwalker, I wasn’t expecting it to happen this quickly,” adds Herbalist, her opinion matching Joy’s perfectly. Wood-shaper grunts wordlessly in disgust, but cannot apparently find anything to actually say. In contrast with her approach thus far, Wind-whisperer stays silent, her tail tip flicking, showing internal turmoil.

“Sisters, I have a suggestion,” Grower says, looking around from one to the other. She has definitely taken an unusually large part in this discussion and Joy finds herself reevaluating her a bit. The fact is, that with the sisterhood so divided, Grower has been the only vaguely neutral party in the group.

“Let us hear it,” sighs Wood-shaper.

“Our discussion is going round and round in circles, like we are hatchlings chasing each other’s tails. The one to lead us can only be one of us, agreed?”

“Agreed,” they all say simultaneously, though different colours flashing through their spines indicate different degrees of agreement.

“We cannot agree on whether the one who leads the group in the forest is a prey beast, or should be accepted as one of us. Correct?”

“Yes,” agree Herbalist and Wood-shaper; the others remain silent.

“Then it is simple. Let us test both our newest sister and her previous master in the traditional post-Evolution ranking fight. We need to do one anyway, with Shaman gone. If this leader in the forest wins against all of us, then he has earned the right to be our leader. If he doesn’t, then it is up to the new leader among us to be the deciding voice regarding what to do about him.” She pauses for a long moment, looking around at the reactions of the rest of the sisterhood.

It’s a mixture between anger – Wind-whisperer – and intrigue – Herbalist and Wood-shaper. Runs-with-the-river is unreadable.

“Let’s vote,” Grower suggests. “All in favour?”

Is this what you want? Joy asks tentatively, hoping that the presence in her head will hear her. For a few long moments, during which Herbalist is the only one to raise her claws, there is silence.

Sure, why not? Markus responds finally. Joy lets out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. If he had said ‘no’, she would vote according to his wishes, but she honestly thinks that this is an ingenious solution that Grower has proposed. She raises her claws.

As if waiting for her signal, Runs-with-the-river raises her claws a moment after. There’s a long moment of silence. With four having voted for the proposal, it will go ahead for certain, but it would be better if they could get a unanimous vote for something as potentially momentous as this.

The silence drags.

“Wood-shaper, Wind-whisperer. Do you agree or not?” Grower asks eventually. Wood-shaper sends an uncertain glance at the Pathwalker to her side.

“It is unprecedented,” she says finally, looking back at Grower. “We have never offered anyone outside our kind the opportunity to rule one of our villages. Even if I doubt that he will defeat all of us…still, it seems like more of a risk than we should take.”

“If he wins against all of us, has he not proven that he is strong enough to lead us?” asks Herbalist, remarkably gently for her – her approach tends to be far more brusque. “And no, we have never offered this opportunity to one not of our kind, but this situation has never come up before. We have never had one of another kind wanting to rule us. Either they fear us or they wish to destroy us. Never to work with us as this new being seems to wish to.”

Wood-shaper wavers, then finally raises hesitant claws.

“If he’s strong enough…” she says quietly to Wind-whisperer. The final hold-out clicks her teeth together in a wordless gesture of irritation.

The silence drags for a moment more. Then, finally, with an irritated flick of her tail, Wind-whisperer raises her claws.

“Fine. But I will not hold back as we usually do. If I can kill him, I will.”

And with that, it is decided.