Restlessness and jitters was all that Aput could get, everything but sleep which he much needed. Being stalked for the entirety of the day, his nerves were set on edge. As he bustled throughout the village as they prepared for the hunt tomorrow, he kept encountering their guest around every corner in the village. He was not so afraid for his life ever since the day he had brought her into the village, the day he regretted very much.

Why did I ever let her in?

He determined that he needed to go with his brother, it was a mistake to bring her to begin with. As much as he hated to pay a visit to the District, there was no denying that demi’s were dangerous. She was something else altogether in his mind. That day which blinded him for days was as clear as if it were yesterday to him, it would be impossible to forget.

Around then she seemed so frail, hunched over on the ground in complete defeat. He could have ended her life right then and there, and yet, he hesitated. There was something he had to confirm to himself, he needed to prove to himself that what he had done in the past was the right thing. How to go about on accomplishing that is an entirely other story in itself. That was why he now believes it was best not test his luck, after all, he chose to return to his people to try and move on from his past. Why he bothered now after so many years is a mystery to him, which was he would try and continue to move on.

Having had made his resolve, he found some peace within himself and slipped into restful sleep. Images surged in his dreams, like snapshots of photos from an album played in front of him. A mother cuddling her daughter in her gentle embrace, warmly smiling from genuine happiness. The two played in an open field, holding each other's hands. They both held out their hands towards him, inviting him to join. For a brief moment, he tentatively reached out for their invitation. Suddenly, they started to burn, their images dissipated and ashen remains in the form of a person tried to envelop him.

Aput woke up in cold sweat. Wiping the sweat off his brows, he took deep breaths to regain control. He was used to these kinds of dreams, they tended to surge when he was swamped in sudden stress that he could not get rid of. He felt an odd presence looming over him. Twisting his head sideways, he yelled falling out of his bed. 

This gathered the attention of the village, waking everyone up in the area in the late evening. They all swarmed outside with their lamps to see what was the commotion about, Nukilik was the first to burst into the hut.

“What happened?!” He asked.

Aput scrambled onto his knees, gathering his thoughts. He felt mildly ashamed for waking everyone up, but also pleased to have everyone’s presence here. There was no reason for their guest to be crouching at the edge of his bed like that, her behavior was beyond peculiar. It was straight out scary.

“I awoke with her crouching there as she was.” Aput confessed.

Nukilik sighed.

“Okay everyone, nothing to see her. Go back to your beds, tomorrow is to be a long day.”

Everyone dispersed and left the three of them alone there. The entire while, she did not flinch or move a muscle. She crouched there silently with her head tilted downwards, giving him the chilling creeps.

Nukilik patiences blew a fuse. “You!” Pointing a finger towards her.

She ignored him, as she did with everyone.

“God curse you! I swear you are to leave us as soon as we figure out who you are. We cannot be burdened by outsiders like you.” Nukilik’s temper grew shorter with every passing second with her ignoring him.

The first reaction ever, her eyes blink. Aput only now realized that he had not seen her blink even once before. As if keeping strictly within her character, she still remained silent.

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“That’s it! If you are just going to ignore us, go back to your hut and stay there.”

Silence. Nothing seemed to force a reaction from her, at this point, even Aput’s mild temper reached its limit.

Aput yelled. “Leave! Let me sleep in peace!”

Immediately she crawled on her three limbs, ambly reaching the door and opening it with her left foot. She departed quietly back to her own hut without an argument, though she did not say much to begin with. Nukilik stepped aside as she slipped out and away.

“Well, at least she seems to listen to you.” Nukilik pointed out. “We need to keep a close watch on her.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Aput said. That comment was not asking for any particular response.

Nukilik rubbed his temples tiredly. “Now that that is taken care of, let’s get some rest. I know I already said it, but we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Let’s have a good hunt.”

“Yes, let’s.” Aput responded.

Crawling back into his sheets, he went back to sleep. Expecting another bout of nightmares after tonight's events, he was pleasantly surprised with peaceful rest. For some reason, he thought he saw something that he was searching for, which offered him some wishful thinking.

The following morning came and he awoke fully rested, even after everything that happened. Everyone was getting themselves well prepared before going to the shore, men doubled up on thermal clothing underneath their thick fur-coats. Aput grabbed harpoons and long spools of rope, loading them on their boat prior to sliding it onto the ice towards the frozen shore. Marching sounds of snow crunching, all of the men and boys-to-be-men were ready for their first wintry hunt. At the far side of the village, Aput and Nukilik spotted their guest staring at them as they left.

“Aput. Speak me to the truth, are you certain she is not a demi? As their chieftain, I do not feel comfortable leaving our families here with her. Give me the word, and I’ll make sure her life is forfeited.”

“You’re far too conniving brother, even if she were a demi, it is not in our jurisdiction to do so. That power is explicitly left with the Foundation. Besides, she would have killed us all by now if she was. Just leave it to the identification officers.”

“Fair point brother. Even so, I have the strange feeling you are lying to me, I will trust you however.”

“Thank you, Nukilik.”

Aput did not like to lie to him, but to move on from the haunts of his own past, he had to see this through. After what happened last night, he felt fully invested with her. Something curious was happening, and he had to witness it.

Everyone reached the shore, they had five boats in total for today’s embarkment. With a final push, all boats slid down the embankment into the freezing waters. Everyone leapt into the boats and prepared the diesel engines to take them out to sea, the hunt was now successfully underway.

“Person incoming aft!” Hollered one of the men on Aputs boat.

He turned to see who was the fool to be left behind and trying to get their attention after being late, that individual would just be ignored and stay with the women. There will always be another hunt that he could join. To his shocking surprise, it was their guest who was running towards them on her three limbs. More shocking still, she dove headfirst into the freezing waters and swimming towards them. There was no way he could ignore this desperate act.

“Turn the boat!” He ordered.

Their boat turned sharply, risking everyone’s safety in these freezing waters. Her life however was at the most danger, she could die within minutes at these temperatures. She demonstrated tremendous fortitude and excellent swimming skills, having reached their boat within seconds from having dove into the water. They lifted her out of the water onto their tight space.

“Towels and coats, immediately!”

They bundled her with thick furs and drying her up to prevent her from hyperventilating, she curiously did not seem to be bothered by the cold water. He could swear that there was the slightest hint of a grin, but could not be absolutely for sure about that. The other four boats stopped their cruise awaiting for them since they suddenly lagged behind. 

“Want me to turn back, captain?” The steerer asked.

He shook his head. “Not worth it, we’re here now. If she wants to observe a hunt, there is no harm in that.”

His men obeyed silently. As they floated deeper into the frozen ocean, he spied on their visitor. This was the first time she showed a desire of wanting to do something other than hide in her hut. He smiled. There was happiness from witnessing this development. Ever since from the moment he said that she owed him, she behaved peculiarly. Perhaps this was her way to demonstrate gratitude, albeit an odd way of going about it.

Show me your true nature, and give me a reason to hate! Prove to me that I was wrong.