All four of them were up at the first sign of dawn. Even though they had all remained in their sleeping spots, Lilau wasn’t sure how much any of them slept since her and Makotae’s arrival.
She remained on the bear rug, sitting cross-legged and eyes downcast with Makotae wrapped around her like a belt. The Elders had taken their positions in their chairs, looming over her as they worked towards their final decree.
Mara continued her side of the debate. “While I must acknowledge your skill in remaining alive as an outcast at such a young age, you still are an outcast. In returning, you are demanding your death.”
Raval scoffed. “Come now, she is a whelp. Do you truly expect her to have understood the consequences of her actions? Besides, I am quite certain she had plenty of reason to leave.”
“Reasons or no, she made her choice. Should she be above the law?”
Lilau clenched her fists, unable to remain silent while they debated her life. “So, after all you’ve done to raise me, you’ll kill me now?”
Mara went still, although there was no hint of anger from Lilau’s interruption. “No.”
She had uttered a single word, yet the conviction in it forced Lilau’s eyes up in surprise.
“I made a vow to the Fokla to raise you, and I have received no signs that tell me my task is complete. However, the villagers will not see things so clearly. I question your decision to return, girl, but I do not wish your death.”
Lilau chewed her lip, unsure of the wisdom in pushing her luck after the vulnerability in Mara’s confession.
Raval decided for her. “Like the villagers have ever seen things clearly, Mara. They will continue to follow their own thoughts on the matter, regardless of what we say. We may control their actions, but we have no power over their hearts.”
“But we cannot control their actions without limit, and we both know our grasp on the young has been slipping. We have grown old, Raval, and our mantles ragged.”
Zan appeared in Lilau’s mind, stare sharp and deadly. She hadn’t considered him, although she should have. How could she have forgotten?
“Perhaps so, but you already said you have received no sign to negate our vow. While her decision to leave was hers to make, us sending her away again is the same as refusing our responsibility, is it not?”
Mara sighed and rubbed at her temples. “I... cannot argue that. Lilau, it seems the final decision lies with you. What do you want?”
Lilau shrunk into herself as all eyes settled on her. She was so sure at first, but now....
Comfort rose from the wolf accessory that had stayed so still during the discourse that she had thought he had fallen asleep. His support carried with it no desire to sway her decision, only the strength to speak what was in her heart.
“I want to stay with you and Elder Raval. I don’t care about the rest of the village. If the long hut is the only place I can visit, fine.”
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Raval smiled and nodded. “Then our path is set. I shall inform Balon to gather the villagers.”
With a great deal of effort, Raval extracted himself from his chair and headed out of the hut and into the village, easing the door shut behind him.
Mara studied her for a moment longer before speaking again. “The resistance towards you will increase. Do you understand this?”
“Yes, Elder Mara.”
“And that we cannot protect you from everything or indefinitely?”
“Yes.”
“Very well, then. I will enjoy having a proper assistant again. The other whelps barely know a root from a stem. Speaking of which, get the Giya root and the grinder. It will take a while for everyone to gather. There is no sense in idleness while we wait.”
Lilau jumped up, eager to show her gratitude to Mara for accepting her back. Makotae, less pleased about being shoved out of the way, snorted in derision before moving to a more stable resting place.
“Oh, don’t worry, pup. We’ll find something for you to do soon as well, no doubt about it.”
He perked up at Mara’s declaration, head tilted in curiosity, but seeing no task forthcoming, settled back on his haunches to watch them as they worked.
*****
By the time Balon had assembled the villagers, Lilau had worked her way through a sizable pile of roots, her pace quickened by the thought of facing those who rejoiced at her departure.
Her anxiety worsened as Mara prodded her out of the long hut and towards the central fire pit. As they grew near the chattering crowd, the noise stopped, all eyes locking onto her and the small black wolf by her side. Those eyes were like knives, sharp and brutal as they carved away her resolve and left her shaking. She felt like a wounded animal out in the open field. Not even Makotae’s jilted attempts at calming her down had any effect, especially with the tension in his own thoughts.
Mara nudged her into place with Raval on her right before taking up a vigil on her left. Being surrounded by those who cared for her did little to abate the seething disgust that oozed from those who faced her.
“What is the outcast doing here?”
A feminine voice she recognized as Raka, one of the whelps, cried out from the center of the crowd. A hissing whisper and thwack answered her blatant disrespect of the Elders, but Lilau knew she spoke of what was on everyone’s mind.
“Yes, Lilau had returned to us,” Raval started in a quavering voice, “and although she left the village, becoming an outcast, she has returned as a Bonded.”
Anger sounded out in the overlapping outcries, quieting when a man stepped out to address the Elders. “With all due respect, that wolf looks far too small. Are we to accept into our village an outcast Bonded to a cull?”
“No.”
The man paused at Mara’s statement, face scrunching up in confusion.
Mara did not wait for him to regain his footing. “You are to accept that the Fokla have not absolved us of our responsibility to her. As such, Elder Raval and I will continue to care for her and she will continue to assist us as she did before she left, with some exceptions. Lilau is no longer allowed within the village, save to leave and enter the long hut which will remain her home. None of you are to bother her, whether or not she is alone.”
Lilau kept her head down, eyeing the villagers out of the top of her vision. Every fiber in her body was tensed, although not because of Mara’s judgment. That she had expected, and she stood by what she had said earlier when she told the Elders she only wanted to be near them. No, her tension was born from the gazes she felt burning against her skin in their opinion of her. Zan was in there somewhere too, she was sure of it, plotting her death at his hands.
Mara continued on unabated.
“If there are any who cannot follow our will, step forward. The consequences will be far worse should you disregard us.”
The crowd shifted, warring between their dislike of Lilau and their obedience to their Elders. No one stepped forward and after a moment Raval spoke up to dismiss them back to their daily routines, to which they scattered without complaint. Neither did the four of them complain on their way back to what would be Lilau’s only haven. Although she had heard Mara’s decree that she should not be bothered, her instinct told her such a rule was bound to be broken. The question was when.