Alqa watched the orange horizon, the peace of the dawn was suddenly shattered by a sharp bark. Alqa jolted, for a quick moment her mind raced. Was it a wolf? But the second bark was more familiar, she looked down. Dinget was staring intently northwest, his nose raised to the sky, he barked again. “What do you smell Dinget?” Alqa asked. Dinget barked in response. “Dagan! Sugekui! Qaiyag! Yid! Follow me!” Alqa yelled. The five of them spurred their horses on and together followed Dinget towards the smell, bows ready and arrows nocked.

They had not rode long when Alqa saw a scrap of black cloth. She stopped Iya and hopped down. Kneeling next to it she touched it, instantly she recoiled. It was wet, she picked it up and wrung it out, red blood flowed out. “Blood!” 

“What do we do about it? Narantui asked.

“Follow Dinget. I think he knows,” Dagan said. They looked at Dinget, who was starting to move farther northwest. Alqa handed Iya’s reins to Dagan and followed Dinget on foot, there were marks like someone had been crawling away, and the early spring grass was trampled in some places, like a large group had fled. Bloody dirt marked the path made by the crawling figure. The figure hadn’t made it far, she gagged. A small female, dressed all in black lay on the ground. Alqa walked closer, the body smelled fresh. Dinget stood next to it, barking his head off. Alqa looked a little closer, the clothes were torn off in multiple places and she saw claw marks all over the body. “What is it?” Dagan asked.

“A body,”

Narantui hopped down and approached. She knelt down and inspected the body, “I think it might be a lion,”

“A lioness? Don’t they usually hunt in groups,”

“No, a lion. Look,” Narantui said, she pointed to the figure’s left hand, it clutched thick, dark brown fur. “It looks like a mane,”

“I think I found something!” Yid exclaimed. Alqa and Narantui ran over to her. Yid was pointing at a distant hill, there were some rocks on top of it. Then one moved. People, were they hunting them? What if they were going for the children?

“Back to the horses! We’ll be back for the body!” Alqa exclaimed. They ran to the horses and swung themselves up. They galloped to where the other nine warriors were waiting. “Follow me!”

They cantered over towards the hill, no doubt the strangers had seen them, but they surrounded it nonetheless and readied their weapons. As they surrounded the hill, Alqa saw the strangers begin to panic, maybe that was a sign that they had been going for the children. They halted at the base of the hill. “Halt there, let me converse with your Riidagak! Or whoever you name as the leader of your band. You are in the territory of the Yisra of Buqutai. I am Alqaiia Qutuqäsa!”

To her surprise, one of the males stepped forward and spoke in Rovoai’Omila. “We will not submit to you avroi!” he yelled back, brandishing a spear in her direction. Alqa was stunned for a moment and had to search for the right words. 

“I am Alqa tou ot Qutuq! Who are you? You are in the territory of the Yisra tou Buqutai. State your business!”

“If you avroi attempt to eat our children and rape our women, we will die before we permit that to happen!”

“Oh, please. You think I’m so gullible as that! State your business!”

“Our business does not concern you, let us pass and lift this pylar you have placed us in!”

“I am not familiar with the word pylar! But if you want us to let you go! We will not until you have stated your business!” Alqa yelled at the man. There was quiet conversation amongst the Rovoaida. Could they be planning an attack?

“Very well! We are fleeing the war, we want no trouble. We only wish to go to Arytoustan!”

“Surrender your weapons and you will be allowed to stay with us, we have food at our Yisra. We found a body. Was that one of yours?”

“Yes. We were attacked by a lion, not long ago,”

“She will be given a proper burial!” Alqa exclaimed. Dinget let out a sharp bark. 

“How do I know that you will not murder us, eat our babies and rape our women?”

“How do I know you will not do the same?” Alqa asked. The man opened his mouth to respond, but another man stopped him. 

“Fine, alright. We will behave,”

“Thank you, Galdan will take you back to our Yisra,” Alqa said. The man nodded and motioned for the people to follow him. “Toragana, Toghoril, you handle the body. Sugekui, Narantui, Baati and Baidar. Follow me, we are going to find that lion,”

“Why can’t I go with you?” Dagan asked.

“Because I said so, go back with Galdan,” Alqa said.

“A lion is dangerous,” Narantui said.

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“Yeah! If we let it live it will kill my children! Maybe yours if you ever have any!”

“A lion is not stupid enough to enter our Yisra!”

“If you don’t want to kill a lion. Go back. I am going to kill it. I have not been hunting in nine years and I will not let it threaten my children!”

“No I’m good,”

“Alright then, let’s go,” Alqa said. She turned Iya back to the body and the group split. They reached the body and Alqa took the hair out of the hand and showed it to Dinget. “Find,” 

Dinget sniffed the hair and bounded off to the west. Alqa mounted Iya and together they all spurred on their horses in pursuit of Dinget. It took them a little bit to find the lion. It was drinking from a small stream, with its back to them. The wind was in Alqa’s face. It can’t smell us. “Alright, we are gonna charge and shoot it with arrows, avoid close combat. Dinget, stay,” Alqa said, her comrades nodded and spurred on their horses. Dinget sat down, waiting for orders to be released.

As they charged Alqa felt the familiar, yet so foreign rush of fear and excitement, it felt so good. She nocked an arrow and drew back. Releasing, she watched it sail through the air and embed itself in the lion’s flank. Two more arrows struck the lion. It roared in pain and turned around. Alqa howled in response and shot another arrow, which hit the lion’s side. Another arrow struck its hind leg.

It charged at Alqa and Iya, who turned and began to flee. Alqa turned in the saddle and shot another arrow. The lion roared and stumbled as the arrow embedded itself into its head. Alqa shot again, the lion fell as the arrow lodged itself into its chest. They circled the lion until it stopped breathing. Alqa hopped off Iya. She put her bow away and approached the lion, with her sword drawn. She poked it with the sword, it was dead. “Good kill Alqa,” Narantui said.

“Thank you. Another life removed, gotta get back to my numbers,”

“Cancel out all the lives you created?” Sugekui said.

“Yeah,”

“Only one left,” Baati said.

“Yeah, don’t think I’ll get that on this hunt. I want to get back to them anyway,” Alqa said. They collected their arrows and lifted the lion onto the back of Temuuj, Baidar’s stallion, since he was the largest horse. “Dinget! Come!” Alqa called and Dinget ran all the way to her and stood next to her, panting and looking up at her with a huge grin on his face. “Good boy,” Alqa said, scratching his fluffy black head. They returned to the Yisra, a journey that took only a little more than a day, as they had not gone far. 

As they dismounted, Buqutai greeted them. “How long do they intend to stay?”

“I don’t know. Ask them,”

“Alright. There are a few people excited to see you,” Buqutai said. He stepped aside and three young females rushed toward her, the oldest no older than nine years. Alqa kneeled down and stretched her arms wide. The three females collided with her hugging her and bumping each other to get closest to her. Alqa laughed with joy, they were alive and well. The smallest fell. “Turqa! Be careful with your sister!” Alqa laughed. Abagai stood up and bounced cheerfully. Alqa smiled and stood up. “How are you all?”

“Happy!” Abagai exclaimed.

“There’s strangers,” Turqa said.

“Yes there are,” Alqa said, turning to Sere, “how are you? Where’s your brother?”

“I’m alright. Asu is with Qotoiyan,”

“Alright, let’s go see them!” Alqa said. The four of them ran off, Alqa barely running so the children could keep up. They soon found Qotoiyan, his back turned towards them. Alqa stopped and put a finger in front of her mouth in a shushing motion, the three girls responded with the same motion. Alqa crept close to Qotoiyan, staying low like a huntress. It took all her strength of will to refrain from laughing. When she was close, she lunged onto Qotoiyan and threw her arms around him. He gasped and stumbled forward, for a moment trying to escape, but he settled into it. “I’m back,” Alqa said, finally letting herself laugh. 

“Welcome home Alqa. How did it go?”

“Great! I killed a lion,”

Qotoiyan chuckled. “Well at least you haven’t lost your edge,” he said, Alqa released him and he stepped aside. Asu held out a small pottery container.

“What’s this Asu?”

“A gift,” he said, with a sly grin.

“Thank you so much Asu,” Alqa said, taking it. There was a collection of small rocks inside. She resolved to give him something, she had to. It was the best collection of small rocks ever. Alqa hung out with her and Yesui’s children for a long time, before they all went to sleep as dusk fell. Alqa, despite her better judgment, felt no exhaustion. She wandered around for a bit, the cold air biting her nose and ears. She saw a Rovoai male, sitting on a small rock, his hands held in his hands. First she marveled at how small the Rovoaida were, she had always assumed Rynyna was just short, standing two handspans shorter than Alqa. But now, she saw that they all appeared to be short, maybe Rynyna was average. She decided to approach him.

“Are you alright?” Alqa asked in Rovoai’Omila. He ignored her. Alqa repeated herself. Maybe her grammar wasn’t good. Maybe she was using the wrong words. “Are you healthy?” no response. “Is you healthy?” again, nothing. “You hurt?”

“O… Oino sy runtythr an Goi mai laim?” He asked. Alqa had never heard most of those words before. The unknown ones sounded a bit similar to some Rovoai’Omila words. Her best guess was that he had said “Are you asking if I am melted?”, which confused her. 

“No, I can see you aren’t melted,”

“Goi mai aegeino prous rim Deagoras,” the man muttered and walked off. He came back not long later with the man who had treated with her previously.

“Hello. What can I do for you?” he asked.

“Why are you passing this way?”

“We are going to Arytoustan,”

“Why? As far as I know, the Rovoaida are not in the habit of migration,”

“The Vasiliia is dead. Rovoakhor is no longer safe. Marais is not safe. Lapa has been destroyed,”

“Is Lapa your home?”

“Yes, most of us are from Lapa. It’s a small village, bound to Kalasa. Which is the central town of the Kalasa Yparkh under the rule of Marais,”

“How do you know this?” Alqa asked.

“I’m the Valandros of Lapa. Or I was,”

“I wonder if Rynyna knows anything about this,” Alqa said to herself.

“Rynyna? Don’t you know a Rynyna? Pylaigon,” Deagoras asked, Pylaigon nodded. “Where is your Rynyna from?”

“Marais I think, she’s probably asleep by now. If you want we can talk to her tomorrow,”

Deagoras translated to Pylaigon who nodded and the three said goodnight to each other, then retired for the night.