11. Suni

Chapter 11

Suni

" S he is a strong female, and interesting."

Suni turned his glare on Rown, who stood next to him staring after Amma. "She is mine."

"I know." Rown turned from the cave and kicked dirt over the fire. "I was just stating a fact. I would never try to turn your female's eyes from you."

Suni snorted. He doubted the young warrior could do such a thing. Amma didn't seem like a female who wanted to train a youngster. "Remember to cover the ground with foliage to cover any tracks we may have left."

"We will." Gar replied and cleared his throat. "I know we have been over this, but are you sure it is a good idea to go into another's territory without permission?"

He couldn't get mad at the young warrior. It was unheard of for a warrior to enter another chief's territory without permission. It could be seen as an act of war, and war was something his village didn't need. "We are on good terms with Volt's village. I am hoping that alone will give us a welcome."

"Maybe Jo will be able to smooth things over," Rown said. "They are her family."

"What should we tell your brother?" Gar grinned. "He likes to know where all his siblings are at all times."

"He forgets we are all adults," Suni grumbled. "Tell him I said I am the older brother. If that does not work, inform Mia that I am escorting her cousin, Amma, to visit Jo. She will understand and keep my brother calm until I return."

"If I was not the one bearing the news, I would enjoy what was to come." Gar said. He grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him from the clearing. "See you upon your return," he yelled over his shoulder before they were both swallowed by the foliage.

"Did Gar and Rown leave just now?"

Suni turned and sucked in a breath. The light of the rising moon shone through the leaves and highlighted Amma's dark skin and sparkling eyes. If he were a poet, he would write songs of her beauty for all to hear.

"Yes, they have started their return journey home."

"I wanted to say goodbye. I hope I get to see them again."

"I am sure you will." Suni would do all in his power to convince Amma to return with him to his home as his mate. "They are constantly causing some type of trouble."

"They remind me of my sisters and cousins," Amma said. "I didn't know how much I missed the friendly bickering until I met them."

"If you thought that was bickering, wait until you meet my family. We can make anyone go crazy. If you are ready to move out, we can start walking. I ask that you stay close and listen when I say stop. Some of the morning predators have not bedded down yet."

"Suni, you are in control while we are hiking. I have no desire to end up walking into the mouth of a hungry animal."

"I would not allow that to happen." He would stand between her and any danger.

"I like your confidence. Which direction are we walking? I couldn't tell you which way was north if you held a gun to my head."

"What is a gun?"

"A gun is a projectile weapon," she answered. "It's a common weapon on my world. It's used for a lot of different things."

Suni reared back with a snarl. "Why would I hold such a thing to your head? Why would anyone?"

"It is done in my world more often than I would like to admit. Weak people usually hide behind guns."

"You think of me as weak?" Suni's ears snapped back. What had he done to give her that impression? "I am a warrior!"

"Suni," Amma laid a hand on his arm. "I don't think you are weak. I was talking about those in my world. It came out wrong."

Suni grunted. He would have to show her how strong he was. "We will walk toward the setting suns. We can walk half the night before finding somewhere to camp."

"Why not the whole night?".

"Once we leave my tribe's territory, we will be in danger. We will have to keep out of sight of any hunters we see."

"Are you guys at war with the other tribes?" Amma asked.

"No, but that does not matter." Suni checked the clearing once more to make sure they hadn't left behind any remnants of their camping. "We will be on their land without permission from either our chief or theirs."

"I guess that makes sense. We hated it when people tried to come onto our property, but I think we should walk until one of us gets tired. That way we can reach our destination before the other tribe knows we are in their territory."

Suni chuckled. A warrior could walk, wounded, for days before needing to rest. He doubted Amma would be able to keep up with him if she tried. He would just have to make sure he watched her and claimed to be tired when she was. "We will see," he said. "Shall we start?"

"You know, I am conflicted." She turned her face toward the sky. "On one hand, I can't wait to be reunited with my family. On the other, I'm enjoying being alone. Except for the animals talking, it has been peaceful."

"We can stay," Suni offered. "I do not have a schedule to return to my tribe." He did, but he was sure his chief would understand.

"If I stay, I will feel guilty." She shook her head. "Some of my ancestors would probably show up and tell me to get my butt moving."

"You mentioned your ancestors' presence before," he said. He wondered how anyone who had died could come back. "What do you mean?"

Amma smiled. "I can talk to those who are dead. There is a lot more to it, but it will take time to explain."

"We have time."

"I guess I should explain so you can decide if you want to be part of my family or not," Amma chuckled. "One of the joys of being part of my family is that those who have passed beyond the veil can still meddle in your life."

Suni knew about honoring the ancestors, but he had never heard of talking to them as if they were still alive. "Why would they come back to talk to you?"

"They are busybodies. Especially during our gatherings. Those who go before us watch over us very closely. I'm sure I can get some of your ancestors to communicate with me."

Suni stared off into the foliage for a moment before answering. "No but thank you for offering. I love my grandsire and granddam, but I want them to be at peace where they are, rather than having to come talk to me."

Amma smiled. "Oh, I bet your grandparents are watching over you daily, wishing they could point you in what they believe is the right direction. Those who have close blood ties to the living rarely stray far from the veil."

"Maybe one day you will convince me to talk to my grandsire." Suni started walking and Amma fell into step beside him. "He was a great warrior who is still revered today."

"I cannot wait to meet him. I am sure he has a lot he wants to tell you. Once we stop for the night, we can see if he wants to talk."

Suni's ears flicked. "Not tonight. I do not think I am ready."

"Understood."

The two walked in silence for a while. Even Mike and Sam were calm and quiet in their perches. Eventually, Amma spoke up. "Can you point out the vegetation we can eat? More plants like the spicy leaf?"

"Most vegetation is safe to eat if harvested in the right way. If we come across any that are dangerous to harvest, I will show you how to safely eat them."

"Now, that's interesting."

"What?" Suni glanced over to see she was staring at the path they walked.

"This path. If I had just walked a little further, I would have found it. I wouldn't have sat around in that cave for over a week." She was cute when she was frustrated.

"This is a hunters' path. It has been in use since before I was calved. It curves back around to my village, which means we will be leaving it soon to forge our own."

"No rush. I'm not looking forward to carving out a new path. I did enough running through the forest to last a lifetime."

"I will be the one carving out the path. You will not have to strain yourself." Suni ducked under a low hanging branch.

"You know, I take back that wish that I had found this trail earlier. I would have never met you, and that wouldn't have been a good thing."

Suni felt a little more of his heart slip into her small hands. His brother had talked about how he had fallen for Mia the second he saw her, and now Suni understood. There was something about the small human woman that made his protective instincts kick into high gear. He wanted to turn around, go back to his home where she would be safe. Maybe he could convince her to allow him to search for her family without putting herself into danger. He quickly threw that idea away. He was the eldest brother and understood the responsibility of taking care of siblings. He couldn't ask her to do something he wouldn't do.

"Hold." Suni held his arm out to stop Amma from interrupting one of the most beautiful events on the planet. "Kneel and hold still."

"What is it?" Amma whispered.

Suni smiled. "You will see. Just look up." He watched her face and knew the exact moment the lunkers started to emerge from their cocoons. They were large larvae that spun cocoons and emerged with beautiful, colorful wings that glowed in the dark. They only lived a few months but, in that time, they helped pollinate the forest. Back in his village, his family and others would be waiting for them to emerge, and a celebration would follow. They were a sign the forest would continue to be plentiful. The mated couples would retire to their homes to celebrate in a more intimate manner and a solar later the welcoming cries of calves would fill the air.

"Oh, they are beautiful," Amma breathed. "I saw one of them before and he was gorgeous. I never thought he would emerge to be breathtaking."

"They are called lunkers. The males have the brighter, more vivid colors and the females, while muted, are just as pretty," Suni whispered. "Watch them. This is when they find their mate. Once together, they will leave to live, mate, and die."

"They mate for life?" Amma asked.

"For their short life, yes." Suni answered. While Amma watched the lunkers, he watched her. He found beauty in the way that she was so open with her emotions. He couldn't wait to show her more of his world. Hopefully she would fall in love with him along the way.