A lump slammed into Nina’s sleeping form, breaking whatever dream she may have been living.
“Hey, time to get up. You missed class with the elder.” The voice blared into her ears. They went flat at the noise. She didn’t have to look; she knew it was Rex. The rest feared upsetting her too much….
“Leave me alone,” Nina groaned. “My family always let me sleep.”
The bundle of annoyance did not take the hint, even as she shifted the best she could, trying to cover her face.
“But where’s your family? For the tribe, remember?”
“The tribe can bite me.”
A gasp from Rex made her rethink her word choice. She knew kids got upset easy, and she did not need rumors spreading.
“Sorry, kiddo. I’m up. That was just the hunger talking,” she said as she pulled the covers down to see Rex’s tail wagging.
*Hmmm. Maybe he’s more resilient than I thought…*
“I will get you breakfast,” was the last she heard from him as he ran off. *Well, least I’m getting breakfast in bed. Small wins, I suppose.* She looked and saw the glow of her brother’s light, shining with stars, giving her comfort. She’d forgotten to cover it, but it was nice to see sometimes.
Rex returned surprisingly fast, making Nina believe he might have had food hidden nearby and was waiting to bring it. He saw her watching him and smiled, his tail wagging in response to her unspoken question.
“I did try earlier to wake you more quietly, but you just lay there. So I pounced to wake you up.” It was said with such pride she was tempted to leave it there, but the thought of it being a new everyday announcement nipped that thought in the bud.
“If you care about me, let me sleep. I can’t help others if I don’t get enough sleep.”
“Ok… I’ll go.”
Watching Rex’s ears droop and his tail stop wagging as he walked away with the food made her own ears go flat. He’d agreed easily enough and killed any tiredness Nina had. No, she was awake now. So as a compromise, Nina let him stay and held him as she ate the meal Rex brought, happy for the food to distract her as Rex jabbered. She focused on the real question: what to address today….
Leaving the tent with Rex surprised her. More people were standing around with food. “We weren’t sure what you wanted, Hero, and brought more food to be safe.”
Well, that explained how Rex got food so easily and quickly for her. Not that it was rare for tribes to feed each other—that was normal—but standing outside your tent with many different dishes? That was not.
“Thank you, but please don’t wait for me with food. I can get my own.”
“Nonsense, Hero. We are honored to serve.”
Her hand went to the stone as she wanted to deliver words with more bite, but she tried to keep her cool. “I ask you not to. Let me choose when to eat.”
They looked at her, unsure. They *were* letting her choose; they just chose to stand by and wait. Did she want them to leave the food?
She saw the unspoken words and clarified carefully: she wanted to eat from the cooking pots or gather it from the cooks making meals for others, herself, like anyone else.
She managed to shoo Rex off, saying she needed private time with the elder. He promised he’d be close, listening with the winds. She was worried she would cough and he’d come running, so she tried to keep her face neutral as she nodded and visited the elder.
Entering the tent was a mild comfort. She knew the tribe was hovering around her, so the tent walls felt too thin to keep them out. A whisper would probably gather them to her….
“Are you unwell, Tribe He— Nina? I tried to guide those willing to listen to give you space, but I fear it may be slow for them to listen.”
Nina plopped down on a pillow by the elder, watching the old woman smile, waiting for Nina’s words so she might offer wisdom.
“I dunno. I still don’t feel welcomed here, and this one kid’s a thorn in my side. He’s a cute thing, but a bit much.”
“Well, he seeks your wisdom, as we all do. Even if we did not see you as a hero, you have given to us. We wish to honor that.”
“What?” Nina was confused. “What did I give that led to this…?”
“Well,” the elder started, gently rubbing Nina’s side in comfort, “you helped bring about the weakness cure and led the alchemist into making a cure so all beastkin have some magic.”
“That was my brother, not me.”
“Yet the story told is you made it possible for him to get the herbs. We heard the tales.”
“Fine, whatever. That’s old news and wasn’t me….”
“Perhaps. But you also fought legendary beasts, not once, but twice. A boulder monster is rare, and to be able to match its power? Unheard of.”
“I did not match its power. My sister and a friend helped me fight it.”
“Yet you still won.”
Nina did not like these talks. It just compounded the hero worship.
“Can we just let it go? It’s a past I did not want. I fought out of need for my family, not for fame, not to go back and do it again.”
“Do you see us as that bad?” the elder asked, trying to shift the talk. “If you just led—”
“No.”
“We had this talk already. I came here to help, not lead. I’ve made my peace. Now I want the tribe to make peace with my choice.” Nina spoke calmly, watching the elder, who looked forlorn. “I’m staying to help you understand. I do love all of you, but if you all loved me, you’d see *me*, not the tales you think about me.”
The elder nodded slowly. “It seems I got lost to the tribe’s desire and forgot the desire of the one that matters. It won’t happen again, Nina. I promise, as elder, I am here for you.”
“Thank you,” Nina said, finally feeling she’d reached someone. “So, what do I need to do to convince them?”
“Well….” The elder was uncomfortable, as she knew no words could easily shift their view. “The Wolves’ tribe is still hanging around. Maybe start there?”
Nina’s eyes narrowed. The elder was unsure where to go from there but spoke carefully to avoid escalating a battle. “Nina, they still seek your wisdom and did not hear the same words you spoke here.”
“Why would I help those willing to hurt my sister?”
“They wanted to prove themselves to you. And your sister proved their blindness, and they agreed.”
“But?” Nina asked, knowing there was more.
“But they want to learn the wisdom they lack from the Hero… uh, you.”
Nina knew it would come down to this in the end. She did not want a grand spectacle, but maybe this would start the shift, since the elder’s words alone were not enough….
“Ok. Thank you,” Nina said sincerely as she hugged the elder and left.
A few people near the tent scattered when she moved the flap to leave, acting like they’d just gotten there. She ignored them in a desperate hope she could find the wolves without needing help, but she’d never asked where they were staying, so she was forced to ask anyway.
It was swift from there, as each person bumbled into the next, desperate to prove they knew more info that could help her. She finally got a wind-user to find them in the wind and guide her from there.
Yet instead of a simple meeting, she saw little Rex standing off against two grown wolves, surprising her.
“I told you, the Hero doesn’t want to be bothered, so go away from here.”
Both wolves were laughing at the little foxkin standing them off as one spoke. “Then let *her* tell us, and we’ll be gone from here. Unless you’re saying she sent you?”
She saw Rex’s ears already flat, fists clenched, unmoving and showing no fear, looking for words to keep standing them off. She was wondering why the other adults let this farce go on, but she was sure it was complicated, since it involved her. As long as nobody was hurting Rex, they just didn’t run with their tails between their legs.
“I’m here….” she said softly, but she might as well have shouted it. Everyone focused on the scene froze and diverted all attention to her. “Rex, leave them be. They wish to see me; I can handle it from here….”
Looking defeated, Rex came to her side, unsure if he was wrong. She patted his head. She couldn’t tell him she was thankful, lest he assume he could speak for her and reinforce the farce she was trying to escape from.
“So, you found me. What do you need?”
Both wolves looked uncomfortable, but Grey spoke clear and with pride, while Orange waited near him.
“We accept our defeat from the other Hero, but we are still seeking your answers. It’s why we traveled so far to get here.” Grey watched her with hope.
“And what wisdom are you seeking from me? I’m no warrior. You could ask my sister or even one of our tribe’s hunters….”
“Ah, true,” Orange said, “but they’re not *you*.”
“Then my wisdom is: leave me alone. I’m not special. If you want to learn to fight, there are others. And if you seek wisdom, seek an elder.”
They both looked confused. “Are you not training to be an elder? Why wouldn’t we come to you?”
Shaking her head, she spoke clearly, hoping all were listening. “I ran away from my home to come here—not to be an elder, not a hero—just… a person. I stay for the same reason. I want you all to know I do care, but as a person.”
Nina saw their uncertainty and left it there, calling it a day, wanting to be alone. Rex stayed behind with a few others and the wolves, unsure what to do.
“What do you think she meant? How are we supposed to worship the Hero if they don’t want to be a hero?” one of the tribesmen asked.
“Fool, I was there the other day when she talked to the elder. She just wants us to give her space. She’ll love us more if we do that for her.”
“No,” Grey Wolf said. “It’s a test. She wants us to prove ourselves. I’m sure of it.”
Nina woke early to start her day. The tent area outside was empty, surprising her. *Did they finally listen?* She couldn’t stop her tail from wagging, knowing things were getting better. Checking the sky, it was a bit early, but it just meant she could help make the meal with others. She wanted to give back a bit, now that they were listening.
The smiles and kind words that met her felt warm and genuine as she offered to help prep or serve anything. And that was when the shift started souring her mood a bit.
“Nonsense, Hero. We’ve got this.”
“My name’s Nina….”
“Ah, yes, Nina. We’ve got this….”
She tried to help even as they insisted they were fine. They finally relented, letting her prep… and destroy half of what she tried to make. Only for them to praise even that.
Finally, they had a compromise: she’d help serve the meal to others. At first, it seemed to be great and fun. All the kids that giggled and laughed at her was a nice change. But each adult that appeared brought an awkwardness that was getting to be a bit much. Whenever they came for a meal, each mirrored the same shocked disbelief that she was helping serve them. The unspoken ‘why’ echoed on everyone’s face as she quietly stopped trying to help and slunk away to do other things instead.
Rex finally found her later, and it was a bit of a comfort to see him again. Despite the thorn in her side he could be, right now it was a comfort to be loved versus worshipped.
“Don’t worry, Hero. I was telling the people you wanted them to stay away,” Rex said proudly as she brushed his head. Well, maybe they were not learning as much as she thought.
She forced a stiff nod with flat ears, even as she noticed more people smiling at her in the distance.
The other projects she tried to do ended with more exhaustion than all the other days combined, as it felt like an endless cycle of trying to explain she wanted to help, yet it kept reverting to being worshipped as if nothing had changed.
It finally got to be too much. Even with Rex constantly encouraging, everything she did felt like the others’ false praise. She called it a day, finally getting some peace alone in her tent.
She watched the soft glow of the light, as if her brother was with her.
“Yeah, yeah. I did the same, and you still loved me. But this time it’s different,” she spoke to the gift from her brother. “They don’t see me… not the real me, I mean.”
She debated penning him a letter but refused, reading his instead and promising herself she would return one day. She just was unsure when. She needed to clear things up here, but it seemed they kept trying to double down on the same things.
So how do I tell them when they aren’t even listening to what I say?
That would be a problem for tomorrow, as she let the night sleep slip away.
ns216.73.216.10da2
and then Add to home screen.