Page 55 of Planet Zero
Addie continued to train her Yuux, but their morning ritual had to be adjusted. She was busier now, helping Chele cook and clean and make things.
The days went by in pleasant coexistence with the For, and Addie began to feel at home when one morning Chele informed her that there would be an assembly.
Addie lifted her head from her task of meticulously measuring dried herbs with a tiny spoon carved out of a bone, and pouring them into separate pouches. “What assembly?”
“The High Counselor has decided on the path for the tribe,” Chele’s neutral tone couldn't completely hide her low expectations of the High Counselor and his decisions. “He will inform the people at the assembly.”
“Is this a festive occasion, then?”
Chele’s upturned nose issued a delicate sniff. “It depends on the decision. But at this point, any decision is good. We need to move. We haven’t had meat in quantity for months. This ‘celebration’ will be a lean one.”
Addie hesitated, weighing the wisdom of divulging her secret.
“There’s a nest of Teks near my old teepee,” she finally shared.
Chele gave her a surprised look. “And our scouts never knew?”
Well, one of them did. “I guess they weren’t looking for animals when I lived there. But since I no longer live there… ”
In no time, a small party of hunters was dispatched to the location of Addie’s old camp. They returned very shortly, each bringing an adult Tek body, seven in total. Women gathered together and quickly butchered the kills, passing the slices to Addie to marinate.
“I don’t have enough herbs! It’s so sudden.”
Chele cast a critical glance at their supplies, and Melmie, Oh’na, and Vircea were running out to gather the ingredients they were short on. It was impressive how fast things could turn around. Chele bustled around and commanded everyone on the account that it washerfamily that provided the meat to the tribe.
“Wait,” Addie made a grab for the bowl Chele picked up. “It doesn't have marinade in it.”
“This is for today. It’s good when it’s fresh.”
“Eww.”
Chele laughed, a rare sound.
The edge of the Ihr sun began to appear on the horizon when everyone gathered in a circle in the middle of the village. Children were excluded. So was Addie.
Making herself comfortable on the ground behind the ring of bodies sitting on the backs of their heels, she snuggled with Oh’na. Several other children, all boys, cavorted nearby.
The figure in the center of the circle raised his arms, yellow sleeves dropping to the elbows, revealing muscled forearms.For.Even their ascetic priest looked like a professional bodybuilder.
“Good people of the plains!” Chemmusaayl intoned. “The time has come. We must go.”
A chorus of murmurs rippled across the circle. People agreed.
Chemmusaayl lowered his arms and slowly spun around, looking at each person intently.
“Over and over, our hunt has been in vain. Scouts can no longer see signs of large animals. No other tribe has crossed these parts in many days, telling us that other people have left these plains. Wrennlins tremble under these grounds. We feel their presence. They are on the move and they are hungry…”
Angry shouts erupted. Addie perked up. Wrennlin activity? She couldn't help but look around in fear, feeling the pain in her ribs keenly.
She didn’t see any Wrennlins nearby, but her eyes found Zoark’s lone figure standing a short distance behind her. His gaze skidded over her as she turned, and went back to the High Counselor.
Growing more and more animated, Chemmusaayl went on and on about how the terrible times were upon them, and how he hadn't known the strange absence of big game in his lifetime. He had, however, heard such tales from his now long-dead grandfather. He went on to regale his people with the stories at length, ignoring no small detail, and finally concluded with a sermon about how women were failing to produce children because these lands were no longer fertile in more ways than one.
Oma lowered her head when he spoke, but Chemmusaayl didn’t look at Oma. He looked at Qalae.
The heavy ridges of Net’ok’s eyebrows snapped together. People shifted uneasily.
“The tribe will go to the Valley of the Stone Shadows.”
