Page 65 of All That Has Flown Beyond
Ahmik gave it some thought, staring at the map. “From here. Through the Ott pack,” he said, pointing to the northeast border.
“Okay. Tell me what you know about them.”
“Not much. They’ve grown quickly in the last few years, I hear. They got a new Kephale like…five years back, and the leadership style changed. The new Kephale is young, and I think he feels he has something to prove.”
Kaiyo didn’t make a comment about that sounding familiar. “Would you be open to inviting them—or at least the Kephale and whoever he chooses to bring—for a visit? We could discuss tightening up the border, as well as how to communicate possible incoming threats to each other. We can check them out at the same time. A large, mismanaged pack can be a lot weaker than a small, well-managed one.”
“What about a small, mismanaged one?” Ahmik asked, looking at Kaiyo from the corner of his eyes.
“Not the best.” Kaiyo left it at that.
“I think…a visit would be fine,” Ahmik said, returning to the topic on hand. Kaiyo looked at him, sensing from Ahmik’s frown that there was more he wanted to say. “It’s just…what if I fuck it up? What if I make it worse?”
Kaiyo shifted his body to face Ahmik more fully. He paused, choosing his words carefully. This was the first time Ahmik had willingly admitted to a fear, a weakness, since Kaiyo’s return. It was a sliver of the old Ahmik, the one who used to trust Kaiyo, cracking through.
“What could you do that would fuck things up?” Kaiyo asked, genuinely wanting to know the details of Ahmik’s fears instead of suggesting nothing could possibly go wrong.
“I don’t know. I…I’m not exactly a people person. What if I offend them, and they decide to just…take our land? Wipe us out? It wouldn’t be hard.” He said the last bit bitterly, looking away.
“First of all, I think you’ve proven it’s a lot harder to wipe you out than it would seem, Ahmik. You’ve survived a lot of attacks. I know I push you hard, especially in training, but it’s not meant as a criticism. If I didn’t think you could improve, I wouldn’t try at all.
“Secondly,” Kaiyo went on before Ahmik could interrupt, “you may not naturally be a people person for those outside the pack, but that’s not something you have or don’t have. That’s a skill you can develop. If you don’t practice it then, yeah. You’ll never be good at it. But a neighbouring pack is a good way to start. The idea that they would just wipe you out is far-fetched. That would mean they’d have the council on their heads in an instant. Why would they risk that?”
The council was a group of shifters, conductives, and receptives who tried to police the packs in their area. They didn’t have the manpower to stop powerful packs on their own, but the alliance they had with the packs they looked after meant a rogue pack would rarely succeed in simply taking somebody else’s land.
“Thirdly…you and the Ott Kephale have a lot in common, Ahmik. Both of you came into the Kephale position at a young age, although your responsibility came way too prematurely. Still. You probably have the same pressures and fears. Sometimes, making an alliance is simply about finding common ground and not giving as much weight to what makes you different. You both want to protect your lands. You’re stronger together. Keep to those common interests, and there is no reason for a negotiation to fail. If he wants something you don’t, and is unwilling to give in, then ask yourself ifyou’rewilling to give it. If you are, ask for something of equal value in return. If not, simply agree to be peaceful neighbours. Not everybody is fit to be an ally, but they don’t have to be an enemy either.”
Ahmik looked back at Kaiyo steadily.
“You really know your stuff, huh?” he asked quietly. Kaiyo ventured a smile.
“I’ve had a lot of practice.”
They watched each other in the silence. Kaiyo had the sudden urge to reach out and touch Ahmik. To feel his skin, not for pleasure but for the simple contact of it. The connection.
Ahmik’s eyes dipped to Kaiyo’s lips. Kaiyo parted them instinctively before he turned towards the map again, breaking the moment.
“Well, in any case, this is a good opportunity to give Thea some responsibility. She’s your second, isn’t she?”
Ahmik sighed. “In theory.”
“Ahmik…did something happen between you two?” Kaiyo couldn’t help but ask. Ahmik shrugged. Kaiyo let it go. “Well, let’s make it practice and not just theory. Have her aid you in the visits and in any negotiations. She’s always been good with people and puzzles. I’m surprised she didn’t pursue something with it.”
“She still dabbles, I think, but she loves the interior designing gig.”
“She does have a good eye.”
“Yeah. Remember when we used to make those little houses underneath trees in summer? And she’d come in and rearrange everything and tell us what to do…” Ahmik smiled fondly. Kaiyo laughed.
“You always got so mad, but she always made it better.”
“Yeah. She did.” Ahmik’s eyes were soft with memory.
Kaiyo watched him for a moment. His strong, beautiful oval jaw. The brown of his skin that seemed to melt into the warm light of the lamps. His shoulder-length hair, now caught messily in a bun.
For a moment Kaiyo wondered how it would have been if he had stayed. How it would have been to have had Ahmik at his side for all those years. To run the pack with him. To manifest beside him and learn together.
Thinking of those possibilities was a deep ache, but Kaiyo wouldn’t be the person he was now if that had been his fate. Maybe he’d be worse. Maybe he’d be better. It didn’t matter, in the end. He just wouldn’t be who he was now. He’d fought for the scars and markings on his skin. For his knowledge and what happiness he had. Of that, he had to be proud, even if Ahmik hadn’t been part of his growth for a long time.
