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    wahmbulance Chapter #8 wahmbulance


    Naia fell into a heavy yet peaceful sleep and was quite annoyed when she felt something prodding her in her hip. She tried to shrug it off. “Ah…leave me alone Aunt Harriett! That’s what alarm clocks are for!”

    A child’s giggle could be heard before a reply said: “…Who?”

    Soon Naia awoke to see a ragamuffin boy hovering over her, and suddenly all her previous memories from the night before came rushing back. Fighting the Nightstalker; journeying to Kokiri Tribe with the injured Bearprint on her back; the sympathetic mage; the distrusting deputy; the chieftain…everything. So fast that Naia was in a moment of disorder. Naia had to slammed her head into her fur coated pillow to prevent the room from spiraling.

    “Are you okay? Remember I said we have to start our apprentice duties at sunrise. Or did you forget?”

    “No, I didn’t Crowprint. Thanks for waking me up, though.” Naia pushed the covers back and gave a mighty stretch. Early predawn light was filtering through the large woven tree leaves that made up ceiling, rustled in the spring breeze. Naia’s hand met the cool touch of the tan colored clay walls helped relived some of her weariness as she reluctantly eased her way out of her bed. Gotta get up. She tried to tell herself. Gotta go do chores…or at least that’s what Hawkeye muttered unless I wanna place to stay.

    Though her body was refusing to cooperate, Naia’s mind seemed to work well enough for her to replay last night’s events in her mind…

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    “And you better not complain either!” Hawkeye growled. “Warriormoon and Snaketooth might see you as a slavepet but I’m not slow enough to see that you’re obviously a spy….or a demon who’ve fooled everyone is more like it.” He mumbled.

    Is he for real?! I’m walking right behind him, doesn’t he realize I can hear every word or was that his intentions? Calm down Nai…think positive…well…at least I’m out of the medicine chamber and get a look around camp…that’s something.

    Which was still pretty hard to see from Naia’s point of view. Though torches and lanterns could be seen in the pale moonlight, their waxes have all been burned down to harden pools in their plates. Leaving the camp pitch dark expect for the dim lights from candles out of rounded door shaped windows, and the waning gibbous. Naia estimated that there were about six houses. The size of a rather large tool shed. All made entirely out of tan colored clay.

    “Why is everything so dark? I can’t even see my own feet.”
    “To help disguise ourselves in case a rival tribe tries to ambush us. But I wouldn’t expect an outsider to understand.”

    Naia bit back a sharp remark. “Why would they do that?”

    “How should I know?”

    Up ahead of Hawkeye, Naia could see a soft light shining through a diamond door hole. The door was carved, dyed a pale green, and polished. It didn’t seem large enough to hold for someone as big as Naia to sleep in. I just hope there’s some kind of hammock. And enough space for my backpack. Anything is better than sleeping on the cold hard floor.
    Hawkeye knocked on the door and was met with purple eyes, and a rather timid voice squeaked. “H-hello? Whose their?”

    “It’s Hawkeye. Unlock the door.”

    The eyes vanished behind a slide door Naia had never noticed. The clink of a lock echoed in the stilled clearing. After seconds off silence, the door abruptly swung open.

    Just as soon as she and Hawkeye walked in did her eyes slowly examined the room. Naia’s jaw dropped in disbelief that the room wasn’t as small as the hut outside made it out to be. It’s like I walked into a fixed space of some kind. In fact, the room was as large as Naia’s school’s choir room subtracting the closets and the smaller room used for the class’s voice lessons rooms. Yep, big enough to put a choir stand and a piano and everything of that sort.
    The dim, candle-lit room wasn’t decorated with much. The bare floor was covered with a complex looking, woven tartan rug. Some wooden chests and wardrobes were seen on the far side of the room. And in a corner left of the door was clattered with sharpened sticks, stones, bamboo, and bones. And in the other corner, tree vines were either stacked in baskets or half constructed into baskets. The tribesmen who were eyeing me around that fire pit earlier, was probably working on those.

    Any other furniture was mainly pairs of bunk beds. And there were only 4 that can fit against the walls facing each other. From what Naia could see, there were two guys, about her age, playing some game involving tiles that appeared to look a lot like mahjong pieces. Crowprint was easily seen by Naia sitting on a top bunk, cleaning the tip of a spear. While a long pink haired girl slept on the bottom bunk below. Everyone looked up at the sudden arrival of the deputy.

    “We have a guest this evening. The chieftain instructed her to sleep in the apprentices’ hut tonight. I expect her to be gone by sunhigh next morning. Is there any bunks available?”

    “We have quite a few,” Replied a small voice from behind Naia. A purple haired girl stood besides the door. “If you don’t include Rainprint.”
    “Why is she even sleeping in here?”

    “She was changing me and Blackprint’s bandages,” It was one of the boys playing with the tiles who answered. The front part of his hair was ash white but the other half was black. He stared up at Hawkeye with his ruby colored eyes. “She said she was going to rest for a while, but I guess she fell asleep.”

    “Well wake her up then. She should’ve been with Snaketooth when he was patching Bearprint up.” She must be the mage’s apprentice Hawkeye was yapping about earlier.

    “H-how is Bearprint? I heard he was m-mauled by a Nightstalker.” The girl behind the door stammered.

    “Snaketooth assured he would be fine to proceed with his duties in a few days.” He answered without taking his gaze off the half white-half black haired boy, walking over to Rainprint and prodding her in the face; whispering to her to wake-up.

    What the hell is wrong with him? Is he brain-dead or something?!
    Eventually the girl woke up to find herself confronting the tribe deputy. Hawkeye’s yellow eyes cooled to a silent anger. “Why aren’t you in the Medicine Chamber with Snaketooth!?”

    Rainprint slowly rose and rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. “Ho…wha…?”

    “Why aren’t you with your mentor?” Naia noticed Hawkeye gritted his teeth while he spoke. Probably trying to hold his frustration.

    “He’s out…looking for signs at the Star Pool…on his own….He told me to rebadged the apprentices, and give the youngbloods a check-up. Is he back yet?”

    “He’s waiting for you back in his medicine chambers. It’s past moonrise!”

    Obviously the realization of oversleeping on her tasks, did Rainprint seem more focused to Naia now then she had before. “I’ve been sleeping for that long!?” Said the mage apprentice; her eyes wide with shock. “I’d better get back at once!”

    Without any further harassment from Hawkeye, Rainprint quickened her pace out the room, unconsciously past Naia, and out into the dim darkness of the night. Hawkeye followed out to door but before he could close the door behind him, he threw his head back at the apprentices. “This girl might be staying with us, but it’s up to Warriormoon wither he wants her part of the tribe. If you see anything…shady, report to me at once!” Then let the door click behind him.

    For a brief moment, a nerve racking silence took over. It room was so quiet that, to her, Naia’s very own breaths sounded loud. She stifled her sigh just in time. Wow…that Hawkeye means business. Why does he hate me so much? I get that I’m not from here, but does he really have to treat me like I’m some kind of wild animal?! Naia quickly glanced at the two boys behind her. Oh well…no point getting on anyone else’s bad side. I might as well introduce myself. Naia did a complete turn towards the juveniles.

    “Yo. I’m-.”

    “That there is Naia!” Crowprint interrupted. The boy was stumbling down the wooden ladder down in such haste from the bunk bed. Almost like how the children of Plywatch would scamper out of their houses at the sound of the circus in town. When Crowprint’s small feet touched the floor, did the apprentice dashed over and tug on Naia’s arm. “Come on! You can sleep under my bunk. And you can tell us stories!”

    “Whoa-hold your horses there Crowprint,” Naia watched the timid girl shuffling a few feet from the door but, made no other attempts to move towards her otherwise. “We should let her rest. I’m sorry…I’m sure you’re weary. There’s a bath hut out in the forest, if you keep going left you’ll eventually come to a crossroad. You go down the right path and you’ll finally get there. No one should be there so late, I hope you will be alright by yourself.”

    “Oh, I’m fine!” After sliding off of rocks and tussle with the Nightstalker, did she feel in dire need for a bath. “Thanks I could use it.”
    “I’ll search through the Laundry hut and see if I can find anything for you to wear.”

    Before Naia could thank the girl for her further generosity, one of the boys got up to walk toward her who Naia learned earlier that his name was Blackprint. He was a handsome blond teen with the ends of his hair dyed black.

    Blackprint grabbed the girl in a headlock. “Spottedprint you dog!” Blackprint bawled his hand into a fist and started rubbing his knuckles hard against the girl’s head. “I didn’t know you were such a wildman. Under all this girlyness laid the heart of a perv. And here I thought you’d gone soft on us! That a boy!” Spottedprint’s a boy?!

    “Ow-ow-ow! Stop you a**! That hurts!” Spottedprint cried.

    “Are you two idiots or what?” It was Wolfprint who had spoken. He was on his knees reaching out underneath one of the bunk beds and pulled out a folded translucent square. Then cautiously lifted the candle and placed it in the square. “Look if these idiots are going to take you to the bath hut, it’s gonna take you awhile. I’ll take ya instead….Hmm…this doesn’t seem right. Where’s the handle? Crowprint you borrowed my lantern last night when you were on night patrol. Where the hell did you put the handle?”

    “I put it under your bunk.”

    “Why didn’t you hook it back on?” Wolfprint crouched down once more and scanned under the bed. “…I don’t see it.”

    “I came off. I swear I put it under there…whatever, it’s not like it’s my fault.”

    “What the hell do you mean ‘it’s not your fault’? Of course it is! You took my lantern without permission. You’re lucky I didn’t tear your a** up yesterday. How the hell do you expect me to carry around a lantern without a damn handle?!”

    “Sorcery…?”

    While Naia stood ideally by watching the other boys going on with their own conversations and arguments, Naia suppressed a frustrated sigh. Will someone just take me to the hut so I could at least wash off?!

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    It wasn’t until hours later (to Naia at least) was she able to arrive at the bath hut with all the apprentices leading her there. Just the same as the Apprentices’ hut, the bath hut revealed to be just as enormous like the bath houses you’d normally see in Japan on the inside then, it made out to be on the outside.

    And no sooner did they take her there did they quickly leave, dragging the reluctant Crowprint with them. Though the bath was visibly concealed by shrouds of mist, Naia could tell that the bath was huge. The floor underneath was paved out of the same kind of clay the tribesmen used for their huts, only in more of a cream color instead of tawny.

    As well as Spottedprint bringing the clothes he had promised to present soon after Naia had finished taking her bath. Naia rose from the bottom bunk bed and stretched. The clothes Spottedprint had given to Naia was an oversized, elegant white gown with thin red ribbons tied on the collar.

    Crowprint seemed to have just woken up as well. Though his hair
    wasn’t any different from yesterday’s frizz with feathers sticking out, but the young boy was still wearing a kind of baggie white shirt with slits on the sides and woven pants he worn as pajamas. He opened the wardrobe and step in. For a few moments, Naia wondered how deep the wardrobe was and if the boy might’ve easily walked into an entirely different world, but soon reappeared with some new clothes.

    “It’s almost dawn,” Crowprint yawned while he got undressed. Naia turned around to hastily make her bed as an excuse. “I checked the Message Bulletin yesterday, and Hawkeye assigned me to go on dawn patrol with him, Raventalon, and Runningbrook this morning. Then I’m off again on a hunting patrol later a little before sunhigh. And my mentor, Sliverfall, promised to do some training with me afterwards. I’ve got so much to do today that it’s not even funny. And I really wanted to spend more time with you too... (So that’s what the tribe’s deputy’s job is? Organizing patrols? Hmm…interesting.)

    Crowprint paused to stick his head through his shirt. “The others are lucky,” Nodding his head over towards the slowly falling lumps on the other beds. “Hawkeye doesn’t have anything plan for them early today, so they can sleep ‘til sun-up. Since you just came to Kokiri Tribe, I doubt dad has any jobs posted up for you right now.” (Well they did stay up pretty late last night. They probably won’t wake up anytime soon.)

    “Hey wait, I’m supposed to be racking up points with the chieftain with honest hard work!” Naia protested but quickly remembered the other sleeping apprentices and dropped her voice down a notch. “How am I gonna convince Warriormoon to let me stay, if I don’t have anything to do?!”
    Crowprint seemed to ponder this while he slowly slipped on his red sleeves. “Hmm…that could be a problem. (You think?!)”

    A sudden knock on the door startled Naia’s out of her worries. And the familiar voice of Snaketooth bled through. “Is anyone awake?
    When the boy opened the door, the mage stood stared softly at Naia while he held a woven basket with handles straps on. “Good, I see you’re a wake miss Naia. Better to start your tasks early, I motto I go by you might call it. (A motto he says)

    “I assume since your unexpected arrival from yesterday doesn’t give you much chances of getting an immediate task, I’m afraid. Shall I help you get a jumpstart on things? Hurry and get dressed.”

    After rummaging through her bag, Naia found the clothes from the other day and put those on instead. She felt a bit guilty glancing back at the mage every now and then to make sure his back was turned.

    When Naia finished, Snaketooth then handed her the basket and led her outside into the bright yet cold dawn light. He pointed towards the space between fairly large hut with an extension on top, and somewhat smaller version. “There’s a path sandwiched between the Chieftain’s hut and The Old Ones huts shrouded by undergrowth. Keep heading down the path to the farmplace. Some of the crops should be able to be picked about now. And there are a few watering cans about near the river, why don’t do you water them while you’re at it too?”

    Naia almost cried out in her gratitude. “Thank you, Snaketooth!”
    Tending to the field? That shouldn’t be hard! Naia tried to think confidently as she threw on her basket and began to take her first steps into the camp. Piece of cake!

    “Before you go, let me give a word of caution first,” Said Snaketooth. “When you get to the river I advice you not to go anywhere beyond that point, understand?”
    “Why not?”

    But before she could get an answer, the Mage was already heading back towards his chambers.