MONARCH - Discontinued

Chapter 6 - The Imuchakk Tribe

Ava, Sinbad, Hina, and Pipirika sat around a small fire as the sun went down over the ocean. They were roasting kabobs as Sinbad spoke. "So while we're eating, tell me more about Imuchakk."

Pipirika looked up at him, her mouth stuffed, "Oh, ok. Let's see, well, it's pure white!" Ava wrapped the top her tail around her leg, not ready for the conversation about to come. "You mean snow?" She offered, causing Pipirika to smile.

"That's interesting, but I'm actually more curious about the kind of ruler your king is." Sinbad explained. "You mean our father? He's the patriarch here," Pipirika replied, and Ava saw Hina hesitate to bite into his kabob out of the corner of her eye.

While the two talked, Ava brought her ankle to rest on her knee, leaning forward and resting her arms on her calfs.

         "Really? That's great, would you mind taking us with you?" Sinbad asked out of blue, his eyes darting to Ava for a second in approval.

The girl shrugged, and Sinbad grinned.

         Hina stiffened, "Listen, Sinbad, the thing is outsiders aren't welcomed in our community. More than likely you'll be cast aside -" "I don't care," Sinbad interrupted, standing up dramatically.

Dramatic is the only word you could use to describe Sinbad (besides hot -) "It's an unfamiliar country with unfamiliar people. I wanna visit every country so I can change the world."

Ava sighed, reaching up to grab Sinbad's ponytail and yanking him back down to a sitting position, the man hissing, embarrassed as Ava asked, "So wha'd you say?"

***

The waves crashing softly below the rough rock Hina sat on. The night was dark, yet the world around him was so bright. Stars glimmered in the sky as they do every night, yet they still somehow always seem... different.

The crescent moon shined against the darkness, a pale and vivid yellow. "Can I do this?" Hina asked himself out loud, lowering his head.

          "Beautiful, huh?" Hina perked up at the familiar voice. Ava padded soundlessly on the rock with her boots on.

Climbing was something she was familiar with. Every time she saw a mountain it looked like a larger version of the one back home. Her home across the sea. The one where she was born and raised (on a playground where I spent most of my days -)

Deep into the forest was a spot that only Ava found intriguing, though that wasn't saying much. Every day it became easier and easier to scale the mini mountain, and when she was younger she liked to believe it was still growing.

And on that small and steep hill was where she built her life. Hina turned his head to see Ava, who was staring out into the barely visible ocean that blended into the sky. "The sky I mean. You've been here awhile," Ava claimed.

"Yeah..." Hina replied softly, turning his head back to the sea. "I wanted to apologize, on Sinbad's behalf. That Abare narwhal was yours, but me and him stepped in when we felt we needed to. But, I noticed how hard you were fighting to save Pipirika."

This caused Hina to snap his head to Ava again, who was grinning at him, her eyes shinning. "That was impressive, anyone could see it!" She gave a closed - eyes smile.

"Yeah..." Hina mumbled, flustered as his gaze was brought to the ground aka rock. "You think so?"

***

Snow was swirling around Ava, for once not melting when it touched her. Snowflakes were stuck in the feathers atop her ears, so big you could practically see it's entire shape. Ava couldn't help but stop and stare. She couldn't remember the last snowfall she'd seen.

It rarely snowed when she lived with her parents, and it never snowed in Parthevia because it was so hot. Sinbad didn't seem to care, too determined to try and make it into the tribe to admire the fact that there's never been a snowfall in his town.

Ava glimmered, a smile fighting it's way onto her face as she chirped. She didn't try to catch snowflakes with her tongue, she never had. She'd look stupid, and wasn't comfortable enough to do so.

The Imuchakk Tribe had a large fence around it, and Ava, Sinbad, Hina, and Pipirika stood at the gate, Sinbad shaking slightly from the cold. Ava was also freezing, but she'd take it all as long as snow kept pouring down faster than rain.

Everyone in the tribe looked just like Hina and his sister; blue hair, pale skin, brown - hazel eyes. They all dressed in the same material, but what did you expect? On the way there Hina gave Ava a navy blue tunic to cover her bare arms, and it had a hood.

Now, since she hadn't asked Sinbad to put her hair up again, she could actually wear the hood part. Sinbad was marveling at the structures - mostly the woman - while Ava was standing there, observing the sky as snowflakes fell, her hood falling off of her head, attracting some attention from the locals.

Sinbad stood beside her while Hina was being surrounded by the villagers who were congratulating him on his victory of defeating the Abare narwhal. Ava squealed like a kid, causing Sinbad to snap out of his admiring and glance at her, slightly surprised to see her so excited about snow.

"What's got you so happy?" Ava turned to him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear sheepishly, "Well, I cant remember the last time I've seen snow." She was still smiling, and Sinbad mirrored it gently. The moment was ruined when the male sneezed, into his arm thankfully.

"Welcome to Imuchakk, the land of ice and snow!" Pipirika exclaimed, her hands on her hips as she admired her own tribe. Hina looked at the two outsiders for their reactions, just barely blushing when Ava squeaked as a snowflake fluttered onto her nose.

"You're finally home," a deep, rough voice rumbled, causing Ava to look and see a large man holding a spear similar to the Hina had. There was a scar the shape of an "X" on his chin and he had a light blue mustache to match his hair. "My children." He finished.

Pipirika squealed, racing forwards and chirping, "Father!" before hugging the man. Hina followed after her slowly, "We have completed our journey." Sinbad walked towards the family and Ava followed, flicking her ears, snow bouncing off of them.

Not gonna lie, Ava felt a little intimidated by the man, so she waited for Sinbad to speak (When I typed in "Sinbad" it autocorrected to "Sinabs" I'm shook).

         "And who are they?" The man asked. Sinbad stepped closer while Ava stayed next to Hina, resisting the urge to hide behind her blue haired friend. They were going to be thrown out, weren't they?

         "My name is Sinbad and this is my companion Ava," Sinbad introduced, gesturing towards Ava, who slightly tensed when Hina's father's eyes looked up to her.

"We're venturing to all parts of the world in order to -" The man pointed his spear at Sinbad and Ava winced, whimpering under her breath as her ears folded back. "You ventured into Imuchakk. Outsiders are not welcomed in our domaine." The man growled in his gruff voice.

"But father..." Pipirika whined. "Please father, Ava is my -" "Dear son," the man turned his cold eyes to Hina, "you finally become one of us, a warrior. You have a responsibility to protect our people from all threats..."

Hina lowered his head ashamed while his father took his spear back from pointing at Sinbad's chest. "Never forget that," with that the man turned away from Hina and Sinbad.

"Yes sir," Hina bowed, his hair covering his eyes while Sinbad and Ava looked up at him in shock. "Tonight is the Maharagan Feast." The leader lifted his staff, "Lets prepare for the celebration." Cheers, whistles, and shouts erupted from the tribe, all throwing their hands up into the air.