[centre][h1]The Wuhdige Tribe[/h1][/centre] The sea breeze tickled at the late autumn leaves of the tall trees by the beach. Birds tweeted their sweet songs to the rhythm of the wind and either looked diligently for places to rest for the winter, or had begun their trek northwards to warmer climates, their feather coat simply too thin for the winters this far south. In the woods, the bears were fattening up for the incoming seasonal change and looking around for caves to hibernate it. Deer, boars and other prey of the forest were biting and digging at the last grass and roots of the year, trying their best to scrape together enough fat to survive the cold. The weather around the island grew sourer and sourer in this time, with cold rains and bitter winds cutting at hide and fur like icy knives. The tall trees walled off some of the storms, yet only the hills in the island centre provided any shelter from the northern gusts. A curious, small hound, one of the few that existed on this island, scraped its weak legs against the grey sand on the southern beaches. It had not eaten for days - its competitors snatching far larger chunks of that rabbit they had found the other day. The starving hound had hoped to find a bird’s nest or perhaps a rotting fish on the beach, but it seemed like no such luck would grace the dog today. The weight of its body grew unbearable, and it collapsed onto the grainy shore, letting its black eyes stare out across the sea, fragmented between ice sheets. It heightened its gaze to see the familiar shadow of tall mountains keeping the true winter winds locked at the pole. The dog panted for air, knowing its minutes were numbered now. A fragile existence - finally broken by the force of nature. It closed its eyes and breathed out. Waves crashed against the shore. The ear-shattering sound of ice sheets colliding filled the soundscape momentarily, then disappeared completely. The wind ran past the hound’s ear, then grew stiller than set snow. An anomaly broke the pattern of the waves. “Look!” came a high-pitched voice. The hound’s crusted eyes would not open at first - it was as if even those muscles were spent. The muffled sound of steps in sand approached it - they were many. Perhaps it was his pack, or a rival pack. The hound found itself beginning to whimper, yet no sound exited its mouth. Fruitlessly, it attempt to kick off and run, but it barely managed to move its paws, even. “You think it’s dead?” another voice said. “‘Course it ain’t! It just moved!” said another slightly louder. Were they challenging one another for the chance to bite into it, the dog pondered. An odd way to go - barely a scrap of meat on its bones, yet it would be fought over like it was a fat boar. Oh, how the hound longed for the taste of boar… “Oi, chief. Could we spare a fish for it? I think Odante wants to keep it.” “W-well, it’s cute!” came a particularly high-pitched voice. The hound finally managed the strength to open its eyes, but the image remained unfocused. All it saw were surrounding shadows, perched over it like vultures over carrion. It decided to close its eyes again - no use staring such a pathetic death in the eyes, anyway. There came a rumbling grumble. “Let us hope that it will remember the faces of its helpers, then.” There came a high-pitched giggle before something crashed into the sand before the dog’s snout with a wet slap. A stink filled his nose - a strong one, for certain, but an intoxicating one. The hound began to salivate and its mouth parted to unleash its tongue upon the object. It was slimey and sandy, with a rough, scaley texture. The dog concluded that it had to be some form of food, so with its remaining strength, it parted its jaws again, leaned it head forward a little more in the sand, and bit into the object. Oily blood squirted forth into the hound’s mouth, recharging its energy in a flash. The next bite was eager; the next after that, even more so. Before long, the clouded vision became clear and the hound’s belly was, for the first time in days, full. Not even the fish bones remained as the dog happily licked its lips and looked at its saviours. They were tall and furry, most notably bipedal with a strange legs stick out of their shoulders that did not end in feet or paws at all. One of the creatures reached forth one of those funny limbs and began to scratch it behind the ear. It was an odd sensation, but not an unwelcome one - not that that very ear had been filling with sand for longer than it could recall. “Oh, look at hiiiiiim! He sho cuuuute!” came the very high-pitched voice again, the source being the creature patting him affectionately. “What should we call him?” “It’s your pet,” came the gruffy voice from before. “You will name it yourself.” “Oh, really! Hmm…” The creature lifted its other arm. The hound grew uncomfortable at the attention - the crowd around it grew ever thicker. “I think I will call it Hodinki!” said the voice. The volume was loud, louder than the dog had anticipated it being. It pulled itself from the creatures grasp and sprinted for the woods. It ran and ran, even as more calls and shouts hounded at ever quieting volumes. Finally, as it had come deep enough into the whitening woods, it dared turn and look back. They had not pursued. The hound looked forward again. Its pack was not far. Perhaps it could join them for a hunt tomorrow, now that it had eaten again. The hound looked back again. Then again, perhaps there would be more fish for it if it ever went back to those strange creatures. The hound looked forward again and began to trot back to its pack. Silly to think strange creatures would just give away food for free like that. [hr] “WAAAAAAAA-HA-HAAAAA!” Odante cried as she knelt into the sand. Behind her stood her brothers Jokuanhe and Tokuhe laughing their blubber off. The gruffy grumbles of their father managed to silence their chortles, however, and the large selka knelt down to pat his daughter on the shoulder. “Such things happen, daughter,” the selka said. “It was starving, but we helped it out. Now, it has probably gone home to its own family.” “Buh-but…” The selka child rubbed the tears out of her large eyes and sniffed. “I wanted it…” “You can’t own living things, daughter. They have lives and families of their own. Another one will surely come to greet us in time.” Odante wiped some snot out of her whiskers and let out a single, “hmph”. The larger selka squeezed her shoulder and stood up. He turned to his sons. “Take Yupu and Aga and find us a cave or something. The wind is mean today.” The brothers nodded, slapped the other selka in question on the back and set off in a wobbly trot along the coast. “Okako’e, come here.” A chubby selka female dragging one white and grey selka toddler by her one arm and carrying a white-furred pup on her other, came over to the chieftain. “What is it, husband?” she asked softly. The large selka’s lips curved into an affectionate smile and he caressed the small pup nuzzled up against her bosom. “Did everyone make it ashore?” His gruff voice carried in it a gentle warmth. Okako’e returned the smile and looked down at the pup. The toddler holding her hand stuck his other hand in his mouth and sucked on it absentmindedly. “Yeah, as far as I can see. The Yupas, the Dondwehs, the Agohs, the Elus, all have made it.” The large selka furrowed his brow. “What about the Wogwehs?” Okako’e shook her head. “They never left the shore, my love.” He grumbled and shook his head. “I see they weren’t too sure about the long swim. I hope the winter will be easy on them regardless. The shores should still be brimming with fish - they can still gather some before the white sheets form again.” Okako’e nodded and looked outwards to the sea. “On that note, we should probably fill our stores, too. When our sons come back, we'll take the tribe to our new home. Send some of the men and scout the waters. We need to make certain there will be fish there for the winter.” The large selka nodded with a gruff ‘mhm’. “Odende, Yupe, Yuge, Yupi, Dondo’e, Donwah, Agu’e, Agu’yo, Elop, Eliap, Jo’eliap and Eliul - to me.” The twelve males of varying ages, the youngest, Eliul, being barely a teenager, and the eldest, Yupe, whose fur had begun to whiten again, all came up to the large selka. He nodded at them. “I know you are tired from the journey, but we only brought with us enough fish to live on for maybe…” He counted his fingers. “... A few days! Therefore, we gotta get more. Yupe, take your sons west and see what you can find where the sheets end.” “Yes, chieftain,” Yupe said and beckoned along Yuge and Yupi, who both ended up supporting the old selka as he waddled away slowly. “Odende, take your sons and the Agoh boys and fish in the waters from where we came. There, at least, we know there is some food.” “Right away, chief,” said Odende with a grin and pulled along Dondo’e and Donwah. Agu’e and Agu’yo looked to their mother, Agoi, who gave them each a quick hug. “You two be careful, alright? Remember what the waters can ho--” “Let the boys go fish, for Kirron’s sake,” the large selka said with a wry grin. Agoi stared daggers at him before kissing her sons goodbye, both of whom reluctantly accompanied the Dondwehs with sheepish frowns on their faces. “They ain’t gonna grow up to be proper boys when you treat them like pups all day, Agoi,” the large selka grumbled. “How I treat my boys is none of your business, Tokuanhe,” the woman said in a surly manner, stomped over to a rock and sat herself down. Tokuanhe rubbed his nose and put his hands on his hips. “Maybe it ain’t, but all I know is that we all have to work together to survive - and boys reluctant to fish make for poor partners.” Agoi pouted and looked away. Tokuanhe let out a gruff sigh and pointed to the final four males. “Elu brothers, you will take the western waters. Don’t walk too far - we still don’t know this island very well.” “Got’cha, chief,” the four brothers said in varying voice pitches. The eldest, a young male named Elop, picked up Eliul and placed him on his shoulders, much to the younger brother’s displeasure. “Let me down, Elop!” he shouted angrily, kicking and waving his arms about to the sound of the surrounding laughter. The brothers all set off westwards in a slow stroll. The wind began to blow again and the toddler holding Okako’e’s arm began to whimper. She looked down at him and then at the toddlers and pups in the arms of the other surrounding females. “Yukuanhe and the others are getting cold,” she said. “How long does it take to find a cave?” Tokuanhe shrugged. “There are usually quite a few of them by the sea - granted, this is not a particularly rocky island. The caves are bound to be further in.” The women turned to him with varying degrees of frowns. “How far away from the sea?” Agoi asked bitterly. Tokuanhe shrugged again. “Dunno. I suppose we will have to wait until the boys return. Aga’s probably slowing them down.” The large male smirked smugly at Agoi, whose face turned a dark shade of purple. “Why, I have neve-- You take that back right now, Tokuanhe!” The surrounding females all began to chuckle and chortle, waking a few of the groggy, sleeping pups. The chieftain crossed his arms over his chest and let out a loud guffaw. Agoi stomped over to him and began to slap at his large arms fruitlessly, further fueling the laughter. “What’re we all laughing at?” came a voice behind them. The group turned in a hurry to face a grinning Jokuanhe. Tokuanhe grinned back and walked over to squeeze the shoulder of his son tightly and give his chest a light bump with his fist. “We’re laughing at how you outran Aga like the beached seal he is!” the chieftain said and looked over the shorter selka’s head. “You did outrun him, right?” he whispered. “Pa, of course, I did! He didn’t even come with! The rest are in the cave making preparations.” “Oh,” Tokuanhe mumbled, seemingly a little disappointed. “Well, you -did- outrun him on the way there, right?” Jokuanhe’s smile turned wry and he sighed. “Yes, pa, I sure did.” “Haha! That’s my boy,” the chief exclaimed and bumped him again. “Now, where’s the cave?” “Right, the cave. Come on, I’ll show ya.” Jokuanhe headed back into the woods. Tokuanhe gathered up the females and children and began to shepherd them after Jokuanhe. “Oh, Agoi - you’ll stay here and wait for the others.” “Why me?!” Agoi exclaimed in outrage. “Because someone needs to guide your boys to their new home, that’s why,” he said with a smirk and walked off. Agoi stood dumbstruck for a moment before she angrily kicked a pebble and seated herself on the rock again. Okako’e shook her head with a wry smile. “That was a little too far, my love. I would gladly have stayed behind.” Tokuanhe shook his head and dove under a snow-covered branch. “She’s the only one without any pups - unless you count her grown sons. The children come first, simple as that.” “I suppose so,” Okako’e conceded with a sigh. “Jokuanhe, how far away is it?” “Just over here,” Jokuanhe answered as he skipped over a fallen trunk and into a dip in the terrain, which at one end led to a wide cleft between two small, stoney hills, floored with a small stream. “In there,” he said and pointed. “The ceiling curves inwards on the inside - makes for good cover against both snow and wind.” Tokuanhe nodded. Tokuhe came running out of the cave with a wide grin on his whiskered face. “Ma, pa, you came! Come on in! Yupu’s gathered some dry leaves and made the ground all soft!” The young selka then went inside again. Tokuanhe grinned at Okako’e. “We have such great boys, don’t we?” “What about me?” Odante pouted. “Oh, and daughter, of course,” the chieftain added and rubbed the young selka’s furry little head. Then, they entered. The cave was vast on the inside despite the small opening, with a ceiling tall enough that the selka would not have to squat most of the time - at least in the centre. Tokuanhe wagered it could fit the whole tribe plus a few more. The floor was flat and relatively even, with only a few bumps and shelves interrupting the mostly smooth texture. The top of the ceiling had a long crack in it that split the room in two with a long, thin wall of light that extended to the entrance. The stream in the middle of the cave was small, but could probably provide drinking water for the whole tribe. Tokuanhe carved out a spot for his family and sat himself down against the wall, his long back forcing him to slouch. Okako’e handed him the pup and wrapped her arms around the curious toddler who was seemingly testing its fangs’ effect on a pebble. Odante let out a loud ‘ah!’ and tried to pull the pebble out of her little brother’s mouth before he swallowed it. Jokuanhe and Tokuhe both grinned at the spectacle alongside their father. Meanwhile, the other families begun to settle in, dividing the cave up among the five families. The Yupas and Dondwehs settled closest to the chieftain’s family, whereas the Agohs, spearheaded by surly Agoi, placed themselves the furtherst away. The Elus, being the largest family, took up space on both sides of the lightwall. The fishermen that had returned with Agoi brought varying amounts of food, the Yupas who travelled to the west coast having brought the most. The sons of Dondweh and Agoh had brought some fish, but it was clear that the ice sheets in the southern strait made it difficult to fish there. The Elus who travelled down the east coast told similar stories of unbreakable ice sheets that no doubt hid bounties of fish underneath. “Well, then I suppose we must spend the winter figuring out how to break the ice,” Tokuanhe mumbled with a mouth full of fish. Yupu pulled at his long whiskers and pursed his lips. “We could use big stones to smash the ice,” he proposed. “It should be weak in some parts, and then once the hole is big enough, we hop in and fish as normal.” “Won’t that be a little dangerous?” Elop asked with a raised hand. “What if the ice freezes again?” “The boy has a point,” said Odende. “The southern ice sheets almost stretch to the shore now - but late winter, they will be lying on the beach, too. If someone goes fishing under the ice, someone else must remain on the surface, ready to smash apart the ice if it should freeze again.” “Hear, hear,” said Yupu. Tokuanhe rubbed his blubbery chin. “Aga, anything to add?” he asked at he looked to the opposite side of the cave. Aga, who was currently reluctantly being inspected for parasites by his mother, grumbled and shook his head. “Ma--Ma! It’s fine, tru-- No, sounds very good as is! Ma, I’m good now!” He pushed her away gently and shuffled a little closer to the other males. “Ahem… Nothing to add.” Tokuanhe nodded. “That settles it, then. The western sea will be our main fishing grounds for the time being. If the sheets take them, we’ll knock them open with rocks.” He took a deep breath and looked at the surrounding selka with a smile. “Look around you, friends - we, the Tokuan, the Yupa, the Dondweh, the Agoh and the Elu, have finally found a home after all these days and nights, weeks and months of travel. Now, we can rest and build a good place to grow up for our children, eh?” There were smiled and nods among the tribesmen. Even Agoi’s lips curled a little. “By Kirron,” Tokuanhe continued, “the Wuhdige tribe will grow big, and our kids will have fish to eat every day! This, as your chieftain, I swear to you by Kirron!” The tribesmen chuckled and clapped her hands in applause. This was it - the start of a whole new chapter in their lives. Life on Wuhdige Island had begun. [hider=Summary] The setting is on the small island on eastmost Atokhekwoi. It’s late autumn, early winter and the animals begin to prepare. A stray wild dog lies starving on the beach when it’s approached by selka who offer it a fish because a child selka wants it as a pet. It quickly runs away though and the child, Odante, starts to cry. Her brothers, Jokuanhe and Tokuhe, laugh their asses off, but their dad Tokuanhe is like ‘dw we get you a puppy later’. In total, there are five families that have gathered on the island: The Tokuan, the Yupa, the Dondweh, the Agoh and the Elu, making up a total of 50 individuals of all ages - 17 males, 20 females and 13 children. Tokuanhe sends his sons and two others to find them a cave to sleep in, then sends the rest of the males off to fish. After some banter with Agoi, matriarch of the Agoh, Jokuanhe comes back to tell them that they have found a cave. They settle in that cave and learn from the fishermen that the western waters are still not covered by ice sheets, but that the southern and eastern waters require stones to break into. They settle on fishing the western seas for as long as possible to avoid ice fishing due to the risks of the sheets freezing while underwater. Finally, Tokuanhe declares their tribe, the Wuhdige tribe, to be founded and swears that they will turn the island into a paradise for their kids. [/hider]