“Don’t be so scared!” Etasose yelled as she stared at the cave opening. Charlie stood a little behind her, shuffling in place. Staring at Etasose, he couldn’t help but wonder whether or not he should follow the excited girl.

The dark, jagged spikes that hung over the gaping entrance warned him away. The dark, seemingly endless blackness inside also worded him off.

“Please… can we just go back?” Charlie said in vain as Etasose grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the cave.

“Weak, you’re lucky you have me,” she answered in her native tongue.

Dragging him towards the cave, she finally stopped as they reached the mouth. Tapping his arm, Etasose raised a hand to him, signalling from him to wait for her. She knew from what Nolkonoe had told her that humans struggled to see in the dark. Since they struggled so much, she knew it was best to leave the already terrified boy outside.

Interpreting her gesture correctly, Charlie was more than willing to not enter to cave and stay in the safety of the outdoors.

“Don’t worry human friend! I’ll return soon with the Desert Crawler fur, and I shall present it to you as a gift!” Etasose said loudly to herself more than Charlie considering he didn’t understand her.

Shaking, Charlie watched as Etasose wondered off into the cave. She was gone, just like that he was alone. Quite, he kept his eyes locked onto the opening of the cave. Snapping around, Charlie stared at the mounds of white sand a couple of meters away from him. The wind was picking up, causing the sand to whip and blow against the small bushes and taller, firmer rocks.

Amongst these sounds of scratching and whistling, he could swear there was the soft sounds of sniffing. No, it was just his thoughts running wild. Running his hands along the bottom of his shirt, he looked at the uneven length of his shirt. Etasose had dragged him out of the bed and gotten him dressed so quickly that she hadn’t even done his buttons up correctly, thus making the bottom of his shirt uneven.

Beginning from the bottom, he began to undo his shirt buttons in order to do them back up correctly. In his young mind, he found it best to simply focus on the buttons instead of the weird sounds of the desert. There it was again, the sounds of sniffing and rustling. He was only six, but he knew better than to allow his imagination to run wild. It was again simply the wind.

Coughing, a heavy musk flowed down over Charlie’s head. Coughing some more and spluttering on the ground, he froze as a long, wet, dollop fell onto his head. Shaking, he looked up to the night sky. He could see the stars, there wasn’t even a could in sight. It wasn’t raining. Glancing slowly over his shoulder, he locked eyes with the open maw of a beast.

Leaping back, he screamed as fangs sank into his shoulder, and then another set into his left leg. Deep within the cave, his screams echoed, summoning Etasose. Locking her eyes onto the beasts as they tore and bit at the flesh of Charlie. Her confused, terrified eyes locked with that of Charlie’s.

“Charlie!” she screamed as she scurred onto the sand. Finally, she grabbed a sharp looking stone and charged. Closing his eyes, he began to relinquish to his fate. She was so far away, too far away.

Smiling, he must have begun to hallucinate. He could have sworn he saw a large wolf like tail and tall wolfish ears appear on Etasose. He had always liked dogs…

His eyes widened as blood splattered onto his face as Etasose leapt onto one of the desert crawlers. In her hand, he saw a sharp stone burying into the eye of the creature. Stabbing and slashing, she wrapped her legs around the head of the creature as she began to hack at its face. The entire time she let out ear pricing growls and howls.

How long had it been? Was all Charlie could think as he lost all feeling in his legs and arms. Using what strength he had, he looked to the side. A Desert Crawler was biting and ripping into… tears swelled in his eyes as he saw the creature devouring his arm. Again, he looked on confused as the creature stopped biting and fell to the floor. An arrow had pierced its skull.

Yells and howls shook the night as a small army of wolf-like looking women joined the fray. Arms wrapped around him, lifting him and carrying him from the battle. Raising his eyes, he saw a petrified Ourupadia and the teary eyes of Phukomeia. Dragging him from the battle, the two girls threw him into the arms of Nolkonoe and just as quickly Pycleia was at her side.

“What happened?” Pycleia screamed, seeing the chest was nothing more than a few strands of flesh away from being torn open.

“Get all the priestesses, the Chiefess and all medicine women!” Nolkonoe barked as she held the delicate body of Charlie.

“Your so lucky we heard your howls!” Nolkonoe stuttered, doing her best to hold back her tears.

“What?” he said quietly. He couldn’t understand her, but then again even if he could understand her language, all sound was starting to muffle as the sounds of his heart beating filled his ears.

“Placing some leaves down! We need to heal him now!” Ases yelled as she ran to his side to join her comrades in healing the mutilated boy.

“Three months,” Nolkonoe said, stopping her account of the story as she looked up at a dumfounded Charlie.

“It took us three months to heal all your wounds,”

“Fuck…” he responded quietly, realising all memories of childhood were taken away due to one person, Etasose.

“Do not be angry at her, it was my lack of skills to erase exact parts of your memory that made you lose all those six years,” Nolkonoe said, as if she was predicting his thoughts.

“But if Etasose hadn’t,” Charlie was cut off by Cluupyte wrapping her arms around him.

“I understand how you feel. But for those entire three months, neither did Ourupadia or Etasose leave your side. Neither did my daughter, Felkouyope, or Xasuyle or even Klipesia,” Cluupyte ran her fingers through his hair as the tribe’s women surrounded him. Nolkonoe Placed a soft kiss onto his forehead.

“For the time being, that is all our secrets we have to share,” Nolkonoe took in a deep breath as she placed a hand onto either side of his face. Raising his head so that he looked her in the eyes, she smiled at him.

“I’ll always look after you, and I hope us telling you this makes you place more trust in us and in our tribe. We care for you, like mothers to a son,” Nolkonoe said, wanting to make him feel better but also feeling a little bad for using his lack of a mother figure as a point of persuasiveness.

“We’ll all care for you,” Pycleia said, placing a soft kiss onto his cheek.

“Just don’t be angry, okay? And we’ll make sure that everything is put right,” Pycleia continued as she followed the lead of Nolkonoe and placed another kiss onto his cheek. Charlie said nothing in return. Pycleia looked to Nolkonoe, who then returned the gaze.

“Are you angry?” Nolkonoe questioned.

“I…” Charlie looked down for a moment in contemplation.

“I want to be. But I can’t,” he said, smiling slightly at the shocked expressions of the women.

“Why? We took six years of memories away from you?” Cluupyte said, almost wanting him to be angry with her.

“But I can’t remember that time. So, if there is nothing to remember, then have I really lost anything?” he said, knowing if he was to dwell on the past, he would never be able to move to the future.

“Thank you, for telling this. I guess you don’t want me to hold it against the Chiefess?” he said, smiling slightly as he looked to Nolkonoe.

“Please just act as if we said nothing,” Nolkonoe said, placing a kiss onto his other cheek.

“it’s alright, I won’t say anything,” the three women smiled to each other as he spoke.

“Alright then, while the Vultures and Forgers work, I think we can have a little chat,” Nolkonoe said as she bit his ear.

“About what?” Charlie said quietly as the women’s tails fluttered around him, making a small wall to stop his movement.

“We just want to make sure you are nice and well rewarded and well compensated for what happened to you,” Cluupyte said, placing a kiss onto his neck as the three women began to run their hands across him.

“I think I should go,” he said, trying to move, but getting stopped by the tail of Pycleia.

“Oh please, just sit with for a while! We are very motherly creatures, but we rarely get to spoil something as adorable as you. So please, just until the Vultures are finished,” Nolkonoe pleaded.

“I have also said everything to the Chiefess about what you have planned, as well as arranged for you to meet in the square to give out the money,” Nolkonoe continued.

Seeing the looks of excitement in the women’s eyes, he curled into the fur of Nolkonoe.

“Just on one condition, you won’t be angry at my speech that I wish to give to the tribe,” Charlie said, smiling towards the women.

Not sure why he wanted them to agree, but they nodded and agreed. Together the group tackled him. Pinning him against the tail of Nolkonoe, the women began to take their positions. Charlie lay across Nolkonoe’s tail while she lay next to him. Her fingers ran through his hair as she placed a few soft kisses onto his forehead.

Pycleia leapt off to get a bowl of fruit while Cluupyte lay by his side.

“Good boy,” Nolkonoe whispered lovingly as she began to rub his head with her hands.

Soon the three women had gathered and began their motherly care of him. Hours past of the three as they stroked the chest and hair of Charlie, while another took a turn feeding him.

“He is an adorable thing,” Nolkonoe said lovingly as she ran her fingers through his hair.

“How long has it been now?” Cluupyte said, grabbing the fifth bowl of berries to give to Charlie.

“A few good hours now. But I say we do another few to give the Vultures some time,” Nolkonoe said as she nuzzled into his side. Pycleia had now taken up the post of being the one to stroke his hair, while Cluupyte kept her favourite roll of feeding him.

“Sorry, but I don’t think I can eat anymore,” Charlie said, trying to sit up, only to be swept back down by Nolkonoe’s tail.

“Just a few more cuddles. I haven’t had one this good in so long!” Nolkonoe said sleepily as she went back to cuddling into his side.

“It has literally been hours. Just stop, it will be best for all of us,”

“No!” the three women replied, their tails straightening as they glared at him.

“Sor” Charlie was cut off by the cloth hanging over the entrance of the hut was pulled to the side. Phukomeia stepped into the hut, scowling slightly as she saw her mother hanging herself over Charlie.

“I won’t ask,” she began, “but we have gotten the information you wanted,” Phukomeia said, gesturing for him to leave. Seeing the guards of the women drop, he leapt to his feet and sprinted from the hut.

“Thank you very much, would you mind getting me the contract, money as well as gather everyone at the village centre,” Charlie said as he dusted off juice from the berries that stained parts of his shirt. Sighing, Phukomeia complied with his demands.

Not soon later, the workers and other villagers were gathered at the village centre. Charlie stood on the dancer stage while the money was by his side. Contract in hand, he looked over the crowd. Taking in a deep breath, he was ready to revel his plan.

“Thank you all very much for working with me,” Charlie raised the contract and presented it to the tribe.

“As of signing this contract,” Charlie took in another deep breath, “the Vulture and Forger clan have signed away all their rights a people, thus making them slaves to me,” Charlie said, a dismal silence hanging over the crowd.