“I do,” Jasper answered, voice strong and determined despite his unease.
“Chestnut, please come forward.” She did, “Chestnut, you are a caring saloli who is willing to give her love to anyone in need of it, no matter who they are. Do you hereby swear to use this attribute to care for and love Jasper?”
“I do,” Chestnut answered, her eyes shining with happiness.
“Jasper, do you take Chestnut to be your mate, from now until the day you die?”
No hesitation, “I do.”
“Chestnut, do you take Jasper to be your mate from now until the day you die?”
She cast Jasper a loving glance before saying, “I do.”
Rust turned to the rest of his tribe, “Is there any saloli in Icefire who has reason to object to this marriage?” Icefire remained silent, “Then may Chestnut and Jasper now be bonded together for life as mates. So says the chief of Icefire.”
Rust stepped back. Faith, who had been standing in the very edge of the crowd walked up to Jasper and Chestnut and placed a paw on each of them. “As prophet of the tribe of Icefire, I hereby ask Valde Abbas to place his blessing upon these two saloli. Please protect them and provide for them. May they spend their lives together in happiness and contentment.” With that, Faith removed her paws from the newlywed couple, and took her place back among the rest of Icefire.
Rust spoke again then, “As is custom, the two of you shall now receive new names to commemorate this day. Jasper, from now on you will be called Smallthorn. Chestnut, from now on you will be called Newthorn. Smallthorn, Newthorn, you may now take your leave for the night.”
Another path formed through the saloli crowd, which Smallthorn and Newthorn left by, running out of the camp and into the forest, while Icefire cheered. When they were gone, the tribe slowly dispersed, chatting amiably. Blaze quickly sought out Faith, who was heading back to her tree.
“Faith!” he called to her, “Where are Jas- er, Smallthorn and Newthorn going?”
Faith smiled, “They just became mates, Blaze. They want to spend some time alone. They’ll be back tomorrow morning,” Faith said, then in a quieter voice asked “So, have you found any evidence against Razor yet?”
“No!” Blaze replied, wondering why the prophet had to bring it up on such a happy day, “There isn’t any! Razor is just too smart for me.” He hung his head in defeat.
“Don’t give up, Blaze.” Faith encouraged him, “Something will come up.”
A shadow crossed Blaze’s heart, causing it to chill with despair, “I hope so. Somehow, I feel like we’re running out of time.”
Chapter Twelve
Just as Faith had said, Smallthorn and Newthorn came back the next morning, both looking happier than Blaze had ever seen them. He was happy for them, as well. He was just about to take a patrol around the borders with Slicer, “Hey, Smallthorn!” he called as he saw his friend, “Want to go on a patrol?”
“Can Newthorn come?” Smallthorn called back.
“Sure,” Slicer answered. As the group headed into the forest, Blaze noticed that Smallthorn and Newthorn had not said a single word to each other since they had returned. True love needs no words, he thought. His heart felt as if someone were squeezing it. Why was that? It almost felt like jealousy, but he no longer felt envious of his friend. No, there was something else he wanted. Almost without him realizing it, an image of Sunbeam flashed through his mind. Slicer spoke then, breaking into his thoughts, “Blaze, do you know what the Lord’s Feast is?”
“No.” Blaze answered, thankful for the distraction. It was best not to think of such things.
“It is the day when all saloli celebrate the bounty of food that Valde Abbas provides for us.” Slicer explained, "Basically, we use the whole day to relax and eat.”
“What about patrols?”
“We don’t need any. This isn’t an Icefire exclusive celebration, all the tribes do it. Since that’s the case, we don’t need to send out any patrols, because we already know what the other tribes are doing.”
Smallthorn chuckled, “The exact same thing we are!”
Blaze nodded, “Okay, but why are you telling me this now?”
“Because the day of the Lord’s Feast is only three days away.” Slicer informed him, “You may have noticed that the food gatherers are bringing back even more food than usual. That’s because we’ll need all we can get for that day. Not only is every saloli allowed to eat his fill, but nobody is permitted to leave the camp to get more food We’ve got a lot of work to do, which is why I’m bringing this up. The food gatherers need as much help as they can get right now, so we need to get this over faster than usual. We should split up. When we get to the border, Smallthorn, Newthorn, you two go left, while Blaze and I go right. We’ll meet halfway across and call it done, then we can help gather the food. Agreed?”
“Fine with me,” Smallthorn said, and Newthorn nodded.
“So, Smallthorn,” Blaze said, “What do you think of your new name?”
“A lot better than Jasper,” Smallthorn replied, a hint of contempt creeping into his voice at the mention of his old name.
“I don’t know,” Newthorn spoke up, “I kinda liked Jasper. It doesn’t matter what your name is, though. You’ll always be my precious stone.” Blaze stuck out his tongue and made a gagging sound, which earned him a reproachful glare from Smallthorn. Blaze didn’t mind, he was only joking, and Smallthorn knew that.
“Look out!” Slicer warned as a dead rat plummeted out of the sky, almost landing on top of them.
“Talons!” Blaze yelled as the young eagle swooped down and landed on a branch above them.
“Rawrk!” he squawked, “Treemouse need eat meat! Meat good! More good then treecorn!”
“No, Talons,” Blaze explained for the fifth time that week, “I told you, saloli don’t eat meat. It’s not good for us.”
“Meat good for everything,” Talons insisted, “Much more good for everything then treecorn!”
“Treecorn, I mean acorns, are good enough for us,” Blaze insisted.
“Bigmouse make Talons happy! Bigmouse not make treemouse happy?”
“Why would a dead creature make us happy, you freak?” Smallthorn demanded, angrily.
“Talons, can you do something for us?” Slicer asked.
“What Talons do for you?” the eagle asked, leaning down to hear better.
“We’re getting ready to do something in camp. Would you mind going away for a few days? Go and visit you family.”
“Talons do that! Talons visit Bigbeak and Brightfeather!” with that, Talons swooped down to pick up his rat and flew away.
“He’s just trying to help, Smallthorn.” Slicer admonished the runt “You shouldn’t be so mean to him.”
“He needs to learn he’s not living with other eagles anymore.” Smallthorn argued, “If he can’t follow our ways then he should just leave. In fact, he should just leave anyway.”
Leaving the argument at that, they continued walking until they reached the scent wall. Blaze had learned since his first patrol that this border marked the division between Icefire and Cyclone.
“Okay, Smallthorn and Newthorn, you go left,” Slicer instructed, “Blaze and I will go right.”
As the two groups split up, Slicer began speaking to Blaze again, “So, Blaze, have you thought at all about choosing a mate?”
Caught off guard, Blaze could only stutter, embarrassed, “Wha- no, I, I mean, uh. . .”
“I guess you haven’t,” Slicer chuckled.
Slicer was wrong, however. Blaze had been thinking more and more about Sunbeam. He couldn’t help it, she was growing on his mind like a parasite. Blaze shook his head. No, not a parasite. It was terrible to liken Sunbeam to one of those things! But he still hadn’t thought of asking her to be his mate. He knew that nothing would have made him happier. It was even possible that, given the chance, he might choose Sunbeam over returning to the human world. But he also knew that that wasn’t an option. H
is place was in the human world, he was only here to help Icefire in its troubled time. It would cause Sunbeam too much pain if he was to ask her to be his mate, help Icefire, and then just leave. No, it was best to stay away from that.
The two saloli were just then passing the spot across the street from Jeremy’s house. Blaze hadn’t seen his mother for weeks now, and had managed to avoid tears whenever he saw the house. But this time was different. He immediately saw his mother standing out in the front lawn, but that wasn’t what made him stop dead in his tracks, and stare in horror. The last thing his mother had said to him ran through his mine.
I’m leaving to go see your Uncle Steve and Aunt Janice.
His Uncle Steve had always been a detestable man. He drank too much, gambled, and had never worked a job in his life. Something must have gone wrong with Janice, because Steve was now at Jeremy’s house. He was obviously drunk, and very angry. Saying something to his mother in human speech, he slowly approached her, pulling a small knife out of his pocket.
“Mom!” Blaze shouted, not caring if Slicer heard him. He sprinted across the street, preparing to fight. He leapt onto Steve’s leg and sunk his powerful teeth into his jeans. He yelled in fury, and swung his arm down to knock him off. The blow sent Blaze flying through the air, landing on the concrete driveway five feet away. Dazed, Blaze got back to his paws just as Steve turned his attention back to his mother. Rage filled his heart, and Blaze ran at him again.
Then something happened that he could not explain. As he ran, he felt himself stretch out. And his fur retracted. His tail shrunk into his spine. He leapt up onto two legs, and ran. Before three seconds had passed, he was no longer Blaze, but Jeremy Lander once more. Jeremy swung his fist at his uncle, and connected with the side of his head. The drunkard fell down, unconscious. Jeremy picked up the knife and threw it into the woods where it would be harder to find.
“J-Jeremy?” his mother asked. Jeremy swung around, having almost forgotten she was there.
“Mom!” he shouted, and ran to hug her. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close, as if she would never let him go.
“Where have you been? I’ve missed you so much!” she wailed. Jeremy guessed that she wasn’t ready to accept that she had just seen a squirrel turn into her son. He didn’t blame her.
Steve groaned. Jeremy pulled away from his mother, with some difficulty, knelt down beside him, and lifted his head up by his long, greasy hair.
“Leave,” he said, “Now.” Steve’s face contorted in fear, and he scrambled to his feet and ran away. Jeremy turned back to his mother again.
“Jeremy, what’s happening to you?” she asked in despair. Jeremy looked down at himself to see red fur sprouting on his hands and arms. He could feel his tail regrowing. He began to shrink.
“I’ll come back Mom, I promise!” he said, just before his voice changed into a saloli’s chirping and she could no longer understand him. Tears brimmed in both their eyes, but Jeremy, no— Blaze, turned and ran back into the forest across the street before she could stop him. He ran a ways into the woods, and then hid under a bush.
“What- what are you?” a voice filled with disbelief asked behind him. Blaze spun around and found himself face to face with Slicer!
“S-Slicer!” Blaze stuttered, having completely forgotten that the old saloli was there to watch everything that had happened. “How much did you see?”
“You turned into a human!” Slicer said, sounding as if he didn’t believe what he was saying, which was a possibility.
“I know. But listen, you can’t tell anyone about this! Promise?”
“What are you?” he asked again.
“I- I’m a saloli.” Jeremy explained, “For now, anyway. But I used to be a human. Faith changed me into this.”
“Why would she do that?”
“She said she needed my help. It’s a long story.”
“Tell me,” Slicer demanded. For the next five minutes, Blaze explained everything he could to Slicer. When he finished, Slicer glared at him.
“So you lied to me about being a pet,” he said.
“Yes,” Blaze confirmed.
“And you lied to all of Icefire, too?”
“Yes.”
“Give me one good reason that I shouldn’t tell Rust this and have you banished.”
Blaze’s heart began beating a mile a minute, “Why would you do that?”
“You are no saloli!” Slicer accused him, “You are a human! Icefire is for loyal, courageous, trustworthy saloli!”
“And when haven’t I been all those things?” Blaze demanded.
“You’re a human! A human can never have any of those qualities! Or did you think otherwise when one came into our camp and began murdering us?”
“You have no idea what he was doing!” Blaze shot back, “Humans are more complex then you could ever imagine. He had a reason for doing that, even if you don’t understand it.”
“And what would that purpose be?” Slicer challenged.
“You wouldn’t understand.” With that remark, Blaze knew he had lost the argument.
“You can’t even come up with a good lie to cover up a human’s actions.” Slicer said, all the respect gone from his eyes now, “And you still haven’t convinced me not to tell Rust.”
“If you don’t trust me, your former trainee, who saved Rust from Flame, helped fight off the hunter, and prevented Smallthorn from being eaten by an eagle,” Blaze said, using the last argument he could think of, “then trust your prophet. Faith said that she had a reason for bringing me here. I’m not sure what it is yet, and I doubt she does either, completely. But if I’ve learned anything from living with Icefire, it’s that a tribe can only function if everyone trusts each other. Whatever is coming, I can help, but you’ll have to trust me.”
“I don’t trust you,” Slicer said, contemptuously, “And I probably never will again. But I do trust Faith, so I’ll take her word for this. But know this, if you ever betray us, I will kill you. That I swear.” With that, he turned and ran back in the direction of the camp.
Great,” Thought Blaze as he watched the old saloli leave, Now I have two saloli threatening to kill me.
<><><><><>
Blaze ran back into Icefire camp, looking desperately for Faith. He spotted Faith up in the Prophet Tree, watching the hustle and bustle below her. He quickly scurried up to her. “Faith!” he exclaimed when he reached her. She turned around quickly.
“What is it?” she asked urgently, seeing the alarm in his eyes, “What’s wrong? Is someone hurt?”
“No, no.” Blaze assured her, “Nobody’s hurt. But something just happened. Something weird, and I want to know what it was. I just saw my mother being attacked by someone. I tried to save her, and. . .”
“Is she all right?” Faith interjected.
“Yes, she’s fine, but when I ran up to help, I. . . I turned back into a human.”
An understanding look came into Faith’s eyes. “Blaze, do you love your mother?”
“Yes, of course I do!” Blaze said, insulted she would even ask such a thing.
“That explains it. You should have realized by now, Blaze, that Valde Abbas is not heartless. Far from it. If something happens that is so important to you, like saving your mother, he will give you the strength to do it.”
“How does that explain what happened?”
“Valde Abbas felt your love for your mother, and returned you to your human form long enough to do what was needed.” Blaze looked away from the prophet. If what she said was true, then that meant that he could change back any time he wanted to! “Don’t try to change, though,” she said, as if reading his mind, “The only way for your love to interrupt the miracle is for you to see her being in danger, like she was today. You don’t want to endanger her like that just so you could see her again, would you?”
“No, I guess not,” Blaze admitted.
“Now, more importantly, did anyone see you?” Faith asked, the gleam in h
er eye turning deadly serious.
“Yeah, just one.” Blaze answered, “It was Slicer.”
Faith’s eyes widened in alarm, “Slicer saw you change? Blaze, this is bad! What did he say?”
“He wanted to tell Rust and have me banished, but I convinced him not to.” Blaze answered.
“Is that all?” She prompted.
“He said that he would kill me if I ever betrayed Icefire.”
Legends of the Saloli: Approaching Storm Page 14
