Chasing Paradise-Chap 2:Tribes

Tribes

                   “Halt,” Arthur called from the front of the long line of weary werewolves.
                   As Alex stood on his tip-toes he could barely make out, what seemed to be, a group of people walking in from the right side of the clearing. As the other group of travelers became aware of them, they immediately stopped. The person at the front of the group, who Alex suspected was their leader, studied them for a few minutes and then began to wave at the curios onlookers and then began to walk towards them.
                   Arthur didn't bother to wave back, Alex guessed he was still wary about this other group even after the hesitant friendly greeting, and also made his way to the middle section between the two tribes to talk with the potential friend. He could feel the tension of the mass of werewolves as they watched their leader leave the safety of the tribe. A few minutes after having a discussion with each other Arthur walked back to the tribe with a relieved and brightened look on his face, but beneath the facade of happiness Peter knew that he was still worried about something.
                   “The group over there is the South Tribe; they've sent out messengers to search for the West and North Tribes so that we can have one huge meeting with all the council's in two to three days. Not to worry, though, everything's fine, we just need to go over a few implications with everyone present and the King of All Kings is getting old, so we may have to vote in a new one. Since it will take a few days for the other two tribes to arrive, I suggest everyone take this time to rest and to relax for the time being,” Arthur tried to tell them with a placid face, but Alex knew better; underneath that composed face was a pile of worry. You could always tell when something was wrong because he always fidgeted with his hands whenever he tried to tell a lie to the tribe.
                   Usually, traveling as a tribe or pack was easy and quick for the wolves; you take no possessions with you except the clothes on your back and maybe one change of clothes. The only person or persons who could take a bundle of items with them was the healing wolf and his or her apprentice.(if they had one a the time) If you traveled with adults they would transform and run as a pack to save time; if you were with children you had to walk briskly and one wolf was sent ahead of the group to scout things out. Even when a tribe had to walk the whole way it didn't take as long as when humans traveled because they took a little amount of possessions with them.
                   Each individual tribe had a council and that council was made up of four kings , or leaders; a king could be male or female. Those four kings were the ones who dealt with the problems in the tribe, made new regulations, maintained the peace,etc. There was usually one, though, that was an Alpha or an Omega or sometimes both, and the person or persons was the person or persons that  really take charge; the other two or three are basically advisers. Each year, if the tribe felt the need, they would vote new kings into position, which happened every once and awhile. Now, the King of All Kings was the most dominant Alpha, and it could only be an Alpha, in all the four tribes; he was responsible to overlook the peace and order in each tribe every few months, traveling from tribe to tribe. He was the one who really held the whole pack together.
                   When Alex heard that they would have to vote in a new King of All Kings, he was distraught. He was very fond of the current one and he always knew that he would dread the day when William, the King of all Kings, would have to be replaced. 
                   As soon as Arthur was finished everyone started to get to work making fires, setting up a place to sleep, unpacking,etc. It only took an hour or two before Peter could smell the familiar scent of stew cooking over an open fire. He smiled to himself, glad to recognize something that still stayed the same. After he'd finished his portion of unpacking he joined the elder's circle where he found his friends already listening to an old tale they were telling. When he arrived he took a seat next to Willow.
                   “We've never had a huge meeting like this with all four tribes,” he heard one with a balding head say.
                   “Nope, never! Things must be pretty serious in order for this to happen,” an ancient old woman, with hands resting on an old wooden cane, said.
                   “Wait, there was one time when we had a huge meeting like this. Only once, a story my pappy told me. It was waaay back in the 1500's. There was a war waging between the humans and the werewolves,” an even older gentleman with wrinkles lining his eyes and mouth said,”Actually, now that I remember, it wasn't just werewolves; there were other creatures such as: vampires, elves, witches, wizards, and other small mystical creatures. At the time the humans were also known to be 'powered by the gods', at least that's the only reason we came up with why the humans had such magnificent powers back then. Werewolves, too, had powers back then, but the years have gone by and the race has lived on for so long, that werewolves just don't seem to have the magic they once had; just like the humans today.
                   “Well, because of their great powers way back then the humans wiped out all other races of magical creatures except for ours because they had “it”. They hid for two years in that place, and then finally emerged out of hiding. They tried to act as normal as a human being, so that humans wouldn't be able to tell the difference between werewolves and themselves, but after being around their own race for so long they grew out of the, what they knew as the 'regular human habits'. So, eventually the humans found out. The humans agreed to let us mingle with their own race as long as we didn't murder anyone, and for many years humans and werewolves lived in peace with each other, something that had never happened before in werewolf history. But, now, something's come up and I fear there is to be another 'great battle' after 300 years of peace.”
                                                           ~♥~
                   The messenger that was sent to the North Tribe arrived two days later and the messenger sent to the West Tribe arrived four days later. During the time awaiting all the tribes to come together everybody got the chance to know everybody. The children would play games together, the men went out hunting together and always brought back plenty of food, and the women would cook the food  ,while talking among themselves and making new friends, the men brought back. By the following week, when all the tribes had been together for three days and also when the meeting was to be held, everyone was like a big family.
                                                           ~♥~
                   The once noisy group of werewolves were now hushed as William came up to the front of the gathering to speak.          
                   Alex had, once again, sneaked off to join the council meeting at the far edge of the clearing; all he had to do was slip into the huge crowd and no one noticed his small body hiding between the cover of two huge tree trunks.
                   “I think we've all sampled the cruelty of the humans, right?” William nearly shouted out to the crowd, so everyone would be able to hear.
                   There were angry and anguished remarks from the large gathering of werewolves; these went on for a minute or two before William quieted them all, agreeing with each comment made.
                   “That is why, all sixteen kings, have decided and agreed to combine all four tribes into one, for the time being. It's too dangerous for all the tribes to be separated at the moment, no matter where we go there will always be humans who are disgusted by us, just like before. So, we have agreed to stay in the free zone and to abandon our old territories for the time being. Once things have calmed down we will go back to our normal lives and territories once again. This is what we've determined. End of discussion,” and with that the council was over and the group began to head back to their own social circles.
                   Somehow Alex knew that this would be the last time that anything would be “normal”.
                                                           ~♥~
                   “Mother, what's this 'It' thing everyone treats as a sacred word? Why does no one speak it's true name?” Alex asked his mother one night while he and his friends were sitting around the fire that night.
                   He saw his mother hold her breath for a minute in the glow of the fire and then she began,”'It' is actually known as Haven of the Past, which is never to be said because long ago the King of All Kings at the time had ordered that no one should ever say the name's true place again, but he never told the werewolves why back then; at certain times the name can be used, so long as no one hears you say it, so I think you all are old enough to know the name. Anyways, 'It' has been around since the beginning of our race and is only accessible to werewolves, and only some other creatures with special circumstances or powers. I'll inform you more on that part when you get older. 'It' is almost like a burial ground for the dead, but the only exception is: there are no gravestones. Haven of the Past holds the spirits of the Past werewolves that have already lived in this world and have passed on to the next life. They reside in there and protect the Present werewolves; they are the only real magic left that werewolves are 'in control' of anymore. Although sometimes the Past werewolves turn against the Present werewolves, for unknown reasons, and disastrous things happen. It's happened once and hopefully never will again; I don't even know if the Elders know this. The rest of the 'story' I'll tell you all, or your own parents will, when you're older; for now I think the information I just provided you with is enough.”
                   “That means Maggie is there, right?” Willow asked earnestly.
                   “In a way, yes, and she's watching over you,” his mom hesitantly told her.
                   “What do you mean, 'in a way'?” Willow asked accusingly.
                   “I didn't mean that. It's so late, anyways. I think it's time we all got some rest,” his mom quickly replied, getting out of the mess she was in.
                                                           ~♥~