The Lost Tribes: Fire Burns: Ch. 1

"She is beautiful!" said a healer.

"It's a girl?" asked the father.

"Of course! I have never seen a male have such fiery hair. And she has bright green eyes that are like gems." Said the same healer.

"But, even though it is custom for her mother to pick a girl name, you must. I am sorry to announce your bound's death," her words stung his heart. The baby caused his bound's death. Of course he could bound to another woman but he truly loved his bound. That is why they were bound together under the moon. This was his fifth child and his last. What could he name his first and only daughter. Now, he would've named every single child.

"Her full name is anthurium but her short name will be Anne. After the bright red flowers. It is required for her name to be a flower, correct?" The father said warily.

"Of course," rasped the eldest healer, "but so many parents name their child different. One mother named their female Leopard and only Males are to be animal names."

The father just looked at her blankly still shocked his bound died. Then back at Anne who seemed to look exactly like her mother had with the red hair on her head. The name fitted her the bright red flower that was rare in their forest yet beautiful when found. Her green eyes glowed with her mother's spirit.

Leopard, the healer who announced the birth, just simply whispered, " don't listen to Rose. Name your daughter what ever fits her though Anne is a beautiful name for this child and the rare flower you chose is very beautiful like her. We will keep her under our watch for the first few weeks but then you and your other children must watch Anne together. If only she knew her mother. Such an honorable warrior in battle. She was a lion rider not many achieve that. Only the ones with strong spirits and great strength become those but healing is an honorable path as well. I wonder what miss Anne will become!"

Leopard rambled on to him, but the word faded in his head and all he could think about was his dead bound Cherry. Her full name was Cherry Blossom after the tiny pink flower that grew on trees in the spring. Though he often called her Cher.

Anne was quiet because she had only been born the night before. Her face was small like a newborn's usually is. Her face was calm and quiet and she was huddled in a thin clear pink cloth stuffed with the softest sweetest smelling herbs. The were boiled in water of course to take away the germs and slathered in honey then dried and wiped off for a stronger smell. Anne was content in her set of herbs though they had to be changed often. No baby likes smelly herbs.

Rose sat holding the baby gently cradling it in her arms as it slept and the soft wind blowing across the healers small cabin soothed the baby. The cabin didn't need to be very big only three healers were in there and one was out fetching sweet herbs and finding honey for Anne. Her name was Lily Pad but most people called her Lil or Lily.

Yet the father stood there silently so Leopard stopped talking and just stared at him for a while. She had brown eyes and dark brown hair and a loosely draped dress which was a lavender color. Rose wore a tight red dress with a loosely draped herb holder over her shoulder. Rose had black hair, blue eyes and bright red lips. Lily was the youngest and had blonde hair with hazel eyes. She wore a loose blue dress. They each had jobs. Lily gathered herbs and materials to make cloth. Healers made cloth for the crafts people in the tribe, though, so crafters made weapons instead or small furniture for the caves. Rose cared for babies and was the on-the- go healer who took herbs to the people if they couldn't make it to the cabin. Leopard took care of mothers who just gave birth and managed at the cabs with the patients if the other two were gone and cared for the babies if Rose either needed help or was out with patients.

Anne began to fuss. Rose nicked up a bowl and poured a bit of milk into the baby's mouth and the baby relaxed.

"I am deeply sorry for your loss, Bear, but we must move on. I couldn't keep her alive no matter how hard I tried. She was suffering and it would have taken weeks before the sickness would kill her but I had to add poison to her drink after the birth so she would die easier and not die slowly with great suffering."

Bear finally spoke, "you killed her?!"

"There was no other option. She would have died any other way. This Is how I was trained!"

"You could've let me say goodbye first!

"She barely knew who her own baby was hers during the birth! She wouldn't have remembered you if she tried! Do you doubt me?! This is not the first birth I have ever dealt with! I have had to end TOO MANY lives Bear and trust me I didn't want to end hers, but she would have died anyway and her condition would only get worse from the minutes after her fifth child was born!"

"Her name is Anne and I'm glad you are not taking care of my daughter! Rose would never kill anyone and I bet she never has!"

"You are acting like I don't mope around a month after every mother death I ever had to create. I cry the night after begging for forgiveness from my mother who I killed after her fifth child. I quit for a year. I lost hope. Killing innocent people isn't easy. I hate to say it, but I can't let it phase me. I have to act like she doesn't matter, but she does I swear, Bear. It is as hard for you as it is for me, and I am so sorry."

Leopard held his hand tightly pulling it up. "You have to move on. I can't help her not even before I poisoned her. I hated doing it. She was a.... One of the best warriors in the tribes. One of the, no, THE best."

To Bear it seemed as if she recited old words, "I don't feel as if it is sincere. You don't have to apologize again. I am leaving and only coming back to see my baby."

Leopard's fingers slipped softly from his hands and she leaned against the doorway as he left. Staring at Bear she sighed. Rose had watched the whole thing completely bewildered so sat quietly rocking the new child, Anne, foot to foot, side to side. Leopard had obviously liked Bear. Rose only wondered if that had been the only reason for Cherry's death. She bit her tongue though. Leopard was already upset. She clearly knew that Bear would keep his promise and never come back.

Anne giggled softly and tugged on Rose's hair. Rose laughed back continuing to cradle the baby. Rose had raised babies before this was not the first time a baby had done this to her hair before and actually to her was quite cute and funny. She gently tapped the baby's nose affectionately and smiled.

Leopard eventually turned around sorrowfully and looked angrily at the baby.

"It was Anne's fault the Mother had gotten that condition, therefore her fault I killed Cherry. Bear should be angry at her not me!" Leopard said fiercely. Rose could see the anger flash in her eyes. Leopard actually believed the baby was at fault. How could someone believe a child had honestly wanted their mother to die?

Leopard stormed off to her room in the cabin and angrily sorted birth herbs into dosages for the mothers' next births. Sweetening the herbs and separating the old rotten ones. Then, Lily her younger sister who was also a healer walked in.

"Your back?" Leopard asked.

"From herb gathering yes and Rose had told me you quarreled with Bear over dear Cherry's death- May she be remembered forever- you need to calm down, Leopard."

For a moment Leopard sat in silence. Her face relaxed to the voice of her younger sister. Always trying to copy her. Lily was very short and thin compared to Leopard who had a larger stockier build to her body. Though they were both thin. The room was in silence except for the occasional shuffle as their cat, Honey, shifted in his sleep. He kept the rodent from their herbs and cheered the sick children up.

Lily lifted her hand to soothe her tense sister, but Leopard swiftly grabbed her wrist and put it back down. Lily stood expressionless for a while. Leopard opened her eyes and pulled back the hair that covered her face and released it. Her silky hair bounced back to her shoulders. It had revealed to Lily the tears dripping down her face and spattering down on the floor.

"What's wrong, Leopard?" Lily barely whispered.

Leopard sighed her eyes shining with tears. "I am sorry about how tense I am. I am deeply and truly sorry about everything. I love Bear. I can’t help that, but I did not kill Cher because of that. She was like the others. She had that problem that some get and I was lucky to save Anne’s life. I am just- I can’t deal with him thinking that,” she sighed and rested her head on her palm.

Lily stood silently. She was very unsure whether to believe her sister, or believe what she thought to be true: Leopard killed her to get her wants. Leopard hadn’t seemed to be the quite the kind of person to do that sort of thing, but at certain things- especially things such as love- Leopard was a very determined woman. Even though she had only been 21- Lily at 19- she had a very strong will.

Leopard sat, half enjoying Lily’s silence- which hadn’t happened often enough Leopard thought- yet half expecting and worrying her honest, or dishonest answer. She tapped her finger impatiently at her herb storing table. The only sound was Rose and Anne in the main room. Rose cooing over the small baby and Anne giggling in response. Leopard almost smiled at the thought of ever having her own child. Holding the soft baby in her arms fighting back the urge to squeeze the baby tightly in a rough snuggle. As time passed, it passed slowly, she waited showing patience but inside growing insanely impatient with her long.

Lily rubbed her arm anxiously , and indicated with her expression she would not answer her sister’s comment, which had almost become an apology speech. Lily simply looked at the ground and walked away back to Rose. Leopard was completely relieved her sister had left. Sometimes a healer needs to be alone.

Though she couldn’t let previous deaths she had dealt with bother her because of the amount she had dealt with, it wasn’t just Bear’s pain that bothered her. She had felt deep anguish as she had done it. Something even Cherry hadn’t remembered remained close to her heart. As children, young children- Cherry was five and Leopard had been only two, her mother pregnant with Lily- Leopard had twisted her ankle and Cherry brought her to her mother to be healed while no one else would help her. She held her and carried her to the cabin she lived in and she was taken to the room she claimed hers at 16 when she began her training.

Cherry seemed to have the imprint on everybody. Ever since her death spread through the tribe as news. A gloomy silence filled the village with deeper sorrow. Leopard had constantly fantasized over bounding to Bear, now that she had the chance. It felt different than she had hoped. Leopard couldn't tell them the entire story.

The two were in the room chatting. She was in her weeks before birth where she remained in the cabin on watch for the child birth. It was just the two of them. Lily was almost always out herb collecting. Rose had been healing a group archers who had gotten very injured in a large argument over deer meat. Leopard was the only one in the room besides Cherry. Then she heard the woman yell and she knew what that meant. Her child was being born. She went through the procedures and checked her for the problem some births got. Her results were uncertain. Deep inside Leopard knew it was positive and added poison to her drink. The child was born before she drank it and so she was wrong she needed to not be traced so she injected the drink into her main vain killing Cherry. Anne however was saved. It was tragic but this precaution ensured Leopard's safety.

Lily lingered as she walked down the hallway listening to her sisters sniffles as she carried Honey out of the room from her while she wept. Anne stopped giggling as the gravers carried her mother out of the cabin from them. Tonight they would sit in silence for ten minutes with loved ones as they mourned her death. Anne quickly reached out recognizing her mother's scent. The baby grasped her face for a few seconds, but the gravers walked away with her mother and the small child sat and cried loudly demanding her mother's return.

Rose snuggled the baby close and patted her on the back. It was very unfortunate that a child this young would lose a parent especially a mother which is very important to have. The room filled with a dark silence as a sign of respect. Even the child fell silent as if she knew the meaning of their silence. The entire cabin froze even the breeze didn't gently rustle the leaves.

Anne stared up affectionately at Rose and Rose smiled back as a tear dripped from her face and landed on the baby's forehead. Lily began to walk down the creaky hallway. She rested her hands on Rose's shoulders and looked at the baby. She smiled back at Lily.

“I see why you love children so much Rose! I always had the need to be out amongst the herb fields. They smell sweetly and I am almost like a gardener."

Anne giggled and grabbed Lily's nose. Her soft skin tickled Lily's nose and she sneezed. Rose looked at the two, "Do you want to hold her?"

"Of course." She held the baby gently, "She is so soft! Too bad Cherry isn't here to see what a beautiful daughter she has."

Rose sat silently. Thinking. Clearly the thoughts were processing through her mind. Lily sat wondering if she should have even brought Cherry's death up.

Anne was a small unusual baby. She was actually quite happy but seemed awfully mature for being a newborn. She had tufts of red hair on her head and bright green eyes like Cherry once had. She was very strong and very determined to get what she wanted though very intelligent and quick as she would remain. She grew quickly over the few months the healing cabin agreed, eventually to keep her.

She began to speak very simple words giving them intell on how she felt and what she needed. She rolled around to get places and tried to crawl. When she was four months a new baby arrived as well. Her name was Bluebell and for short her name was Blue after her blue eyes.

Lily eventually helped with the two and Blue's mother showed up often to check how she was doing. Anne never had any visitors. Not Bear or even her four older brothers. She wondered what had even happened she knew that someone had to exist out there for her.

Blue's mother and her two older siblings showed up often. She had an older brother and sister. Her brother was named Cheetah and her sister was named Dandelion and for short she was called Lion.

The siblings began to hang out with Anne. Anne enjoyed the company. She began to not feel lonely anymore. Her fire red hair grew in time and the older siblings who were about six and nine played with her hair putting it up in the ribbons made by crafters. Lion knelt and gently braided the ginger hair. "Her hair is so soft!" Rose smiled and nodded at the children. She knew she had loved children always spending much of her time here before she had been assigned a role in her tribe other kids learned from the teenagers learning their roles on certain battle moves while the crafters spent much of their time finding flowers to swoop and twirl into lovely bracelets, necklaces, and tiaras.

Lion knew she wanted to craft and Cheetah wanted to be a messanger. He, being inspired by his name, began to run in classes by Rose. Everyone who wasn't assigned went to school. Even Anne was in it though was just helping the ones who wanted to be caretakers in the Healers. Twelve to Fifteen year olds passed her carefully checking the baby for any signs of rotten herbs or distress. The five month old infant began to form special bonds with each of the children reaching up to touch their faces gently. The group and tutors for the group took care of her during the school day. Rose and a specially trained tutor who would have trained in how to care for kids as well as what the kids were learning taught the student though most if the twelve and thirteen year olds would change their minds and check out another group. The fourteen and fifteen year olds would divide into tutors and job specialists.

The tutor who helped Rose was a seventeen year old girl named Daffodil who had ginger hair and brown eyes. She was quiet and patient like Rose and very gentle toward Blue and Anne. Rose called her Daffy. Daffy was her daughter. She just looked like her father Stone. He often wore grey cloth and Rose had, by rules of a Healer, only one child. She had loved stone, but Stone chased after other girls now who could have five children. Daffy even had been ignored by her father and was often over trying to help the elders find their slippers in the morning. It was a harsh fall night and the wind creaked the cabin. Rose had a sleepless night that night. Anne lay in the previously boiled water still warm.

Anne looked up at Rose and said, "Happy!" Anne giggled and splashed fiercely Rose pulling away. She looked back at the baby her eyes brightening. The second daughter she could never have. Though Rose wouldn't have wished the abandonment of any toddler she knew she lived her company. Leopard always seemed to hide in her room and Lily was constantly in and out bringing plenty of herbs for Leopard and Rose to boil and store. The thing is with winter coming Lily will soon have to stay in and be a caretaker in the Winter caring for the old with Daffy.

Lily bounced in the enterance and quickly dropped the baby and mother herbs in the boiling pot and ran back out. "Hey! Lily!" Lily leapt back in the room with a smile. Rose's icy eyes lifted into Lily's, "When are you going to tune in for the night?"

"Soon! I am going to be bounded soon and have a child!"

"What makes you say that?"

"Fawn! I found love! He is taller than me, but doesn't look down on me. He left a flower and a small note. He chose me over the other girls in our tribe. The first one! Finally I can have love. We aren't bound yet it hasn't even been brought up, but we shared our first kiss and he's just amazing and sweet."

"Don't get ahead of yourself Lily Pad a kiss doesn't seal an envelope at once."

Lily rolled her eyes and darted back out of the door energy just boiling inside her. The door blew open. Rose sighed and walked over to close the door. Anne stared up expressionless. Rose was only afraid to watch Lily's heart be shattered like hers. Stone had been handsome and she fell in love with him years and years ago just slightly older that Lily. She must've been about twenty and that had been nineteen years ago. She was almost forty now.

Lily was almost like a daughter to Rose just young enough to be her daughter. Leopard was in her twenties so was more like a really young sister, but they were all just one big family. She didn't teach Lily but had been in teaching during the time when there usually had been around ten living in the cabin. She was one of four caretakers yet drastically younger than the others. They were all living with the elders at seventy years old for long happy years of protection. She often checked up on them. Anne grew more independent as time passed. Winter set it's chill in the large hollow.

Soon Anne grew into her own clothing. It had been a simple pink top with a green vest and dark black thick cloth for her pants. Lily took her out back to catch snowflakes in her eyelashes. Blue had left shortly before becoming old enough to live with her own family her mother at the Begining of the year pregnancy again. Bluebell had only been the third child and her mother had to fit in her other children before she was to old.

Anne had a special blanket she called, "Hug." It had been a big silky blanket the healers and Daffy used for her in her special bed above her bed feathers and rock. She began to tear it off and drag it around. Leopard still hated Anne. Anne hadn't understood why to her these three were her parents. Leopard had pregnant mothers in and out occasionally she had to walk them to her room for treatment. Anne often tugged on her skirt and Leopard looked down and gave her a grunt. One mother even glared at Leopard for the way she treated the abandoned child.

Anne hadn't known about her parents or why. Rose was her mother and so was Lily and so was Leo though only Leo hated her. Poor Anne really did not understand. She was around eight months and only her eldest brother came by each month since she was five months. He barely spent half an hour with her and barely smiled just made sure she was alive. Anne began to stand up though she couldn't walk yet and needed to hold on to something to stay standing. Rose came home with her warm Wolf skin over her red dress snowflakes caught on her eyelashes and Raven black hair. She gasped realizing the baby had stood herself up and was climbing onto chairs.

Rose quickly grabbed her and played with her the two laughing and giggling. Lily walked in after her as well as Daffy who came here increasingly less now that the children would stay at home with their families in groups. Anne sighed loneliness gripped her heart like a selfish claw. Her bright green eyes matched her mothers and Lilly was out with Fawn more. The couple planned to get bound when the snow melted. Anne would be one at that point.

Rose was worried for Anne. The baby had never been so distraught for such a long time. Lily and Leopard had become very scarce. Rose just watched the baby get upset and look out the window. Ugh! I wish her mother would have just lived. Life just slowed down and each day seemed to last forever. When the sun had finally set and lit the frosted trees beyond Rose sighed and scooped up Anne set her on the chair then swiftly grabbed the blanket and made her bed. She set Anne down and put up her walls letting the infant sleep.

This was the first time in a long time that Anne fell asleep without messing with Rose in a giggle fit. Anne was sad and Rose couldn't help her. Tear leaped to her eyes as she rocked in the chair watching the infant roll around in her sleep fussing miserably. Rose just wanted to grab the baby and get Anne to be normal again. Cherry would know what to do and Anne would be in her warmer home with her family.

Anne let out a grunt and sat up looking right into Rose's eyes and layed back down unknowing. She hadn't even remembered her mother at this point, but she longed for that feeling of security that only a true mother of her could give. Lily walked in when the moon was at it's highest and crawled right to her bed. Lily had been out with Fawn for a while now, but couldn't bear his child until they had been bound by the moon.

Rose blinked her eyes growing heavy, but her worry kept her awake for a couple more hours. The winter chill came through the walls and snow stuck to the ground in a thin blanket of white. The large hole carved by many years of use marked the exit of safety of the village beyond were grounds used for harvest, gathering, and battle training. They also posted lions out near the enterance to guard the people. If a lone person invaded they would be torn to shreds.

We are safe! Rose thought for a minute. What would Anne be? Rose eyes filled with thought and concetration. Cherry had been such a skilled and likable person Anne seemed to follow her foot steps. Rose found herself dozing off. When her eyes fluttered open dawn light shone through the window. She looked around the cabin and a girl burst in.

"The baby is coming! I'm having my child!" The woman was gigantic and her face was red. Rose stood up and held her hand guiding her back to Leo in hope Leo could get out of her funk long enough to help this woman give birth.

"Leo!" Rose called. Leopard opened the door and Honey ran out. Leopard quickly glanced at the woman and in notion she quickly pulled the woman into the room. Rose watched. This was the first child birth since Cherry. Rose tried to trust Leo, but even she didn't sleep at night after Cherry.

The next few moments didn't take long to pass. They were shocking and Rose couldn't keep tears back. Lily walked back and threw her herb pack on the table Rpse sat at. "Back," she huffed. Lily's brown eyes glanced up as she laughed. Then the door flew open and and Leopard stepped out f the birth room. The Healers turned their heads and Rose noticed the tears streaming down her face.

"I-I did it."

Lily was instantly next to Leopard and supporting her. The spoon hit the floor and Rose gasped. The spoon. The poison spoon.