We Meet Again

Levent Kartal · 01-29-2012, 10:11 PM

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The short brown-furred man continued to stand uncertainly, listening to the shaman mutter words before they rose upward in a wailing crescendo and settled down again into the lower ranges of his going-hoarse voice. It was disturbing, but part of it reached out to grab the merchant’s heart in its trembling fingers. He thought of demons and bargains and fear and sin and death, and his pupils dilated until the blues of his eyes appeared a thin rim, the eclipse of an icy sun. He shuddered and quickly shook his head, jerking out of it when the woman addressed his uncertain question—or perhaps he’d come to when the feline on his shoulder had nipped his ear. The concern in Wilson was tangible, his aura changing the very air, and so with a glance at his small companion, he obeyed the woman’s request.

Leaving Amy to go somewhere else or do whatever she needed to make this go smoothly, the Turkish wolf walked slowly and carefully toward the shaman and crouched at his level. The tribal wolf spooked and began to babble something new altogether, but at the sight of a face that was not a demon’s, he relaxed very slightly. Wilson, curling up on the scarred shoulder, probably helped his nerves.

“Tamam olacaktır,” the man breathed in Turkish. He was sure that the tribe could speak and comprehend English since Amy had such apparent influence over them, but the words sounded so much more sincere in his own tongue. He spoke as soothingly as he could as he offered the shaman a hand and drew him to his feet, his palm tingling unexpectedly though he wrote it off as the trembling of the other wolf.

“Benimle gelin,” Levent urged, and he escorted the man outside of the clearing. As he stood surrounded by the dens, tents, and huts, he grew a little more uncertain and wondered if he would be ambushed as soon as he left the midst settlement. A quiet but inquisitive mew escaped the canine’s lips as his tail twitched, and Wilson circled around neatly on his shoulder, ears perked and yellow eyes sweeping the area. He meowed back, communicating that he could see the tribe wolves and that they were no threat. Lev nodded, and went on.

He was not totally certain where he was to go, but he led the shaman in a direction away from the wagon, sure that Amy would not want her things compromised in case this event turned out badly. He still muttered comforting words, both in Turkish and English, and paused once he was amongst the trees. From there, he released his grip on the man and bowed his head. “Burada kalır ve güvenli olacak,” he said quietly, and although those words could potentially prove a lie, the shaman seemed to accept them. He worriedly rubbed his scabbed arms and watched the merchant carefully as he walked back into the settlement.

“Do you want to explain?” Levent asked, his tone light as he found her. He had waited to pass judgment on the woman, though it would be best for him to know what was going on here—from the suicide victim to the screaming shaman of the tribe. However, his words held no authority over her actions, and he would be quiet if she was. The man did not feel like he would be in danger if he was in the dark…

At least not yet.

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