While Kwanita was working with the women, Migisi found herself playing with four-legged animals with long pink tongues hanging from their mouths and long, furry tails which quickly moved back and forth in what she assumed was happiness. Around her, other young children played with her and the animals, paying no attention to Migisi's appearance or why she was here.

Migisi found herself shocked, yet relieved.

The animals playing with her were happily licking at her face, running after her, and allowing her to gently play with them in the snow, the cold clinging to their bodies and soon turning to water against them.

The children followed Migisi's lead, squealing and laughing in happiness, and Migisi felt her cheeks spread as a smile formed and a jumpy yet exciting feeling grew inside her chest. Was this what the tribe's children felt when playing? Was this what she was missing?

What foolishness she possessed.

Did Honan ever have fun like this when he was her age? Did Elsu? How was her brothers doing right now? Were those boys allowing Honan to work in peace, treating him like one of their own?

She wanted to check on him. It was only a matter of time before she tired of playing, and she wanted to check on her brother to make sure he was really doing okay. Kwanita surely would not notice her daughter's absence, would she?

She shook her head. No, it was not worth it. She did not want to be the subject of her mother's anger, and it would unwise of her to go against her at this time. She was just a child, a child in a village that feared her existence because of her appearance, and straying from her mother was sure to create trouble.

Still, why did she feel the urge to go to Honan's side?

Migisi jumped when she heard the children screaming and their footfalls moving away from her, and found herself growing frightened, for the screams were not the screams of joy that she heard before, but of fear. Looking around her, she found that the children had moved a great distance from her, staring at her with fear.

The animals' tails stopped wagging at this point, and while they too were staring at her, Migisi felt no hostility from them. She looked between them and the children, confused and frightened at why they were looking at her the way they were.

The women had also ceased working, their eyes burning into her back. However, their eyes couldn't compare to what she was seeing.

In front of her was a man. No, not a man, but a spirit. He was as tall as King Cyrus, his hair was messy and reached past his shoulders, his skin was a rich gray, his eyes were the matching color, his clothing looked alike the Sun King, except with colors that resembled the night sky and the moon, and his face was...perfect.

She was standing in front of another powerful Spirit.

But before Migisi could even move, the spirit looked up, a look of stern anger in his face. "Your son is in danger Kwanita," he said, his voice powerful, ancient, and melodious, and if it hadn't been for the anger in his voice, Migisi would've been put to sleep.

Her mother stepped beside her, and Migisi looked up to find Kwanita staring at the spirit in horror. "Are you certain?" she asked.

"Yes," responded the spirit.

Kwanita stared at the spirit before her jaw tightened and she grabbed her daughter's hand. "Come daughter," she ordered as she took off walking, Migisi barely able to keep up with her. As she stumbled after her mother, she looked back, but the spirit was gone, and all that was left were the women and children staring after them.

Suddenly Kwanita stopped, and Migisi bumped into her legs, but the older woman didn't seem to notice as she looked at the scene in front of her.

Looking that way, Migisi almost cried out at what she saw.

In front of them was Honan, and something red was trailing down his face and mouth. Something also surrounded his eye, a portion of his lip, and parts of his arms, and he was panting hard. He looked up at Kwanita and Migisi, his expression calm despite the pain he was feeling. Around him stood the boys from before, and they barely had those horrible wounds on their bodies, but there was some of that red liquid on their hands.

Migisi couldn't see any wounds on their hands.

She rushed to her brother's side. "Honan!" she called, kneeling by his side and touching his hurt face. "You are hurt!"

Honan smiled weakly at her. "I am unharmed Migisi," he whispered. "You need not worry about me."

"But--" Migisi was silenced when Honan placed a hand on her cheek.

"I am fine Migisi, truly I am. It is Mother you should be worried about."

What?

Migisi turned to face Kwanita, who had not moved from her spot since they arrived. But now there was something different about her, something angry, something horrible, something...not human. Her brown eyes, once so warm and caring, were now glowing a red that almost matched the liquid on Honan, full of anger, hatred, and malice. She stared at the boys with those eyes, and Migisi watched as those very boys froze in terror, tears appearing in their eyes.

Kwanita took a step towards them.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked slowly, her voice low and cold. She then knelt in front of the boys, her eyes still glowing and wide, and not once did Migisi see her blink.

"H-Holy One," whimpered one of the boys. "T-This is not what it--"

"Enough!" hissed Kwanita, causing everyone nearby to jump in fear. "I asked you a question young one, and I expect an answer, one that tells me nothing but the truth. Now, I will ask again, what is the meaning of this?"

No one responded, and Migisi could actually feel her mother's anger growing the longer the silence went. Eventually, Kwanita turned to her children, both of whom tensed when her eyes landed on them.

She walked over to them. "Honan," she called.

Honan flinched. "Yes Mother?"

"What is the meaning of this?"

Migisi felt her brother shaking as he forced himself to respond. "It is not that serious Mother. We were just playing with each other."

"I would not lie to me Honan," warned Kwanita. She then turned to the boys and the nearby tribesmen. "Leave my sight."

No one hesitated; the boys were immediately running off like they were being chased by an angry buffalo, and the villagers gathered their supplies as quickly as they could before they followed the boys' example. As soon as they were out of their sight, Kwanita turned back to her children, her glowing red eyes remaining.

"Now, I expect the truth Honan, and nothing more. What. Has. Happened. Here?" Their mother's voice left little room for argument, and Migisi felt Honan slump his shoulders.

His eyes were lowered in shame when he spoke up. "We were in a fight Mother," he said.

Migisi flinched away from him, surprised and horrified all at once, though if Kwanita was feeling the same, she did not show it.

"Over?"

"I did not hit first Mother, I promise you that. The boys had abandoned their work and went over to me, telling me how Migisi and I were monsters that should've been destroyed the moment we were born."

Kwanita stayed silent as Honan went on.

"I did not speak however and focused more on my work, but I did feel angry at how they were talking about Migisi and I Mother. We were not monsters, for just because we appear different, we still were like them. But then one of them hit me in the face, and the others started to join in.

"I fought back as best I could, but I was only able to handle two of them, and there were five of them in all. I thought I was going to die Mother, and no one helped me, even when they saw my wounds."

Migisi felt her eyes burn and her body shake like a leaf as her brother told the truth. Kwanita stared at her son for a few more moments before finally kneeling in front of him and placing a hand on his forehead, her eyes now glowing a warm brown.

A green light appeared around them, and Migisi watched with fascination as it moved around her mother and brother, seeping into the latter's wounds and getting rid of the red liquid. Kwanita was also chanting under her breath.

"Spirits of the earth," she whispered, "help me heal the wounds of the being before me, and destroy any pain."

The wounds on Honan slowly began to close up, the purple bumps on Honan's body disappeared, and the liquid followed soon after. Once it was satisfied that there were no other wounds on his body, the light vanished from existence.

Kwanita then stood up, her eyes no longer glowing, and she looked at her children sternly.

"Come children," she ordered. "We must prepare ourselves for the day tomorrow."

"Mother?" questioned the children.

"We are not safe here," added the older woman. "We will leave when the sun rises tomorrow. Now come my son, my daughter, we must prepare now."

Honan and Migisi followed their mother back to their tepee, not questioning her, though Migisi wanted to ask where would they go and how long they would be gone.

But she held her tongue. She supposed it did not matter now.