After another night of rest and half a day of walking, Anton and Oana reached her tribe. Anton remembered Oana telling him that her tribe was the smallest out of the twelve, but he didn't realize how small her tribe actually was. There were about twenty huts made out of straw and wood placed about a small amount of territory. 

Anton leaned over and whispered in Oana's ear, "I didn't realize what you said by small. How many are there of your people anyway?" 

"There are about a hundred of us right now," she answered him She placed her small hand on his arm. "Come. Do not be afraid."

"I'm not." He was nervous. He let her take his hand and lead him closer to her tribe. Men, women, and children stopped and stared as they passed by. Anton tried to look around but felt uncomfortable by their stares. Instead, he decided to focus on Oana. She held her head high as she gripped his hand tighter, causing a jolt to go through his body. She shivered before looking down at their hands and then back up at him.

Does she feel what I'm feeling, he thought to himself. Oana started to open her mouth to say something but stopped and turned back. 

Finally, they reached the middle of the tribe where a large hut sat. Two guards dressed in tan-colored shorts, white armor that covered their front and back, and held a long spear by their side. 

Oana casually walked past them and began to pull Anton with her when the guards crossed their spears, not allowing him to pass. Oana refused to let go of his hand as she turned to look at the guards. 

"Let him pass," she growled at the guards. "He is my guest and I believe that he is the one to free us all. Let him pass." The look in her eyes was one that could kill. 

The guards huffed and withdrew their weapons. Anton cautiously followed Oana through the doors and into a large room. There were many small tables with odd-looking statues on top of them standing in a circle in the middle of the room. A tall, burly man stood in the center of the circle with his eyes closed and hands out by his sides. The man wore only a pair of tan trousers. A large tattoo wrapped up around both of his arms and ended in the middle of his chest.

Anton stopped beside Oana and looked at her. "Who is tha-?" Oana interrupted him by shushing him. Anton obeyed and looked back at the man. 

The man turned his head toward them at the sound of Anton's voice but didn't open his eyes. "My daughter," the man said with a deep, calm voice. "Who is this strange man you bring into the village?"

Oana took a step forward, dropping his hand. "Father, this is Anton. I believe that he is the man that the prophecy foretells."

The man sighed and opened his eyes. Anton noticed that they were exactly like Oana's. He stepped out of the circle and walked over to where they stood by the entrance. He looked Anton up and down before looking at Oana. He gave her a warm smile and opened his arms wide. Oana smiled at him before running into his arms. 

"You were gone too long, my daughter," he told her.

Oana nodded her head. "I know, but I had to find out if he existed, and he does." She pulled away from her father and grabbed Anton's hand. She pulled him closer to them. "I really do believe he is the one to save us all."

Oana's father looked her up and down with a skeptical look before he turned back to Anton and extended his hand. "My name is Dragomir, and I am the chief of this village."

Anton grabbed his hand and shook it. He was surprised that this was their form of welcome. "It's nice to meet you, sir."

"My daughter here believes that you are the man who will save us from the men who have hurt us for decades." He placed a hand on Oana's shoulder. "I told my daughter that there is no use. The prophecy is just a myth. But, if she thinks that you are that man, then I guess the prophecy is true." Dragomir pointed a finger at Anton and lowered his voice. "But if I find that you do not work the way we were told, there will be harsh punishments."

"Father." Oana groaned.

Dragomir turned to his daughter and smiled fondly at her. "Go take our special guest to an empty hut, dear. I will see you two at dinner." He gave Oana a kiss on her cheek and returned to the middle of the circle of tables. 

Oana motioned for Anton to follow her out and he obeyed. She took him to the edge of the village and into a small hut. The hut had a small bed covered with fur blankets on one side of the room with a small tree stump beside it and a colorful rug in the middle of the room. 

"This will be your home for however long you decide," Oana told him.

Anton walked over to the bed and sat down. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. He hadn't realized how hot it was until he sat down. "Thank you, Oana. I really appreciate it, but I do have to ask you some-"

"Hold that thought," Oana interrupted him. "Let me get you a change of clothes. You should try to look at least a little like us if you want to win everyone over." She smiled widely as she turned to run out of the hut before Anton could say anything.

Anton sighed. Could he really be the person Oana thinks he is? Before this, he had never heard of any kind of prophecy the Morphers had. He studied them almost his whole life. He studied their culture, and different stories related to them and studied everything he could find about them but never heard of any prophecy like this one. He just hoped that Oana was right and that he was the right person for the job. He didn't know exactly what she saw in him, but he hoped, what it was, that it was true. His focus came back when Oana walked through the door with a wad of clothes in her arms and plopped down on the bed next to him. She handed him the clothes. 

"Here are a couple of trousers that should last you your stay," she happily told him. "Men in this village wear what my father wore unless they're guards on duty. You saw what they wore. You will stand out because you do not have the same tattoos as them, but at least you will dress like them." She smiled at him and motioned to the clothes in his hands. "Well, go on. Get dressed. I have to show you around the village."

Anton smiled shyly at her when she didn't move. "May I have some privacy, please?"

Oana's face flushed and jumped off the bed. "Oh, yes! My apologies. I will be outside when you are finished." She briskly walked out of the door and disappeared from Anton's sight. 

Anton looked down at the trousers in his hands and sighed. He unbuttoned his shirt and pants and changed his clothes. Once dressed in only the trousers, he looked down at himself. He felt strange not wearing a shirt. At least he had decided to start getting into the habit of working out during college. Since then, he had worked out almost every day. If he didn't, this would be an unpleasant experience for him. He took a deep breath before walking out to meet Oana standing by the door. 

"Do I meet the requirements?" he asked her as he smiled and spread out his arms. 

Oana turned toward him and looked him up and down, making Anton feel even more nervous. She walked toward him and walked around him, running her hand over his stomach and back. She moved back in front of him and gave him an approving smile, taking his hand. "Let us go meet the rest of the village." She led him throughout the village, introducing him to every villager. He came to notice that there wasn't anyone else who was close to Oana's age. They were either younger children or married, older adults. The villagers seemed nice to him, but he didn't know exactly if they all believed Oana's tale about him. The children were probably the only ones who completely trusted what she was telling them. 

Once they had met everyone, Oana led him out of the village and back into the jungle. She took him to a small waterfall flowing into a medium-sized lake. The view was breathtaking. The water was bright blue with green hues. There wasn't a lot of light flowing through the canopy, but the rays that did hit the water, made the blue and green colors pop. Anton followed her and sat down by her side, dangling his feet into the water. 

"Why aren't there other people your age here?" Anton asked her, desperate to break the silence.

Oana shrugged. She leaned back onto her elbows, her hair falling off of her shoulders. "All married off into other villagers. It is like I told you earlier; I want that spark, while some people my age just want out of the village, they were born in." She sighed. "They all judged me for it, but what can they do to me when my father is the head of the village?" She looked up at him. "He would hurt anyone who laid a hand on me."

Anton smiled and looked up at the sky peeking through the trees as he laid down next to her. "I would hurt anyone who laid a hand on you." What the hell? He furrowed his eyebrows. What made me say that? 

Oana studied him for a moment before smiling at him, her eyes softening. "We should probably head back to the village. The sun is starting to set," she announced as she stood up. 

Anton stood up quickly after her and began to follow her back to the village. I probably just made her uncomfortable, he thought to himself. Stupid. They finally stopped in front of his hut. "I'll see you in the morning, I guess," Anton murmured while rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Bright and early!" Oana chirped. "Goodnight, Anton." She waved before turning away and running toward her own hut. 

Anton turned and walked through the door into the hut. He walked over to the cot and laid down. He picked up the fur blankets and covered himself up. Closing his eyes, he hoped to get a restful sleep in his new environment.