Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 36: The Priestess’s Decision

While Visha and the others sorted out the things in the cave, the males came back with the first hunt. They had quite a few things with them.

Visha could see rabbits and boars and what looked like a moose.

What she was astonished by, was their size.

It was one thing for a rabbit to be as big as a dog, but this one was the average size of a moose. And the thing that looked like a moose was almost as big Bison.

Vish couldn’t help turning her head upwards. She asked herself what kind of world she had come to more than once. Especially since she was so weak. She didn’t know how to change it.

She wanted to be as strong as Uri and Xeno, but she would settle for even being as strong as Willa.

She didn’t enjoy being a liability.

The males went to wash up, and the females started cutting up the animals.

With the stone-knife, Visha was able to cut things much more smoothly. But she didn’t use it. She didn’t have as much experience as the others, so she gave it to Chi. Opting instead to get water and other things for them.

When everything was sectioned, and a stew was boiling in one of the new clay-moss pots.

Everyone was talking and laughing. No one mentioned what was to come. They all knew they would need to choose after this meal was over. The females were more relaxed than the males. They already had a conversation with Visha. Each of them knew where they stood.

Except for Heta, the other two had made the decision to stay. Now all that was left was for the males to take a stance.

Another half an hour passed, and the food was ready. Everyone ate. They stuffed themselves to the point of not wanting to walk.

The first hunt of the spring called for it.

Although they weren’t hungry this winter, it was what they were used to. It was a representation of them surviving the winter and being healthy enough to eat what the land has given in spring.

After cleaning up, the atmosphere became solemn. No one asked Kit and Nimo to leave. Even if they had no choice but to follow their parents, their voice would still be taken into account.

"Time to make a decision," Uri stated.

"I’ve already talked to the females. Except Heta, who didn’t say anything, Chi and Willa are willing to stay." She scanned the group of men. "Now, you need to make a decision."

Fil touched Willa’s arm, asking if she decided to stay. Willa nodded.

"I’ll stay," Fil stated.

Chi spoke for Krag, "We weren’t planning to leave in the first place."

Now all eyes were on Cato and Heta. Everyone knew Heta wanted to go back. It wouldn’t be a surprise for her to say she wanted to stay. The problem was how Cato would deal with it.

"I don’t want to go back," Nimo shouted.

He may be a child, but he knew what it meant to go back. He couldn’t understand why the adults wanted to go back.

Everyone looked at Nimo. They never expected him to voice his opinion so bluntly. Kit had spoken up before. Visha had honestly expected it after knowing how they treated him. But Nimo was unexpected.

As far as she knows, he didn’t suffer any harsh treatment.

So why didn’t he want to go back?

"Why don’t you want to go back?" Xeno asked.

Nimo looked at Xeno with all the seriousness a 4-year-old could muster. "If we go back, something bad will happen."

A hush fell over the group. They looked at Nimo’s serious little face. They didn’t know why he said it, but he looked so certain that Visha couldn’t help asking.

"What bad thing do you think will happen if you go back?"

"I don’t know. But it’s bad."

Visha got to his eye level and asked, "Will people get hurt?"

He nodded.

"How do you know that?" she asked gently.

His face scrunched up. She could see he wasn’t sure how to answer. Everyone waited for his response.

"A dream. Bad things happen in my dream."

Everyone had different reactions to Nimo’s revelation. No one noticed Krag and Chi, signaling each other for a brief moment.

Hearing it was a dream, Heta spoke. "I’m going back." She looked at Nimo, "I don’t care what kind of dream you had. We’re going back to the tribe. If something bad happens, the tribe will fix it."

"But I don’t want to go back." Nimo started crying. Whatever he saw in his dream seemed to have affected him negatively.

Visha reached out to hug him. But Heta grabbed him before she could touch him.

Nimo’s crying echoed through the grotto.

Cato, who hadn’t said anything, took Nimo from Heta’s arms. "I’m not going back."

Heads turned to him. No one expected him to say that. Everyone thought that since Heta wanted to go back, he would go with her.

"What?!" Heta screamed. "It’s the tribe! Why would you want to stay here? Aren’t you afraid of being killed?"

Cato’s determination didn’t waver. He still repeated the same thing. "I’m not going back." It could be seen that his decision was final.

After everyone, except Heta, made it clear they were staying, Visha felt better. She had been wondering what their choice would be. Knowing they were willing to be with her, her joy soared.

Of course, she expected Uri and Xeno to stay. They had already given their guarantee.

"Does this mean Sister Shasha is the priestess now?" Kit’s voice cut through her happiness.

She didn’t want to admit to being a priestess. But she understood that if they were staying. They would want to form a tribe. It is their reality. Sooner or later, she would need to accept that.

So far, according to her partners, everything she has done is what a priestess would normally do.

For the leadership role, she had stepped back and let Uri and Xeno interact more with everyone. She didn’t want to take that position.

Visha saw everyone looking at her.

She responded, "Are you planning to form a tribe?" She posed the question to everyone.

They had never talked about starting their own tribe.

"If we all plan to stay, then I think we should," Fil answered.

Everyone was in agreement with starting a tribe.

"If we do that, we will need more people. We need structure. We need a place to live. We can’t continue living here. It is fine for the winter, but it is not well protected. There are many vulnerabilities." Uri stated.

"I think I speak for everyone when we say we don’t mind leaving," Cato said.

He was never one to speak, but when he did, he was usually right. The smile on Cato’s face let everyone know that he was all for making a tribe.

"Yay! Tribe, tribe, tribe." Kit and Nimo started cheering.

Visha always felt the two little ones had their own secrets. She didn’t want to get to the bottom of it. One said he had a bad dream, and the other had no friends. So she let it be.

Visha laughed, "If you want to make a tribe, I don’t mind. But who will be the leader? Don’t count on me for that."

"We already have two, right here." Krag pointed out. He was looking at Uri and Xeno. "They are the leaders, and you are the priestess. That is the way things should be."

Krag never spoke without reason.

"How are you so sure about that?" Uri asked.

He knew there was something strange about the couple. He never pointed it out or asked. But for such a decision, he needed an answer.

Krag pointed to Nimo, "He wasn’t wrong when he said bad things would happen. You can visit, but never stay."

When he mentioned visiting, he scanned everyone.

His eyes fell on Heta, and something unreadable flashed in his eyes. "You’ve made your choice. I hope you can live with it."

Silence once again fell. No one was sure what to say.

Uri spoke up, "Thank you. I appreciate your advice." He then turned to Visha, "Sha’mīn, we accept being leaders."

He rested his hand on Xeno’s shoulder. "Do you accept being our priest? It is a heavy responsibility. Sometimes moreso than the leader. The priest is the heart of a tribe. They speak to the earth, perform rituals, and have a connection to the world. Do you accept?"

The question struck her. Did she want to be a priestess? She looked around at the people looking at her, hope in their eyes. She wasn’t a priestess. She didn’t know the first thing about being a priestess. But as she looked at these people, she wanted to be.

"I accept," she whispered, reaching out both hands. One holding Xeno’s hand and the other holding Uri’s hand.

She heard the murmurs of everyone there. Their agreement on what was happening. Visha took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, letting what her acceptance meant wash over her.

I accept. I am their priestess. I will protect them. I will guide them. I will build this tribe with them.

[Identity accepted: Priestess]

[World-building protocol acknowledged.]

[New leader leadership structure detected.]

[System upgrade initiating...]

Lights flared in Visha’s vision. Information flooded her mind. Everything was a blur of colours and sounds. Her knees buckled.

Her last sensation before collapsing was being held by Uri and Xeno.