Taming the Queen of Beasts

<strong>GAR</strong>

Gar could tell Rika had stopped breathing, yet her heart thumped rapidly in her chest. He squeezed her hand as the Anima stared at her, bemused, irritated, and some cases—mainly birds—raging.

They didn't understand what she'd said, and some of them were losing their patience for this intruder.

Gar sent up a silent prayer to the Creator to put his hand on both of them. Rika needed to stay calm, and Gar didn't want to lash out at anyone in her defense.

Turning his attention back to Rika, he murmured at her to breathe. But he scanned the crowd who were talking amongst themselves.

Rika wasn't being heard. He wanted to jump in for her, to explain using words they'd understand, but he couldn't break the Rite. If she gave testimony, she had to do it herself, without help. She couldn't be led.

Frustrated, Elreth looked at the bird next to her, who shrugged. "She speaks truth. But… I do not understand the words," the female said. "I can't say that her testimony answers the question because I don't understand it."

Elreth turned to Rika. "The Anima don't have technology, and I didn't bring your example with me. Is there another way to explain this?"

Rika bit her lip and looked up at Gar, her eyes wide and worried. He took her hand and stroked it with his thumb, pleading silently with her not to give up.

Rika nodded, then turned back to the people and took a deep breath. "I discovered Anima because I was brought here by a group of humans who taught me wrongly about you. They believe that you are physically superior to humans, but mentally and spiritually… they think you are animals," she said apologetically.

Indignant murmurs rippled through the crowd, but Rika didn't let up. "When I got here, I realized how wrong they were. I met Gar and… I came to see the truth. I don't want harm to come to the Anima. But I have to tell you that some humans do. Some would treat you like… like silent ones. Caged and used. Farmed, like your herds," she said, her voice quavering.

"Unless those humans see you shift, the way they know when you are Anima is because your blood is different," she said clearly. "There are things within your blood that are different. Anima or human, we can… test it. It's what allows some of you to shift. It comes from your ancestors. It comes only from… from the Creator.

"The humans that pose a threat to you view you as… adversaries," she said clearly, regretfully. "And to them the disformed are an even greater threat because they can walk the human world without being identified—like spies. Unless their blood is tested, there's no way for a human to know that a disformed isn't a human. But the differences in the blood… those are very clear. The disformed are Anima, without doubt…" she trailed off, her forehead lined.

But the bird woman who stood next to her nodded. "She speaks truth," she declared, loud enough that everyone would hear. "The human has answered the question. The disformed are Anima, and the disformed are enemies of the humans who seek harm for us."

Cheers rose from the Leonine and the wolves, and scattered among the other tribes as well. Gar leaned down, taking Rika's face in his hands and holding her eyes, letting her see his smile.

"Thank you," he said quietly, holding her so gently, careful not to put pressure on her. "Thank you. You did it."

Rika blinked and smiled. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. Rika took his hands in hers and pulled them down so she could turn to look first at Elreth, then back at Gar, then to Elreth again, hope and fear warring on her face.

Elreth smiled. "You did well," she said gently to Rika. Gar could have hugged his sister. But he was too busy catching Rika's elbow. His poor mate was beginning to fade. Her fear—easing only enough to make her muscles slack and shake. He needed to get her out of here, but he couldn't leave his tribe.

He gave Elreth his pleading, little-brother eyes and she rolled hers again, but turned back to the Alpha of the birds.

"By the words of your own people, your question has been answered, your challenge met. Do you stand for the disformed?"

Gerat stared at Elreth, the muscles in his jaw twitching. Several of the birds leaned in, whispering to him and each other, but he never took his eyes off of Elreth.

Gar held his breath. If the male didn't submit, or if he brought another question…

A low growl began in Gar's throat, but he swallowed it. He wouldn't be the reason any other tribe tried to claim interference in the Rite.

Gerat's eyes cut to him, but then back to Elreth.

Finally the male waved off the other birds and shook his head. "The Avaline acknowledge the disformed," he said gruffly. Everyone waited to see if he would go further, if he would stand for the tribe, but in truth it didn't matter. Reluctant, or not. Adversarial, or not. All of the tribes had now acknowledged the disformed as a tribe.

As Elreth raised her voice in a keening cry of celebration, and the wolves began to howl, Gar turned to find Aaryn, standing with the disformed, all of them staring, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

Then Aaryn caught him watching and met his gaze, his eyes silvering, shining with tears he held back in disbelief. But Gar beamed.

All the hours, all the time, all the secrets… they'd all been worth it. Gar turned to find his mother in the crowd and found her at the edge of the bowl, openly weeping, clinging to his father's arm, her smile wide around sobs of laughter.

She patted her heart when he looked, and Gar had to swallow tears of his own.

Holy shit.

Holy fucking shit.

They'd done it. They'd actually done it.

The disformed were a tribe.

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