Back in the village of the Mal'it Clan, inside one of the rooms in the council hall, a woman was crying while a man was standing beside her, comforting her.
Bobo was devastated with what happened that afternoon. Right after they realized that Ling was really missing, he commanded some of his men to search in a few farther surrounding areas while he went back to the village to ask for more help and explain everything to his wife since she will worry more if it was not him telling her the whole story. The group got back to the village in only around two hours compared to half the morning when they set out for the hunt.
"It was my fault." The woman kept saying even though the man was admitting it was his mistake.
"Hu-hu.. No... It was mine... I-I should have reminded you how to t-take care of my Ling..."
"No, it was my stupid brain's fault. I should have known what to do to properly take care of your Ling."
The twelve elders watching this scene were exasperated. Before the two started again, an old man with long white hair interrupted their argument, "Bobo, Mahina, this talk of yours will not help us so please explain to us properly what happened, Bobo."
"Yes, Shaman Matnaad." He gathered his thoughts first based on what he practiced to say with his men while they were running back to the village. "We left all the children in one of the safe groves in the forest for their nap after lunch but we didn't hunt too far from there so we could hear them if there was a problem. However, I forgot that Ling was a restless sleeper and didn't put any obstacle to keep him from moving while sleeping. He probably rolled outside the grove but we didn't see him near the place so I don't know what happened. Could he have rolled too far?"
Rolled?! What kind of restless sleeping is that?!
Upon hearing this, some of the elders were skeptical. However, Shaman Matnaad was sure the child would not leave on his own despite his craving for more 'adventures'. With the few months he spent training the boy, he knew Ling was smart and knows his powers' limits.
Several discussions among the elders started, speculating what really happened.
Suddenly, their discussion was interrupted when the door opened and a man entered, panting. It looked like he rushed here because of something urgent, not minding that he was intruding in a room full of men with higher status than him.
"Elder, I have news."
"Speak." Of course these men did not mind the intrusion as they were waiting for further news on the missing child.
"We found bear tracks near the grove with a human 'mist' signature included. We might need someone who can sense better since the 'mist' already dissipated the farther we got."
When they heard this, some of the elders believed that the child was too reckless, going near a bears' nest.
Even knowing what the other elders were thinking, Shaman Matnaad ignored their whispers, "Okay. Bobo, you join them since you're more familiar with Ling's aura."
Boob nodded when the shaman looked at him. In under a minute, he finished giving a peck to his wife's cheek and exiting the room, followed by the still panting man who gave the news behind him.
The banging of the door awakened the people left in the room. A few sighed, used to the abrupt decisions of the chief. Just why did they chose him?
When Shaman Matnaad saw Mahina still staring at the door where her husband went, he approached her, "Mahina, I'll call for someone to accompany you. Go take a rest with your daughters and tell them the latest news. You worrying like this won't help anybody especially your other children."
This woke up Mahina. She might be weak with regards to the 'mist' but her mind has always been strong. She replied while bowing to the shaman, "Yes, thank you, shaman."
Meanwhile, when Ling's sisters heard the news, they were not surprised or worried. They knew that Ling has always been misfortunate like that and was really liked by animals. They also thought that their brother won't look for trouble himself. Troubles always find him. Fortunately, he always gets out of it with only a few scratches after.
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Deep in the forest, the men out to hunt the.missing child saw the bear tracks going inside a cave. The cave's entrance was a liitle farther away from the grove and was hidden by bushes. The inside was dark and the 'mist' from different sources were carpeting the 'mist' from Ling.
Bobo, together with the other hunters, proceeded to enter the cave, using fire to light their way. A few small animals were scurrying to their corners when the men entered but the men disregarded these, intent on sensing the human 'mist'.