"Lift the spell before the sun rises!" I order the gumiho who stares back at me with narrowed eyes. I drive a finger into his chest. "The mortals have done nothing to you, why would you play this prank on them if you do not steal their children?"
"I do not steal their children and I am not the one placing the wicked spell on them! I accused you of conspiring with the gods, I apologize for that, but you! You think I have time to play with mortals when she is still out there?" The male fox spirit leaps to his feet, swiping his clawed hands through the air.
I tug at my knotted hair, growling to express my frustration. "When does the being usually leave, do you happen to know?"
"When the sun is full. The evil spirit has never been consistent with their visits, but always leaves at the same time." He points at the sun rising in the sky, a look of gloom stuck on his face. "The being has left by now and will not return until the mortals do not suspect their arrival. Perhaps they will be back tomorrow, next month or in another decade?"
I nod and froze in my spot. The doors behind us had opened while I was talking to the spirit and I whip around to see Big Tiger shoot glares at me. I stare at the topless human, catching the gumiho's quiet snickering.
I should say something to the spirit but I will look like a lunatic to the mortal who cannot see spirits. I smile sweetly for the mortal, asking him why he was frowning. I flinch when he plops onto the stairs right by my side. It was also where the spirit was sitting.
"This stupid mortal dares to sit on me!" The fox shrieked.
I bite my tongue, struggling to refrain from speaking to the spirit. Instead, I turned to face Big Tiger. "Have you slept well? I would like to be renamed so have you thought about it?"
"I had the strangest first dream in my life!" The mortal holds a hand to his forehead, looking confused. He drops his large hands and sighs. "I saw the evil spirit had returned but this time was different. You were awake and luring it away with the string of bells? Of course, you have also fallen asleep because you are a mortal. You must have been cold laying out here."
"I could not feel a thing under the spell of the evil spirit. Should we check that your children were not taken?" I slowly move away from the beefy human, reminding myself to act as weak and modest as human women. "I am uncomfortable sitting alone with a man. We should meet your people."
"No, there is no need. If any of our children are abducted, we will receive reports but we are not able to do anything. No matter how long we have searched we cannot retrieve our children's corpses." He clasped his hands together, a pained expression took possession of his rough facial features. "We can only hope they died without experiencing too much torture."
I stare at our feet, my mind is occupied by thousands of thoughts. The spirit standing behind me had been wheezing and insulting Big Tiger throughout our conversation. I wondered where the mortal children must be and I felt as if I knew the culprit.
I was glad to feel the negative energy had vanished but a scrawny man rushed into the yard with flailing arms. I feel Big Tiger rise from his seat and for a moment our eyes locked. I raise an eyebrow, not understanding his momentary pause.
"You will be known by my people as Red Tiger." Then, he met his man in the centre of the yard and they leaned into each other, deep in a conversation. The fear on their faces has confirmed my suspicion. "Baby Hamster was taken? Hare too?"
"These humans are so odd, calling themselves by animal names." The fox shook his head as he settles back in his seat that was stolen by Big Tiger. His tails bloom from his rear, stroking my cheeks. "Red Tiger, the only tiger name besides Big Tiger. Do you really plan to live among these bugs?"
"They are not as pesky as you!" I retort quickly. I pause, realizing I may be wrong. "Well, I would rather help them than you."
"What?" The fox held a hand to his chest as if I had offended him. He shakes his head. "You would help useless humans but you won't help a fellow, broken-hearted person? Luckily for me, it is your duty to help me. I will follow you until we find her."
"I hope so," I grumble as I lifted off the house's steps to walk to the men. Big Tiger had called my new name and the scrawny man stares at me as I approach them. I see for the first time a tooth necklace hanging from his neck, a string of bells around his wrist and he wore wolf tails like a shawl.
"Red Tiger, this is Falcon, our village's shaman. He has reported two boys have been abducted and the gods have not answered him after he called to them." Big Tiger watches us greet each other with bows and he slapped both our backs with his calloused hands. "You will be seeing each other often, especially on our wedding day."
"Keep dreaming about marrying me, the gods will not allow it! Let me tell you now that your methods of reaching the gods will always fail. They do not care about us humans. We are nothing to them." I gasp as the men took turns slapping me twice. I raised a hand to my stinging cheeks.
They dared to hit me! Why, because I told them the truth?
"I am a shaman, you are only a woman. You would know nothing about the gods or spirituality. Instead of running that pretty mouth of yours, sew clothes or cook for the clan. That is a woman's position and purpose on Earth." Falcon shook his hands before my face, letting the bells ring.
I raise an eyebrow, struggling to keep myself from jumping into these humans. I take a deep breath and nod, allowing them to continue believing the gods would answer their weak cries. I would not offer my knowledge to these ignorant fools! For now, I will be a carpet for them to walk over.
"They will regret saying such things to you when they realize your identity. Humans feel superior until they discover someone's true self." The spirit clicked his tongue against his teeth. He looks as if he was enjoying the men's stupidity. "I am enjoying the show. You will not marry Big Tiger, right?"
"Of course not," I mutter beneath my breath. I glance up to see the two men stare back at me. I let my hand from my cheek to my sides. "I will tell you now that you will come to grovel at my feet. You will praise women and scorn men when you feel my wrath."
"Ignore the woman, they all claim to be more powerful than they are. The power is only in their heads and once they bear their first child, the strength vanishes. Red Tiger is only a normal woman." The shaman has failed Big Tiger's clan as their spiritual leader. A shaman who cannot recognize immortals from humans is a disgrace.
"No, I feel she is a fine woman. Not every lady should be submissive -that would be too lame to see every day. Have an open mind and entertain her. Maybe one day she will realize she is not who she thinks she is." Big Tiger looks down at his hand. The hand he used to strike my cheek. "Or we can consider the possibility that she really is a strong woman."
"I will not entertain such ideas, but be my guest. Perhaps we would let her alone when the evil spirit returns and she will see that she is like us. She will sleep under its spell so how can she be stronger than us?" The shaman chuckles under his skeletal hands.
How can I be stronger than someone who will be swept away by a breeze? I do not understand what Falcon had experienced to be so biased towards women. He must have forgotten a woman had helped him arrive in this world when she was not obligated to. Seeing how this village is for criminals, she should not have to birth him.
"Still, I find her confidence adorable." Big Tiger reaches for my cheeks with his grimy hands but I dodged him with a cold glare. He shrugs to himself and guides Falcon out of his house's yard. "Let her cool for a bit while we discuss Baby Hamster and Hare."
I curl my lips when the shaman shoots me a smug look. He can go with Big Tiger, I will not be jealous or sad. I turn around to swat the annoying fox spirit snickering into my ear. When the two men have finally left, I release a loud sigh. "Stop tempting me to speak to you! I cannot reveal myself to these mortals."