In her wolf form, Niigani looms behind Minaam with her shadow overcasting Minaam in whole. As for Minaam, she was so distracted with her spear that she didn't even realize it until it was too late. Niigani snatched Minaam into her mouth and clenched down tight with her jaw, swinging Minaam's lifeless body side to side, before tossing Minaam to the side.
As I grip tightly onto Asin's fur, we all rush towards Minaams limp body. Niigani and a few followers cowardly escape us.
"Minaam!" Mooji cried, "NOOOO!"
"MINA!" Gimtimi yelled from the other side of the western border.
Time slowed down as we all made our way towards Minaam from all corners. What should have taken us two minutes to reach her, seemed to have taken us ages.
Gimiti was the first to reach Minaam. As Asin was sprinting, I watched Gimtimi delicately pull Minaam into her arms then slowly pushed her hair away from her face.
"My flower…" Gimtimi cried as her tears dropped down onto Minaam's face.
Once we reached them, all we could do was weep. The pain in our hearts spread throughout our veins.
"No, I've only just found you. I've only just found you! Why are the gods so cruel? Why Minaam, why did you come here?" Mooji wailed mournfully as she joined Gimtimi's side, attempting to heal the huge ripping gashes Niigani had inflicted.
"Mooji, Gimtimi?" I said. They both turned to look at me.
"Alpha, can you heal her?" Gimtimi asked.
"Alpha, can you bring her back?" Mooji asked.
"It is what it was meant to be." I said, tears falling down my face and then it registered to them as they noticed me not looking at them but passing them.
Mooji cries in terror.
Gimtimi pulled Minaam close into her embrace.
"Alpha… Sereen… my Goddess Vio," Minaam's voice reached my ears like the wind. "I am satisfied with my life. I have loved and have been loved. Please tell Mooji, gaagige minisenh. And please tell Gimtimi, binaabigwanii, she will know what that means." Minaam gave me a beautiful smile and walked away fading into the air.
I look at Mooji, " Gaagige minisenh… forever you will be my older sister".
Then I look at Gimtimi, "Binaabigwanii… falling flower."
Gimtimi's eyes widen and she bows her head at me, "Alpha has the real sight. She is truly powerful to see my flower's spirit.
"Gimtimi, don't bow. I am no more important than you."
"No, Alpha, I know what I must do."
We stare at each other with red dreary eyes.
"Gimtimi, I don't even know what falling flowers mean."
"I believe it was a secret message. I must go north to Waabigwan. Minaam was the leader of her pact, but she and the head in their pact had sworn an oath; one, even I don't know about. But Minaam always said that if she were to ever die, that she will give YOU the codeword to relay to their head. You must accompany me north. We will bring Minaam with us." Gimtimi bows her head again, this time the Ma'iingan around us all bow in unison, even those that are no longer following Manji-Manidoo.
*
Back at Center Point, the children and elders are welcomed back from hiding along with Giken and my babies. Everyone embraced each other, overjoyed to see their loved ones still alive and well. Others hold each other in prayers for the ones they have lost.
I finally got the time I needed to hold and feed my babies for the first time. Another woman helped me nurse the third baby as I struggled to feed the other two.
"We should name them." I said to Giken.
"You should name them. It will be an honor for Ma'iingan Alpha to have named them." Giken replied.
I looked at my three babies. "Wind for the first child's name. Rain for the second child's name. Finally, Ishkode for my son which means fire. My children should be as strong as the elements of this Earth."
"Wind, Rain, and Ishkode. Such honor you have given them, Alpha." Giken said and kissed my forehead. Such beautiful and powerful names, my love."
I held onto Wind and Rain as Giken joined my side with Ishkode.
We stare at our babies with complete love. I wondered what their future may hold and which one will be wolf and which one will be dragon… or even better, both.
I wondered about all the good, bad and frightening things that may occur. It was very disheartening to imagine such things, but I knew that they were my children, and I will never let anything happen to them.
"What are you thinking about to make such a face?" Giken asked.
Without noticing, I have been pouting as I thought about my babies' futures. "Oh, nothing, Giken."
"My love, we should go north and meet with Minaam's Pact. They will need to hear from the alpha, just what really happened to their leader." Giken said, reluctantly.
"I know. I understand, Giken. And I will."
As happy as I was, it was short lived. Soon, I found myself marching north to meet with Waabigwan. Minaam's body was beautifully preserved by the cold weather as we pulled her along with us on a sled.
Upon our arrival, we were all greeted nicely by Waabigwan, even though news of Minaam's death had already reached them. The head of the pact gestures for us to sit. You can see in all their eyes that they have been mourning the death of their leader.
"Alpha, I am Tek, head of our pact." Tek bowed her head dolefully, "You are the alpha of all the wolf pact on this land, including ours. Today, you honor us with your presence once more. We, Waabigwan, have heard the news of our fallen Minaam. Tell us, have you brought her body back to us?" Tek asked, her sad weary eyes watching me intently, waiting for an answer.
I placed my hands on her arms and pulled her up in a gesture for her to stand in my presence.
"Tek, you honor me, but I am just as valuable a person as everyone that looks up to me. Without Ma'iingans to follow me, I am powerless. We have brought back Minaam's body. I also have a message to you from her." I said, melancholy.
Tek roughly rubs her eyes and her face suddenly turns serious. I pause to give them time to ready themselves for the news I was going to give.
The stillness of Waabigwan camp area got so quiet, we could hear the birds chirping around us.
"Binaabigwanii." I gave Tek a confused look. "What does it mean?" I asked in a whisper.
Tek and all of Waabigwan bows and in unison grabs their weapons and whoop. Tek stares at me with her war face and then shouts, "MA'IINGAN! MA'IINGAN!"
Altogether, everyone chanted loudly, "Ma'iingan, Ma'iingan!". I studied the look on everyone's faces until my eye met with Tek's eyes, once more.
"Banaabigwanii. The flower has fallen, this was a secret message for Minaam to give to you after death, so that you may deliver it to us. This is the proof that you ARE blessed with the gift of sight. This was Minaam's blessings for us to join hands with Ma'iingan. From this day on, Waabigwan is no more, because Waabigwan is now Ma'iingan!" Tek announced loudly with pride.
Everyone whooped, pumping their weapons up at their side.
*
Later that day, we cremated Minaam and sent her ashes down river to flow back to feed the Earth. Gimtimi and Mooji held each other mourning their loss.
My heart aches at the thought that someone so dear to them has been ripped away from them.
"It's not over. Niiganii is still out there. I will KILL HER to seek vengence on you."Gimtimi cried.
"You will not." I softly said in response to her. "There has been enough Ma'iingan bloodshed. Revenge will only be another stigma upon us. We will seek retribution elsewhere. We will pray that the ancestor and pegan of this sacred land will give to Niiganii what she had taken from us."
"You want us to sit around and do NOTHING?" Gimtimi yelled, her saliva splashes out towards me.
"Do you not trust me?" I asked Gimtimi.
"A murderer is on the loose and you want us to do nothing?" Gimtimi yelled again.
"HOLD YOU TONGUE! DO YOU FORGET WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO?" Giken's thunderous voice roared. "She is our Alpha. We must put our faith and trust in her hands." Giken softer this time as he reassures Gimtimi.
"Gimtimi, I feel like our gods are already working on seeking justice for us. I can feel in my heart that we shall hear about it soon." I walk over and embrace Gimtimi into my arms. "For now, let us mourn our losses, for tomorrow will be a better day."
For seven days we held ceremonies to celebrate the life and death of all that were lost in the battle of Ma'iingan. We celebrated our union of Zaa Clan and Waabigwan then we celebrated the birth of my three babies, Wind, Rain, and Ishkode.
It wasn't until the seventh day that we finally received news about what had happened to Niiganii.
My babies were suckling on each nipple with the wet nurse by my side, also feeding the third baby. Interrupting the celebration was Tek and Gimtimi as they bulldozed through the crowd of people powwowing around.
"The traitors have been captured. We found them near the north east borders by the snow mountains. It seemed like they had been there for a while." Tek announced loudly. The drumming and celebratory dances stop and all eyes turn to our direction.
"It seems you are as wise and you are powerful, my alpha." Gimiti's soft voice choked out.
I hand my babies to Giken and another wet nurse, nearby. Then tuck my dripping bosoms back into my shirt. "What are you trying to tell me?"
As powerful as I am, not every message given to me comes to be clearly. The messages given to me about my possible future are all codes and riddles to decipher. So I sit here confused at Gimtimi's flattering words.
Then Tek's voice finally let out a slow statement. "It's about Niigani."