Later that evening...
The cheerfully screams of children on the small streets of Diowo heightened, having them race in the direction of the village entrance.
They squealed in excitement, jumping at the sighting of the three warriors approaching.
Their loud voices attracted the attention of the adults, causing them to turn and look. They smiled widely.
Families and friends from all around paced in their direction, watching the two male warriors; Danji and Ajefe, jump down from their horses' backs, with the giant white tiger in the middle.
Rhou lowered itself, letting Kamyla slide smoothly off its back.
The children immediately ran to Rhou, throwing themselves at its head. Rhou chuffled, leaning forward for the children to rub and hug as some quickly clutched his fur to climb his neck.
Kamyla stood next to Rhou, having a few children run to hug her and rush back to Rhou. She smiled weakly.
With the crowd still gathering around them with welcoming chatters, the three warriors slowly went down to the ground, greeting all the elders at once.
They smiled at them, waving them to stand. They slowly got up.
"Danji!!!"
All eyes snapped to the side, sighting the young woman racing in Danji's direction. Danji smiled.
"DANJI!" She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he raised her off the ground.
"I missed you!" She squealed, burying her face in his crook.
Kamyla glared at her from the corner of her eyes, before turning to the side to begin unbuckling the strap on Rhou's back.
"I missed you too, Ilo", Danji chuckled, gently placing the beautiful fair-skinned girl on her feet as he loosened his arms from her waist.
Ilo then pulled her gaze behind Danji, sighting Ajefe first. "Welcome back, Ajefe!"
Ajefe waved with a smile.
She turned, "Welcome back, Kamy!"
"Hm", was all Kamyla responded without a gaze, too focused on unbuckling the leather belt on her tiger's back.
Ilo chuckled, pulling her gaze to the other side. Her brows furrowed. "Where is Cöfwu?" She turned to look at Danji.
Danji's expression slowly fell.
Everyone else around then realized Ilo's question, roaming their gazes around and asking as well. "Where is Cöfwu?"
"He didn't follow them?"
"Why?"
"What happened?"
And at that moment, Kamyla successful pulled off the strap on Rhou's back, sliding down a body wrapped in white cloth.
The people gasped. The children quickly pulled back with their eyes peeled in disbelief.
Ilo took a step back, "I- Is that..."
Kamyla carefully picked up the body in both hands, walking up slowly as Danji turned to face her.
Danji stretched forward, "Let me help you—"
"Don't!"
Danji froze.
Kamyla stepped back, clutching onto the body as she slowly gazed down. "Let me carry him... It's the least I can do".
Danji grimaced.
Kamyla then took in a deep breath, shutting her eyes for a moment before exhaling softly. "Let's go". Kamyla stepped forward.
Ajefe and Danji trailed after as the villagers quickly made way for them to walk on a path, leading up to one of the huts.
A young-looking woman stood in front of the hut's door, staring at the approaching warriors with widened eyes.
Her lips gapped.
Kamyla slowly walked up to her, lowering herself to her knees as she laid the body on the ground. Danji and Ajefe joined her on their knees, lowering their heads in shame.
The woman stepped forward, blinking repeatedly. "C- Cöfwu..." She slowly lowered herself to the ground, stretching out to touch the corpse wrapped in white cloth.
"M- My son..." Her lips quivered as tears began to build up in her eyes.
Kamyla bit her lips.
"Brother?" Two feminine voices called from the side, causing Cöfwu's mother to look up. More tears escaped her eyes at the sight of her twin daughters.
"Biwa. Bimo", she called in a broken tone.
Looking not more than thirteen years old age, the identical sisters; dressed in identical half-length gowns and hairstyles; remained still, staring down at their older brother's corpse with bewildered expressions.
Their eyes watered.
Immediately picking on their heels, the sisters ran to their mother's embrace, burying their faces in her arms as they broke down into tears.
Their mother, Negu, bit her lips tightly as she tried to hold back the woeful cry trapped in her throat. She gulped bitterly, shutting her eyes as her shoulders bounced in sobs.
Kamyla slowly gazed up with a sad grimace. "A- Aunty Negu, I... I am sorry", she felt her cheeks burn with tears. "This happened because I orde—"
"I ordered the men to go head-on in battle with Arabian soldiers even when it wasn't necessary to our initial mission!" Danji stole Kamyla's words, keeping his gaze locked down. "All this happened because of me and my spontaneous judgement. I'm sorry, Aunty... We lost Cöfwu because of me..." He grimaced.
Kamyla stared at him with quirked brows, surprised as to why he just did that.
This wasn't like the times they got into trouble as kids that he'd have to protect her. It wasn't a harmless mistake she made that caused a little bruise... It was a life-to-death situation that was completely her fault and a cross she had to bear.
Cöfwu would have probably been alive if she didn't insist on their attacking despite the fact she knew they were outnumbered.
So why? Why was he trying to take the blame for her as always?... Tears slipped from the corner of her eyes.
Negu didn't respond, taking the moment to silently cry her heart out over her daughters' heads as none of them was ready to look at the body before them.
The surrounding villagers broke down into tears; wailing bitterly to the heartbreaking news as it added to the immense guilt that crushed Kamyla's conscience.
She shut her eyes, clutching the rim of her furred-skinned skirt as their voices pierced her eardrums.
After a few minutes, Negu cleared her, finally wiping away her tear as she rubbed her daughters' backs. They whimpered, not moving away from their mother's arm.
Negu then pulled her blurry gaze to the three gloomy warriors on their knees, sniffling. "Danji?"
He looked up. "Yes, Aunt?"
"Did..." She gulped, "Did the people you tried to save survive?"
"Yes, Aunt..." He bowed. "All of them did".
Negu raised her head to blink back her tears, sobbing softly. She looked back at him, "So... Cöfwu's death wasn't a waste?..."
"No, Aunty".
Negu let out a painful chuckle, inhaling deeply. "Then in that case..." She smiled weakly.
"Thank you... Thank you for bringing him back home. And thank you for coming home yourself..."
The three slowly bowed.
• • •
With the pitch-black sky flooded with stars above the lands, the village square at the heart of Diowo was brightly lit by the centre fire made with burning logs of wood circled on the dead body.
The villagers stood in a large circle around the flaming source of heat, each holding small clay calabashes filled with salt water mix and tied with black thread and two black feathers.
Everyone standing around were dressed in clothes and wraps of the same fabric and design; with the family of the deceased, Negu and her daughters, standing a step forward.
Strings of freshly harvested leaves were tied around their heads which held symbolic value for the burial ritual.
Standing closest to the harsh flames was the village head, dressed in a black cloth wrapped around his waist and a larger calabash in his arms as he fetched the water content and shot sprinkles into the flame, reciting sacred incantations.
Negu, her daughters and the rest of the village, stood silently with their heads down as they listened to holy prayers recited for the lost soul to the Ancestors; pleading for a smooth transition to the afterlife based on the soul's righteousness on earth.
In the melancholic atmosphere, Danji; standing next to Ajefe, slowly raised his head and opened his eyes, taking glancing around in search of a particular person in the crowd.
His brows furrowed.
Meanwhile...
Somewhere in the light forest that bordered Diowo, Kamyla stared up into the stary sky, resting against the body of her lying tiger as they both rested on the grass-covered field between the tall trees.
Kamyla's eyes stared vaguely into space, having a fresh roll of tears run down her cheeks. With her legs crossed and her arms wrapped around her body, she shivered slightly as the cool evening breeze touched her skin.
Rhou immediately lifted its long furry tail and threw it across her body in an attempt to keep her warm. Kamyla chuckled, "Thank you".
Rhou chuffled, lowering its head to rub against hers and wipe off her tears.
She smiled weakly, "I'll be fine, Rhou... I promise". She then wrapped her arms around his tail, hugging it to her chest. She grimaced, "I just need some time..."
"Then what are our uses then?!"
Kamyla instantly snapped her head over her shoulder, sighting Ajefe and Danji standing at a distance.
Ajefe frowned, "What then is our use if you have to go through this time alone?"
Danji shook his head, "She lacks respect for our friendship, don't you think?"
"Hm", Ajefe nodded.
Kamyla sniffled, wiping her tears as the two padded forward to halt in front of her.
Kamyla looked down, clearing her throat softly as she hugged her thighs to her chest. "How did you find me?"
The two looked down at her for a few seconds, before lowering themselves to sit next to her.
Danji then responded, "Because this is the same spot you found Rhou. So it became your favourite whenever you felt sad".
"Oh..."
Ajefe sighed loudly, resting back on Rhou's body with his hands behind his head. "Besides, this was also the same place you ran off to the day of your grandmother's burial".
Kamyla remained silent.
Danji then laid back as well, looking up at the sky, "And we know you very well. We knew you wouldn't be able to stay through the ceremony".
Kamyla took a few moments to respond, wiping her nose. "I didn't deserve to stand there".
"Because?" Danji crooked a brow.
"Because all this happened because of me..." She bit her lips, letting more tears slip down her face. "Aunt Negu lost her only son because of me and—"
"Stop being a crybaby!" Ajefe snapped, causing Kamyla to look up at him.
He tutted, "For a Deputy Commander, you sure regret a lot. How old are you?"
Kamyla's brows furrowed.
"Hm. He's right", Danji nodded. "For someone who saved more than fifty girls from a life of misery and pain, you don't seem too confident of yourself".
"Don't mind her", Ajefe tsked, "She just wants us to pamper her and tell her not to blame herself and cry on our shoulder while we tell her how great she is".
Kamyla frowned, "W-What? No, of course not..."
"Then why are you acting like you did something wrong?" Danji cupped the side of his face.
"I... I am not saying I did anything wrong. I just feel like maybe if we did things differently—"
"No matter how differently we did anything, we all knew not everyone was going to make it out alive. Not even you. It could have been one of us in that fire and not Cöfwu. And that is the reality of the path we choose that we can't escape. So trying to make yourself the villain in all this is a waste of your time and tears. After all, I was the one who made the final decision to go on with the attack. I could have refused your demand and probably Cöfwu would have been here with us. So should I be crying?"
Kamyla didn't respond, squeezing her fingers around her arms as she hugged her legs tighter. She exhaled softly, "I guess not..."
SLAP!
Ajefe's hand suddenly met the back of her head, taunting, "Onishy!"
"Ouch!" Kamyla flinched, clutching her head. "Are you mad!?" She snapped.
"Cry cry baby", Ajefe sang.
"You are mad!" She launched her hands at his neck, pushing him to the ground.
Ajefe screamed, "Help me! Man abuser! Man beater! Help!"
Kamyla grunted, pressing his head against the dirt as she sat on his stomach.
"Ah! Stop!"
Ajefe tried to push her off — Kamyla clutched his short hair and began knocking his skull repeatedly with her knuckles.
"Ouch! Ouch! Stop! Kamy, stop! Ouch!" He tried to shield his face. "Kamyla, stop!"
"You started it!" She snarled.
"Ow! Ow! This is why you are still single, Kamy! Ah! Ouch! You're a violent woman!"
"Screw you!" She hardened her knocks.
"Kamy! Ouch! Ah! Dan, do something! Ah! Stop!" He clutched his head.
Danji sat still, watching the one-sided battle that could possibly lead to another burial ceremony. He smiled, "I like minding my business, thank you very much".
"Kamy, stop! Stop! My lover wouldn't want to see me in such comprising position! Ouch!"
"You're single, you idiot!" She began knocking him with both hands.
"Ah! Ah! Ouch! Ow!—"
BOOM!
The three instantly froze.
Snapping their heads up in the direction of the explosion, their eyes widened at the sight of the thick black smoke that clouded the sky from behind the trees.
Ajefe slowly pushed himself up, blinking twice. "That doesn't look like ceremony fire..."
Another explosion shook the ground, causing them to stagger.
The voices of screaming villagers erupted from the distance.
Suddenly, a series of high pitch ominous laughter echoed in the air from the point of the blast — heightening the human cries.
Ajefe's jaws dropped, "Oh no..."
"It... It can't be", Danji blinked twice.
Kamyla's eyes widened. "Werehyenas..."