"So, is your offer still valid?" Elki asked.
"What offer?" Lena couldn't remember. Her mind was a mess at that time.
Elki said without hesitation, "Your marriage offer."
Lena's face turned red remembering her own words. Now, she felt like an idiot, "Forget about it."
"Isn't that a bit cruel of you? Asking me to forget it after getting my hopes up?" Elki frowned. He was half dissatisfied with Lena changing her words.
"How annoying!! Then, what about this...We'll get married after we safely arrive at a new place. Since I lost my parents, I might as well leech on you for the rest of your life."
Instead of getting angry, Elki smiles sincerely. "That's much better."
....
The absence of their leader called for them to elect a new one.
And Elki was unceremoniously chosen to become the leader of this migration.
Under his leadership, one hundred and thirty-three dunirrs went on a journey to the north by walking close to the river.
He arranged the group into three parts. The main, the scout and the guards.
As the name suggests, the scout composed of the small group moves far at the front of the main group. Their job is to report any sightings back to him.
The guards on the other hand were assigned to watch their backs from any rear attack.
The journey was an arduous one, filled with the danger of the wilderness. Even so, they had to go through it for the sake of their safety.
Days come and go, the group of dunirr still moving in the uncharted land for a total of unknown distance. They have yet to find an ideal place to establish a settlement. Compared to humans, dunirr has to take a lot of consideration or else, they have to move once again.
"Hey, Elki," called Lena.
Except for scouts, the rest of dunirrs is currently resting at the junction where Zheqas River branches out into a smaller river.
They've been waiting for scouts to return since yesterday.
He replied with the question, "What?"
"Why are we headed northward?" Lena who walks beside him asked.
The past few days were hell for her. She can't sleep well. First, because she's in the middle of a jungle. It was very uncomfortable and she needs to always heighten her senses.
Second, because of her nightmare. Every time she closes her eyes, the tragedy keeps replaying in her head. She often wakes up in the middle of the night, sweating profusely.
Luckily, this happened to almost twenty per cent of dunirrs in the group.
"Where else should we be headed? It's a tradition of dunirrs to move north in case disastrous events happened. You should pay for what the elders say."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever~" She rolled her eyes. The way Elki talks is just like her parents.
From afar, a group of scouts Elki sent yesterday came back. Judging by their face, there must be something ahead of them.
"Chief! We found something."
"What is it?"
"A settlement! We found a dunirr settlement!"
The scout's loud voice vibrated through the entire area. His words cause dunirrs to gasp in surprise. The faces of each dunirr lit up with expectation. Simultaneously, they sigh with relief. After such a long time, they finally see the end of their journey.
The same can't be said for Elki.
As much as he wants to jump out for joy, he needs to avoid making any hasty decisions.
"How much is their number?"
This is important.
He doesn't want to blindly march there and ask to settle down. Who in their right mind would allow a stranger into the community?
A sudden increase in population may cause food shortages and resources. The last thing he wants is for his people to be enslaved or treated as second-class inhabitants because of it.
"Around two or three thousand dunirrs." inform the scout. "But chief, I'm pretty sure they are willing to accept us. The bigger the number, the safer, right?"
The scout tries to convince him.
Elki shook his head. "Not necessarily."
"Then..."
"You go and inform them about our arrival. Tell them we're on our way to the north and want to spend a night in their settlement. Later, I'll talk to their chief personally."
This is the best solution Elki can think of for a moment. He will make them think they're just temporarily stopping by. Then, he'll have a conversation with the chief there.
Lena who was listening in silently pulled the hem of his shirt, "Elki, are we not going to settle there?"
"I don't know. We'll see. With our number, it would be lucky if they are willing to hear us out."
Early next morning, Elid's dunirrs march to the settlement after getting approval from the chief there. With hearts full of anticipation, 28 kilometres of distance was covered within a few hours.
At noon, they arrived.
Elki observed the facial reaction of the dunirrs who were waiting for them at the front gate. At least they had a smile on their face and wore a welcoming expressions. It's good to know that they're receiving a positive reaction.
The corner of his eyes caught the farmlands surrounding the village. To him, this village is the closest to the description of the human village he heard before.
"You must be the chief of the Elid Tribe." A seemingly buff old man steps forward and greets Elki.
"Nice to meet you, fellow chief." Elki reached out his hand for a handshake.
"Likewise...I've heard about your request from the scout. We're more than willing to have our fellow dunirrs accompany us. Come! Let's go inside and talk. I am curious why you dunirrs migrate."
Elki followed the village chief inside without much question. Looking at the village, the standard of living here must be several levels higher than Elid.
At the back, Lena and the rest follow him closely. Since Elki wasn't sure about their attitude, he had warned them beforehand to be extra careful all the time. If they find any suspicious aspect of this village, they're required to report it to him immediately.
As for the plan, Elki wants to use the fear of human attack to scare the dunirrs in the village. He plans to make them insecure with their total population. This way, they will feel compelled to increase their number as soon as possible for the sake of survival.
Overall, the conversation is progressing in the way he wanted. The face of the village chief distorted significantly. The eloquent and smooth storytelling with a little exaggeration is all he needs.
Elki was confident to achieve his goal.
But, he was interrupted by someone else.
"Cheif! We're under attack by birds!!"
Both Elki and the village chief turn around the moment they hear the shouts.
"What?! Never before did a bird attack this place!" The village chief grab his bow and rushed outside. Elki, being a guest naturally shows his concern by following them.
He saw was the unbelievable scene outside.
A group of dunirrs riding a bird.
"What the—"