When he arrived in the village, he saw Nizhoni come out of her teepee, signaling for him to come inside. When he went inside the teepee, he saw Chandra laying down on a piece of Mountain Goat fur. "TADA! I made a place here for Chandra and her pups so that they'll be nice and warm while she's nursing them." She said excitedly.
He looks at her and Chuckles. "And I'll bet she's really happy you did this for her and her pups." He said as he gently set down the pet carrier across from Chandra, opened the gate, and gently set each of the pups against her belly so that they could start nursing on her. "I think it's best if she stays here until they're old enough to travel back to the Tonshyu village with her." He said as he stood up.
As he was exiting the teepee with the pet carrier in hand, he felt Nizhoni grab his free hand. "W-Wait, Hopi....D-Do you think we should tell father and your brothers about the dimensions?" She asked shyly.
He looked over his shoulder at her then sadly nodded his head no. "There are very few of us that do know about them or have to learn about them, like you, but it's against the sacred laws if everyone in every dimension knew about them. Who knows what could happen if every single human being knew about other worlds and Soul Mates. So it's best if we keep this just between us for right now." He explained. He exited the teepee looking down in sadness. 'There is still so much we must teach you, Palila, yet there is so little time.' He thought to himself.
"Oh! I almost forgot." When Nizhoni emerged from the teepee, she took off the satchel that was over her shoulders, and held it out to him. "I didn't open it so I don't know what's inside, but I had it on me the whole time." She said.
He looks at her and smiles then puts the satchel back around her shoulders. "Normally with something this important I'd say 'The less you know about it, the better,' but how about this, after I discuss some things with your father, I'll tell you everything about what this is. Alright?" He explained.
"Okay. if you say- H-hey wait a minute! What would you need to talk to my father for? Our trades have been going really well recently and ever since you became the Tonshyu chief, our tribes have been getting along really well. At this rate we might have to start writing up a treaty for us to sign." She said as she looked down in sadness but then looked at him questionably, raising an eyebrow.
"Actually, Nizhoni. That's why I'm here. I think it's time that we had a treaty. This war between our tribes has gone on long enough that even the people in the city are suffering from it. Both my brothers and I agree that it's high time a treaty was made between not just our two tribes, but also with the city's people as well." He began to explain. Once when they saw Nizhoni's father and had explained to him why he was in the Shirai village, the three of them sat down as he continued. "The Shirai provides the city and the Tonshyu with fish for my people to eat and the city to sell, along with the meat the Tonshyu provide them, and your people provide everyone with thick hides from the ocean animals for us to turn them into winter clothes and shoes for our young. While the Tonshyu also provides meat and hides from the animals that live in the mountains, we also provide materials to make weapons out of antlers and bones from those animals."
"And in exchange for the meat and fish we trade with them, they provide our tribes with education and technology for all our young, as well as clothing that they have made. Which is why my daughter is a veterinarian, Nocona, an astronaut, and you, a-....uh-....What are you again exactly?" The Shirai Chief explained. He looked down in thought before he looked at Hopi in confusion.
"He is a Lead Programmer for various local companies, daddy." Nizhoni said.
"Oh! Y-yes that's right, I remember now. Thank you Nizhoni." The Chief said.
As they were talking, two young girls came up to Nizhoni. "Come play with us, Lady Nizhoni!" One little girl said as she grabbed her hand.
"Yeah! Come play with us!" Said the other as she grabbed her other hand.
"I wish I could but father and I are speaking to the Tonshyu Chief right now." She said.
"It's alright Nizhoni, go on with them. There are some things that I need to discuss with your father. I'll come find you once I'm finished here." Hopi said as he smiled.
"Alright, if you're sure." She said. His smile grew as she walked off to play with the young Shirai children.
"Hopi, It's been nineteen years. When will you ask her to court you? Nocona and I have already given you our blessings. I'm not getting any younger, you know." Chief Bidzii said.
"Th-That's actually another reason why I've come to speak with you, Chief Bidzii." He said as he looked back at Nizhoni's father. "This has been my father's idea for as long as I can remember. His Idea was not only to form a treaty between our tribes, but to unite the tribes into one through a marriage between Nizhoni and one of us, meaning my brothers and I. Nashoba is still a little childish and he isn't thinking of marriage, nor dating for that matter. Kitchi is….Something about him doesn't seem right to me. Ever since high school he's changed for the worse. And then there's me who's been in love with her since high school. Possibly even before then." He explained.
"I'm well aware of how Kitchi has been acting as of late and I don't like it. I would feel so much better knowing that you would be the one to marry my daughter. As you know, the Shirai didn't have many children around when she was born, so she never played with anyone that was her age, until you and your brothers came along. Before the three of you came, all she did was walk around the village, singing the songs her mother taught her and followed her big brother around like a baby chick. She was always so happy back then." He explained.
"I haven't heard her sing since before Nocona disappeared. I miss her beautiful singing." Hopi said.
"You know, Hopi, whenever I see the two of you together. I always see a genuine smile on her face as well as yours, and I've been hearing her sing a little whenever she's alone at night. I think you would be the perfect husband for her and the two of you would be perfect for our new, combined tribes." Chief Bidzii said as he smiled.
A couple hours later, Nizhoni was walking back towards her father and Hopi when she heard a familiar voice call out to her. "Hey, Nizho! Long time no see!" The familiar voice said from behind her.
She turns around to see a tall young man with long black hair, pulled back into a ponytail, golden horns on the sides of his head, and large black dragon wings, neatly tucked behind his back. He wore a no sleeve, black, unbuttoned shirt, and jeans. He was barefooted but wore a gold armband around his right arm, above the elbow. He wore a red studded earring on his left ear, matching his blood red eyes. A small fang hanging above his lower lip. "R-Rhin? What are you doing here? I only see you in dreams." She asked.
"That's Prince Rhinarazamat to you!" Said the slightly shorter woman next to him. She wore a stained and tattered gray dress with dirty white feathered wings gently tucked behind her back. Her white horns gently wrapped around her head like a halo but had soft eyes as blue as the Sea.
"It's alright, Serenity. I gave her permission to call me Rhin just as I did for you. She is my Soul Mate after all, just as Hopi is yours." The tall man said.
"You must be Serenity. It's a pleasure to meet you. Hopi has told me so much about you." Nizhoni said as she bowed to her.
"Uhh. Y-yeah! Likewise....umm. So, what has Hopi said about me?" She asked shyly.
"That you were a very pretty angel Dragon that appears poor but your family are famous cooks for the royal family! I told him that you sound like a perfect fit for him." She said.
Rhinarazamat looked at her, then at Serenity, then back at Nizhoni. "Even though she is his Soul Mate, she will never be his soulmate. There are differences between Soul Mates, like the two of us and the two of them, and soulmates, those who are bound together by love no matter what dimension they're in. Meaning, I will never be that kind of soulmate to you and she will never be that kind of soulmate to Hopi." He explained as he looked at her seriously. He then smiles and wraps his arm around Serenity's shoulders, holding her close to him. "That position belongs to me" He said happily.
Serenity blushes a bright red hue across her face before pushing him away from her. "Yeah right! Like that'll ever happen!" She said as she avoided eye contact with him. He chuckles, showing his pearly white fangs.
"I thought the two of you were already betrothed?" Nizhoni asked.
"They act like they are but our white feathered beauty here says otherwise." Nizhoni jumped as they hear Hopi's voice from behind her.
"What took you so long, Hops? We have a lot to discuss. Did you bring the piece?" Rhinarazamat asked as they fistbumped one another.
"Don't worry, your scaleyness, Nizhoni has it safe in its special satchel. We decided that she would be the one to hold onto them. Did we not?" He said as he smiled.
"We did, We're aware. We don't have much time. We have to get going before Lucifer tries another attack." Serenity said.
"I think he'll be preoccupied with the knights for a while. Our royal guard is the strongest in all of Millennia, thanks to my father's teachings." Rhinarazamat said.
"Rhin. What did you mean when you asked him, 'Did you bring the piece?' to Hopi?" Nizhoni asked.
"That's right! I was going to tell you about the puzzle, didn't I." Hopi said as he looked at her and smiled.
She looks at him with a confused look on her face. "Really, Hopi! You haven't even told her about the puzzle pieces yet?!" Serenity asked surprisingly, then sighed.
"H-Hey! Cut me some slack, Sere. There were a lot of important things I needed to discuss with Chief Bidzii before we head out. I didn't have time to tell her everything, yet." He said as he looked at his white winged soul mate.
"Anyway, the four of us are on a mission to collect the pieces of that puzzle. As far as I know there are seven pieces, but Dreemur believes there are many more out there. So far we have two already." Rhin said as he looked at Nizhoni.
"Hey! I was going to explain it to her, Rhin!" Hopi said as he looked at Rhinarazamat like a little kid.
"Relax, Chief. You can tell her the next important piece of info." Rhin said as he smiled, showing his white fangs.
"But there aren't anymore!" Hopi said.
"Yes there is, Hopi. The difference in time when we go from dimension to dimension." Serenity said.
"I've been wondering how time works between dimensions." Nizhoni said as she looked up in thought.
"When we travel between dimensions, time in every one of them is different. For example, Let's say we go to Millennia, which is where Rhin and Serenity are from. It may be Two pm here, but where they're from it may be six pm the next day there. Yet we won't know how little or how much time has passed in that dimension until we get there. Do you understand what I'm getting at, Palila?" Hopi tried to explain.
"I think so." She replied as she nodded her head.
"Another example would be where if we were to leave one dimension to go to another but after leaving that dimension, we would go back to the dimension we were in before but when we return to said dimension, it would look completely different than how it looked when we left. It's possible that to us it may have only been a day or so since we left, yet to them, it's possible that many days, months, or even years have passed since we left." Serenity explained.
"Also, there are many rules we have to follow when traveling between dimensions. I'm pretty sure most of us know what those rules are, right?" Rhin asked as he looked towards Hopi. He glared at the tall Dragonoid before sighing.