In the human village where Mahara and Teunie were heading, lived Isa, Mahara's sister. She had a human husband and two children. Just like Mahara she was a descendant of the executioner, she was a hybrid.
Inside Isa's body, embedded in every cell of her body, was technology that she brought with her from the underground city. This technology allowed her to have a long life, but did not prevent aging, which was extremely slow.
Isa had gone out with her children to sunbathe in an area far from the human village. There the vegetation was scarce and the sun was punishing. The village's residents, accustomed to abundant native vegetation and a pleasant climate, did not frequent that inhospitable land.
There in that place, away from the eyes of humans, they could maintain a hybrid bodily form between panther and human without anyone observing them. While they were enjoying the day having fun, Isa wore equipment on her body that was charged by absorbing sunlight.
The equipment nourished the technology implanted in his cells, thus guaranteeing his immortality. This charge had to be done from time to time and was made up of a golden metallic fabric that stuck to the skin of almost the entire body, including the head. The energetic heart of this device was just above his chest in an energy bubble.
The day passed distractedly and with fun. Henrique was also transmuted into hybrid form. In this transmuted form he liked to wear golden ornaments stuck to the skin of his neck and head. He found the cave in which they usually came to take refuge when the heat became too strong or on rainy days. He found there a metal vessel that his mother had searched for a lot in the hut where they lived in the village. Apparently, they had forgotten that kitchen equipment there the last time they came.
Afonso, who was also transmuted, went to a waterfall he knew to bathe in its waters. He liked to wear a golden helmet, but whenever he went diving in the natural pool formed by the waterfall he had to remove it.
After spending the day having fun and before night arrived, they returned to the village already transmuted into humans. Isa still had to prepare dinner for her husband who would arrive at dusk. That night, Alípio, her husband, went to bed early. The mother and two children went to the front of the hut to chat and greet people they knew who were passing by on the street. Eventually they had a brief conversation with some of them. They were his neighbors, besides, the village was small and everyone knew each other. It was very common for someone to stop and start a conversation.
A strong wind coming from the north brought a smell familiar to Isa but unknown to the two children. Afonso and Henrique were on alert; They almost transmuted their teeth into roaring claws, but the inhibitory brakes that their mother imposed on them since they were children made them regress. They looked worriedly at Isa.
– Relax. – Isa said. – It's just my brother Mahara coming to visit us. What a pleasant surprise!
Despite the torrential waters that had fallen, the forest was teeming with life, it seemed that nothing was capable of interrupting the daily lives of birds, insects, creeping animals and plants. A red-headed monkey jumped among the branches looking for fruit, a white spider emitted a loud song. Teunie stepped over a black brauna that was lying on the ground to avoid a nest of red ants. She found Mahara just ahead and hugged him.
They enjoyed each other's company, but Teunie's immaturity sometimes irritated Mahara, however old age brought her wisdom and understanding and that was patience and tolerance. During the night they camped. They traveled during the day.
After two months they were arriving in the village of São Paulo. They saw her from afar. They pitched a tent and lit a lamp. Teunie forgot the entrance to the tent was open and the night insects entered and began to surround the lamp. Mahara closed the entrance. She transmuted her face into a feline face. She sucked in the air voraciously, absorbing the insects that were around the lamp, chewing them and spitting them out. She returned her face to human form. Teunie, who was watching him, just grumbled.
– Hmm...
– I can smell Isa. – Said Mahara. – She must have noticed ours too. We're going to camp here this afternoon. At night we will rest. We will go to the village in the morning. Strange...
– What?
– I don't smell my sister Noa and my brothers Aiden and Egmond and also Arenda and there are two more werepanthers in the village. Could they be my nephews?
– Who is Arenda? He never told me about her.
– A very dear friend of Isa.
Mahara told what she knew about Arenda. Then they were silent. Teunie stretched.
– Why don't you leave your syrup transmuted. I like your syrup. – Said Teunie, lying down and smoothing Mahara's leg with his foot.
– Since you prefer it that way. – Mahara allowed her long tail to grow and displayed it in the air abundantly. – In the underground, sometimes we take human form and leave the syrup... Hmm...
– What it was?
– Whenever I leave the underground my mind feels cloudy, as if something is missing. Something I should remember, but can't bring to mind. It's as if you forgot a lot when you left there.
The next morning they woke up in a good mood. Mahara still maintained her temper. It was to Teunie's taste and that pleased him too. He sniffed the air and strained his ears. There was a waterfall nearby.
– I can hear the sound of a waterfall to the east.
– And what are we waiting for?
They took off their clothes and ran naked through the woods. Whenever Mahara overtook him in the race, Teunie grabbed him by the tail, pulling him back, slowing him down. Mahara got angry and in one of the pulls he jumped on top of him with a roar. They fought and laughed. They started running again. Soon they saw the waterfall. They delighted in its waters. They had fun and returned to camp.
They dismantled everything and headed towards the village. Teunie slapped Mahara on the buttocks and he released the syrup with a grumble. He really would rather leave her.
They arrived. They entered through its dirt streets. Residences made of stone and with large reinforced wooden windows were only on the left side. From the right it was just scrubland.
A smell of dog feces was present in the air. Everywhere they could be seen competing with the feces of horses, cattle and other animals that could not be identified. You had to be careful when walking so as not to step on any "poca".
The walls of the houses were painted white, but time and neglect gave them a tired and worn appearance. The sun was burning. The heat was intense. They passed in front of the town hall. There, several passers-by, like slaves carrying goods, masters in their pompous costumes and the simple man, followed their daily course.
They walked a little further and arrived at a simple-looking but well-structured house. There were two large windows and a door all made of aged wood. Under one of the windows, the plaster on the wall was no longer there. In front of the house, five feet away from the wall, a twenty-centimeter-high stone wall with some stones missing seemed to be there uselessly. They arrived in front of the door.
Isa was at the back of the house outside. She had gone to leave a vessel with warm water full of red flowers for infusion on a stone tank; she intended to make tea. She was transmuted into a hybrid form between human and panther, wearing a golden helmet with horns and clothing lighter than the heavy European clothes. But she only had the luxury of this configuration of body and clothing when her husband was not at home and only in the privacy of her residence where she was not exposed to the human neighborhood; Sometimes she let her tail grow, sometimes she didn't.
Upon noticing the smell of his brother approaching the house, he transmuted into human form. She went to his room and changed her clothes. Then he went into the kitchen, put out the fire he had left and quickly tidied up some objects that were out of place.
Sensing that his brother was already at the door, he went to the entrance room and opened the door before they could clap to get the residents' attention.
The door opened. Isa appeared.
– Mahara! – Isa gave him an affectionate hug. And he invited them in.
As soon as he walked through the front door, Mahara saw two young men sitting. One was next to a window, the other inside a storage room. The one next to the window was Henrique. He had straight brown hair. The other was Afonso with straight, dark hair. Behind Afonso there was a straw doll that some farmer was preparing to serve as a scarecrow.
The two brothers couldn't wait to meet their relatives, but the one who should initially do the honors at the reception was their mother Isa. So they sat there waiting impatiently.
Teunie entered right behind Mahara.
They observed the room. There was an aged chandelier on the ceiling with a few lit candles. Four life-size dolls hung on the walls. Three were male and one female. He remembered that in the Dutch village his sister had discovered the art of sewing by going to work in the house of some seamstresses. Was she using these dolls as mannequins to test the clothes of clients she sewed for? In due course, she would question Isa about this matter. There was also an old rosewood table around which rested a single chair whose back was missing a piece.
– This is Teunie. – he introduced Isa.
The two boys who were sitting got up and approached the visitors.
– We were already expecting them. We smelled them last night. – Isa said, spreading an embroidered tablecloth on the table and signaling for her children to bring more chairs.
Mahara sniffed the room. Four odors emanated from the house. Three hybrids and one human. She recognized the human scent. She had noticed him while passing through the village street.
– I smell your husband. He's miles away. Will he linger?
– He only returns at night. These are Afonso and Henrique.
The two boys did not hide their enthusiasm, but remained reserved in respect. Your mother should be the first to talk to visitors.
– I didn't smell our brothers and sister. What happened to them?
Isa asked him a question with her gaze. She found it strange that Mahara spoke so freely in front of a human.
– Teunie is my companion. She knows everything about us. Many things have happened in Gehucht recently.
– So it is true! Gehucht exists. – Henrique couldn't stand it, trampling on his mother's conversation, who signaled him to be silent.
– I no longer feel the executioner's energy in you, so... What happened? And because he brings the poncho with his belongings. I can feel it.
– I had a son, Isa. Amber is his name, the legacy was passed on to him.
– You had a son... Has it been that long since we left Gehucht?... But what am I saying?... I had two!
– Where are our brothers and sister?
– Noa married a Portuguese man who served the crown. She left with him two months ago through the port of Santos. She went to Portugal.
– Did she have children?
– No, not yet...
Isa understood the reason for Mahara's visit. She got up. He walked around the table in distress. His black eyes in human form turned green. She nervously lit the fire. Her disorder was visible. She removed the scarf she was wearing around her neck, pulled her blouse from inside her skirt, removing it from her body, leaving only the blouse underneath. It seemed that her body was filling with heat and she needed to cool off by removing some pieces of clothing so as not to lose the heat. self control. She angrily attacked her children.