By the time Caio woke up, it was already morning.
He could hear the village hard at work, with the shouts of women and the laughs of children.
Weird… I thought that someone would come wake me up, like yesterday.
Aruá was still tucked against him, sleeping peacefully. The light that filtered into the hut through the doorway and the cracks on the wall let him fully appreciate the view of her naked body.
Well, maybe they let us sleep a bit more because of the ritual?
The memory of the loud sounds they made during the night made him blush uncontrollably. The thought of having to face everyone knowing that they heard it all and that they knew exactly what he did was enough for him to not want to leave the house for the whole day.
"Kai-o. Good morning."
He looked at her face. Despite having just woken up and being disheveled, her sleepy face was pretty as a soft dream.
"Good morning, Aruá. Did you sleep well? Are you feeling good?"
She smiled and nodded, still a bit drowsy.
"Yes. Very good. I'm very happy. And you?"
"I'm happy too."
Aruá suddenly raised her head and listened with attention.
"What's it?"
She put a finger on his lips and kept listening. After some time, she relaxed.
"The river sings new melody. Soft. Warm."
As if something clicked inside her head, her hand went slowly to her belly.
"Maybe it's from… last night?"
She asked, half a question, half an affirmation.
So she's receiving the notification as well, in the way the Yarikari's HUD works, through the river's sounds.
"Yeah. Maybe it is."
For the first time since awakening, Aruá's cheeks reddened. She moved away, her eyes scanning the room for clothes to put on.
Seeing the way that she reacted after the memories of what they did last night hit her, Caio couldn't help but chuckle.
Maybe… just maybe… I can be happy in this world?
***
Right after both Aruá and Caio wore their clothes, they heard footsteps on the platform outside.
"Caio, Aruá. Are you awake?"
He recognized the voice. It was Pita, the head of the Blue-Silt, but Aruá spoke before he could answer.
"Yes. Come in."
Pita entered the hut, a bit breathless.
"Come, you both need to see this."
Caio and Aruá exchanged looks, and they both followed her outside.
They went by boat to where the gardens were located. Several canoes transported all the members of the Circle of Reeds and some warriors, besides the two of them.
In front of them, near the river's edge, was a garden of cultivated cassava and some fruits. Caio saw what Pita meant just by looking, as the corrupted patches were nowhere to be seen. In fact, the whole garden felt very healthy.
"They healed in the night. And they grew like the river fed them twice over."
He felt a small hand taking his. When he glanced to the side, he saw Aruá looking at him like a happy puppy.
But a notification popped in his vision, ruining the moment.
[Hearth Trait: HEARTH OF CLAY — Crop Stability +15% (Applied)]
He exhaled slowly.
I've seen those kind of notifications for half of my life… and now for the first time I see what they mean in real life.
Only then did he notice that everyone was staring at him in silence.
He blushed, then coughed and tried to break the awkward silence.
"It seems that the ritual worked after all…"
***
By mid-morning, the news had spread through the village like wildfire. He had planned to continue doing the bookkeeping activities, but glances and whispers followed him everywhere he went, making him very uncomfortable.
"Aruá shone last night."
"He came through the river's voice."
"It's a blessing…"
"He will unmake the Houses."
"Aruá had him first. Who gets the next turn?"
"The sounds they made were so good…"
"If anyone tries to make a move before Jara does, she'll claw whoever it is."
"Crops changed, he saved us."
"The river song trembles. He's not harmless."
"Can he really make any of us have children?"
Even the children were looking at him with renewed curiosity and gossiping amongst themselves.
***
Far from all the commotion and gossip, Maivira sat on a tall stool with her back perfectly straight. Her staff rested against the hut's wall as she munched on a pink jambo fruit.
Soon, a girl entered the hut, carrying a gourd of brewed herbs.
"For your morning drink, Stream-Flower."
Maivira took the gourd but didn't even look at it before snapping at the girl.
"Yaviri, you made it weak. You do this every day. Are you trying to shrink the life inside me?"
Yaviri, who looked like she was no older than 14, froze, trembling.
"N-no, Maivira. I-I only-"
Maivira raised a hand, dismissing her.
"Leave."
The girl hurried outside, leaving only silence and a very conflicted Stream-Flower behind her.
After some time, Maivira's voice sounded in the room.
"The river cannot choose another. It cannot."
***
Caio's self-imposed refuge inside his house was short-lived, as Suma soon came to fetch him.
"You. Come."
Before he could ask anything, she seized his wrist with a grip that left no margin for arguments. She pulled him towards the training platform while speaking.
"When beasts and other tribes hear we have a man, they will come. The moment they smell you, they will come. You must not die like easy prey."
He tried to protest, but her logic had no holes. He needed to become stronger. Though he was a strategist above anything else, he wasn't the kind of guy to let the women fight and die for him while he stayed at home.
"Oh, is Suma making a move on h- Hya!"
A random girl was about to gossip about the scene, but Suma's gaze at her killed the gossip before she could finish the phrase.
Thanks, Suma. This is getting too unhinged.
Before they began, Caio decided to check Suma's ledger entry just in case.
SUMA BROKEN-BRANCH – BOND: NONE (RESPECT 14 → 41 / DISTRUST 21 → 3 / DESIRE 0)
Linked Aspect Hints: Guardianship / Spears / Fear of Stillwater
Personal Skill Potential: UNKNOWN – Requires: Shared Combat
Oh… it seems that what happened overnight changed her vision of me, but it didn't affect her desire. Maybe there are other factors at play?
He shelved the information to check later and focused on the spear that was flying sideways at him, catching it in the air. Training was about to begin.
The platform rocked gently underfoot as Suma demonstrated a wide stance. Caio tried to copy, but he kept placing weight in the wrong place, and the wood beneath him shifted, making him stumble.
Suma swept his leg, sending him to the floor with a splash of pain and dignity.
"Again."
He got up, wincing.
Sweat had already gathered at the back of his neck.
This time she pressed her hands onto his shoulders to adjust the angle. Her palms were warm and calloused. Her thigh braced against his own as she kicked his stance wider.
"You think too much. Body slow when head noisy."
"Sorry for having a noisy head."
Suma grunted and flipped his wrist into the proper grip. Sweat dripped down her collarbone, catching light. She didn't seem to notice the increasing flush on his face at all.
He blocked her next strike, but just barely. Her eyebrows rose a fraction, in appreciation.
"…not terrible."
Caio allowed himself a tiny spark of pride. It died instantly when she swept him a second time.
He groaned into the platform boards.
"Much to learn. But you learn faster than I thought."
He spat a reed fiber out of his mouth.
"Thanks, I think?"
A bit further behind them, on the Dawn-Eels platforms, Aruá had paused her task of grinding medicinal leaves to watch and was giggling, hiding her mouth with the hand stained with medicine.
He sat back to catch his breath, chest rising and falling. Sweat clung to his skin. His lungs burned pleasantly. Suma paced nearby, rolling her shoulders and staring at him as if expecting a predator to leap out at any moment.
Before either of them could speak again, a splash sounded behind them.
Jara emerged from the river like she had been sculpted by it - water streaming down her skin, hair sticking to her back in dark, gleaming sheets. She climbed onto the platform without asking permission, shaking her head like a playful otter, droplets flying everywhere.
Suma stiffened, but Jara ignored her completely. Her eyes found Caio's bruised elbows and reddened shoulders.
"You fall beautifully."
Her playful declaration shattered the seriousness of the drills for a moment.
"I… don't… thank you?"
Jara giggled, then stepped closer to him while talking to Suma.
"Let me help with the training, I have some hand experience."
Suma mumbled something under her breath but didn't refuse.
They spent the next hours training his basic posture, his grip of the spear, and the basic forms and feints.
Every time, Jara's body touched him a bit too much and lingered a bit longer than it needed. But Caio was oblivious to it, as he was taking the training seriously. That obliviousness was driving Jara to make even bolder moves, to the amusement of the onlookers, when suddenly Caio froze in place.
He heard a familiar 'ping' in his head. It was different from the normal 'ping' of notifications or the 'ping' that preceded the Overseer's voice. It was the notification sound of an enemy in sight.
He opened the minimap in his mind, without saying anything. As he suspected, there was a red dot right at the edge of the territory that his minimap was able to show.
"What is it?"
Suma and Jara noticed his reaction and also stopped their movements.
"I don't know, but… there's something moving out there."
Suma's eyes narrowed.
"Something? Do not hide danger from warriors."
He shook his head, trying to find how to explain it in terms they could understand.
"I won't. It's just… I heard a note, in my head. There's something not friendly… In that direction."
He checked the map before pointing to make sure he would point in the right direction. He could see a low hill there, a bit far from the river.
Jara's gaze followed where he was pointing and nodded.
"Wanna see what it is? It's probably on the edge, if it's far away."
"The edge?"
She nodded again.
"Where the river stops listening. Danger area."
Suma shook her head vehemently.
"Jara, do not-"
The head of the Moonfish raised a hand lazily, cutting her off.
"I know the paths better than anyone. He wants to see boundaries, I take him."
The two House heads locked their gaze, proverbial daggers flying between them. Caio gazed at one and the other and then at Aruá, who was still doing her tasks but listening in, before speaking.
"I want to see. I need to understand what's coming."
Jara's grin became elated.
"Then come, before the day grows thick."