So Glassere became a member of the tribe, in fact he soon became a monk of the temple – much quicker than I had. He was popular with everyone, and he brought in a lot of food, mostly fish. He had a small boat and he would take it out and catch fish, bolstering his story of being a simple fisherman. His brother Kvit soon joined him on the island, also dyed black. They looked almost like twins, but Kvit was quieter, retiring. I've hardly ever heard him speak.
Glassere could read and write, and soon Amber asked him to study to become a priest.
There were plenty of other arrivals on the island in this period. One that stands out is a human woman with a cat's ears and tail, some kind of a hybrid. She was a delicate little thing with striking red hair, her name was Kidd. She wore this enormous sword strapped to her back, I don't think she could have drawn it, let alone wielded it. She used to visit the island from another place, sailing her little boat. We used to spend her visits laughing and giggling and gossiping on the Temple steps.
Someone less like a warrior would be hard to imagine, so why she carried the sword is a mystery. Maybe she thought it would keep her out of trouble? Kidd's main claim to fame is that she introduced Novaku to the island. He was a red and black fox, he joined the scouts. I didn't have very much to do with him at this time as he mostly stayed on the military side. Later though, he would become important.
Written down like this it may seem that my life was a constant stream of terribble, frightening, and violent events. In fact it was often quiet and peaceful, even boring. I never sought out danger, and whenever there was an attack or a fight I would run away and hide. Meanwhile my babies grew in my belly and the weather got colder.
*
One day I was grazing on the plain near the temple when I looked up to find a couple of furs watching me. I got up, brushed the grass off the skirts of my sack dress and greeted them with a smile. “Blessings and Peace. My name is Fawn.” They were strangers, a tiger and a bear.
The male grinned at me. He as the tiger, dressed in a white tunic, expensive looking sword prominent. “Greetings, Fawn,” he purred. “My name is David, but you can call me Brisbane. This is my sister, Ursa. Tell me, is this the island they call Sanctuary?”
I smiled at the female, and she gave me a guarded smile in return. She was smaller then, thinner, and she wasn't wearing the long ladylike skirts she chooses today. Instead she wore a simple working woman's tunic not much finer than my own sack.
“Yes, this is sanctuary. I'm a temple maiden here. May I offer you a meal? Do you need somewhere to stay?”
The male spoke for them both. “We are looking for somewhere,” he said. “My sister and I have been travelling for some time.”
I looked between them. Tiger. Bear. Bear. Tiger. An unusual sort of family. I nodded towards the temple. “My own family is just as diverse, I suppose. We have a hoses, Typhoon, a panther, Brother Glassere, a satyr, foxes, felines, and me!”
Brisbane glanced up towards the building. “You are, pacifists, are you not?” His paw strayed towards his sword and stroked the hilt.
“Yes, we celebrate peace in the name of the Great Mother. Peace is sacred to us.” I was not sure I'd exactly call us pacifists, however, so I tried to clarify: “I'm a pacifist, I don't carry a weapon. Right Intention is to do no harm to anybody, to have good will and compassion for all.”
“Noble words,” he said, a sceptical note in his voice. “Noble. But how practical?”
“Brother,” Ursa murmured. “Everyone is entitled to their beliefs.”
“We need somewhere to stay,” he said, more to her than to me. “Somewhere safe. There may be people looking for us. A bunch of pacifist back-to-nature nuts are going to be no protection at all. We need to find people who are strong.”
I looked down at my hooves and breathed in and out. I wasn't sure that I would call myself a pacifist back to nature nut, but the accusation was hard to deny.
“Brother, there is no need to be rude to this kind lady.”
“Ahem, I'm sorry.”
I looked up and smiled at them gently, nodding. “Rudeness should certainly be saved for when there is a need,” I said. “Or else one day you might really need to be rude and find you have none left?”
The tiger looked at me with wide eyed for a moment, then he laughed. “None left? Hahahahahaha!”
“Please don't worry,” Ursa said smoothly. “My brother always has plenty of rudeness left.”
“Females. Hrrmph. So what about the other lot? Are they nature freaks too?”
“You mean the pirates? The border is to the south, you will see a line of stone posts. I never go across it myself as they take slaves. Certainly they are not nature freaks.”
“Possible, then, what do you think?” he asked the bear.
“Possible, brother.”
“They welcome fighters,” I said. “But please be careful. They are not... gentle people.”
David laughed. “We are not gentle people either, and we can look after ourselves.” His sister nodded, her expression grim. "But I thank you for your caution."
They moved off in the direction of the border. It was an odd encounter, but no odder than many others I had in that time.
