PART ONE: THE BUSHLAND

Chapter Six- Unforgivable Taboo

Sisi left the shaman’s dwelling on a mission. She knew exactly what she had to do. She was going to save the tribe. She would bring good news to the people, in the aftermath of such tragedy. She would marry, and take her place as High Priestess, clearing the way for a new Queen Chieftain to find her calling… to find her way to Orion.

She walked with a purpose to her own tent, with the love potion in hand. She was going to prepare for the sacred courting ceremony that only the royal family knew. She had been trained in the high mystic arts of the chieftain family by Wiseherder, passed down through generations of her kin from time immemorial. She would gather incense, precious stones, sacred oils, and prepare a special meal, cooked in the stock of the potion.

When she arrived home, she quickly found the necessary items. She made a fire out front, and poured two-thirds of the potion into a river clay cooking pot. She set it over the fire. Sisi went around back and retrieved a Ground Fowl she had caught and killed earlier. She had cleaned the bird and hung it from a bark fiber, attached to a tree and strung across the back of her tent, to make a taut string. The bird had dried in the sun. She had smothered a poultice all over the bird of cloves, for spice and to keep the scent from scavengers.

When the fire subsided, Sisi placed the fowl into the pot and covered it to slow boil, while she prepared for the ceremony. She went inside and got dressed in her mother’s Gown of the Love Goddess, Lief. She twirled in the beautiful flowing dress. It was ancient and made from a thousand flax seeds. The dress had so many colors, some of which the tribe no longer possessed the ability to produce: vibrant purples and pinks, sky blue, yellow and ruby red that had never faded through the generations. The dress was only worn once in a generation and never washed, but for a small spot, here and there. Sisi truly embodied the Goddess.

She began applying her ceremonial makeup. It had to perfectly match Lief’s every feature, depicted in the full color wooden idol on Wiseherder’s mastercraft alter. She had created an illustration with ochre crayons on a piece of stretched swifthorn hide for reference. The process would take over a tenth of a day. She had get it done before the sacred meal was finished absorbing its enchanted broth.

After a laborious adornment, completed with adhering stones to her forehead, brow and nose, Sisi said the spell of constitution to Lief, and gulped the final third of the love potion. She gazed into her reflective water bowl one final time and felt satisfied. In fact, she felt blessed and closer to her mother than any time since her death. She remembered her ill parents heading off into the sands of time, never to return. But now was no time for tears; not after all that work. She laughed, and thought back on all the wonderful times when her family was whole. She thought now of her poor brother, who had yet to be found after the ceremony. She felt compelled to search for him…

Abruptly, she began to feel the powerful effects of the potion. She remembered now that she had a purpose in front of her. She would only have a limited time to channel Lief. Orion would be fine. He always was. He was strong. He was a survivor, just like her. This was the most important day of her young life. She had precious little time to waste. It was time to make her way to Hara’s tent, across the village.

CRASH!!!

There wash a loud noise out front, and the scurrying of feet. Sisi darted outside. Her pot had been knocked over and somebody or something had snatched the ground fowl! The bird was still extremely hot. No human could have held it in their hands. It must have been one of those damned Spotted Mustelids. They were such crafty little thieves. It probably grabbed the bird in its mouth, after it knocked over the pot.

The was a trail of juice leading off into the brush. Beyond the sandy encampment, she would be able to follow its tracks through the muddy bushland. A heavy rain had followed the ceremony. Sisi had slept through the storm, but could still smell the rain and see the steamy mist evaporating from the leaves. She was determined and had heightened senses from the magical brew. This was her day. She stripped off the ceremonial dress and tossed it back into her tent. She darted, naked into the brush to track down that scoundrel mustelid.

It wasn’t long before she found the tracks, but they were… human… who could of handled such a hot bird in their hands? It would certainly have scalded their palms and fingers. Surely the thief was starving. But if they ate the fowl, Sisi’s ceremony would be ruined, the draught wasted, and the time to make new one could take over a full solar cycle. Who knows if the acolytes would ever even find an elusive unicorn again.

Sisi was suddenly alarmed, realizing the footprints were large and deep in the mud. The thief was a heavy, full sized male: hungry and dangerous. She slowed her pace and approached carefully, listening and looking for clues of the bandit.

Chances were, it was a stranger from a neighboring tribe who had gotten lost and abandoned. The person must have been desperate. Judging from the heavy footprints, it was a large man, probably the size of Big Moja. Suddenly, she heard a rustling in the bushes nearby, then the plop of a body falling into the mud. She cautiously advanced.

Not far away, she could see the shape of a man, not quite as large as Moja, clearly eating the enchanted ground fowl. He was ravenously tearing into it, making animalistic noises as he ate at a feverous pace. There was no chance to recover the bird now. The ceremony was off. Sisi’s eyes narrowed. She quietly picked up a sizeable branch from the ground. She squatted and quickly sharpened its tip with a shard of stone. She surveyed the ground for more weaponry, and soon found a shorter, thicker stick to wield in her left hand as a bludgeon.

Sisi moved a few paces closer to the thief, raised her right arm, closed her left eye, took aim, and launched the wooden spear at the man with all her might. It stuck into his shoulder and he screamed in pain, as blood spurted out from the impact. Sisi closed in on him with her club in hand. The man sounded pathetic as he moaned in pain. He dropped the shoddy remnants of her ceremonial meal into the mud, and looked up at her, as she raised both arms to crush his skull.

Suddenly, as their eyes met, familiarity crept in. It was… Orion? No! It couldn’t be! He looked nothing like Orion. He was deranged and grimy. It was him… how could this have happened to her brother? How could it have happened so quickly to the Chief? He was a god. He was the most powerful man alive. He looked weak and scared: vulnerable… so… mortal.

He raised his hands in defense and fear of the coming blow. She dropped the stick in shock. Her jaw dropped too. He recognized her and began to cry. She fell to her knees in tears and pulled the spear from his arm. They embraced.

“I’m so sorry, Orion. I didn’t know.”

“I’m sorry too… I… I had no food… I didn’t think you would mind… I…”

“Stop. It’s ok. You’re gonna be… ok… I love you.”

“I… I love you too… I feel strange… you look different… you’re… naked!”

He laughed, and Sisi came to the sudden realization that she was completely naked. She blushed and hung her head. He smiled, “It’s ok.” He laughed again. They sat and embraced. The magic from the shaman was powerful. The bleeding also took its toll on the warrior, who had been strung out in the wilderness since the death of Bibiji. He had also returned from a grueling hunt only two moons earlier. He began to see Bibiji in his sister. He was haunted and enchanted at the same time.

Orion sobbed in Sisi’s breasts. She was also intoxicated with the potion. She wanted to console him, and felt terrible for nearly killing him and severely injuring his shoulder. He looked up at her with glassy, far away eyes. He seemed confused and spooked. He had a wound on his ankle.

“What’s that?” She pointed to his ankle.

“I was bitten by a black serpent. I think I’ve been poisoned… I feel dizzy.”

Sisi bent down and squeezed the wound. Green ooze gushed out. Orion winced in pain. She sucked out the last bit of venom and spit it out. It was a strong and bitter toxin. Orion took a deep breath, and stared up at her with a worried look.

“I’m so sorry… please forgive me… don’t… don’t haunt me anymore…”

“What? What are you talking about, Orion?”

“Bibiji… I…” He dropped his head.

“No, Orion, No! It’s me, Sisi, your sister…”

“If only I woke up sooner… I could have chased away those mooncats… those white devils!!!”

“Orion, there was nothing you could do.”

“I should have never told that story… it was evil… I brought evil upon our tribe for the sake of a fireside ghost story… now you are my ghost… I am a ghost…” He seemed to lose his color. They both were dizzy and exhausted.

“No, Orion, you are a god! You are the most powerful man who has ever been. You are our beloved chief. Don’t you know how much we all love you? How much we… need you? How much I…”

“Bibji, I was going to make you my queen chieftain. Now I have nothing to live for” He fell into pale despair. Sisi felt the effects of the potion, mixed with her ceremonial embodiment of Bibiji at the funeral. Something overcame her. If Orion needed to speak with Bibiji one last time to make peace, Sisi reasoned that she could… she would be the vessel. She would make the sacrifice to save her brother’s soul. Bibji came down instantly, like a flash of light. Sisi’s head jolted back and her eyes rolled into her brow, as Bibiji channeled through her, once again. She could feel her inside of her own skin. She was possessed with the spirit, yet again.

After that, all went white. There was no recollection from either sibling. They both awoke to Wiseherder beating at them and yelling, “Get up!!! What have you done???”

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