Mntui opened the door with anger adding to her momentum, yet she stopped almost right away after the first step into the room. She was shocked by the five pair of eyes staring back at her. They were the newborns? The ones like her? It seemed so many. The relatively wast room seemed so small almost claustrophobic with this many people inside.

The guard closed the door behind Mntui who turned around totally it in panic. But why was she so afraid? She didn’t exactly know. There was no reason why would anyone want to harm her here.

“And I thought Neeas here was the loud one” commented a half-long, blonde haired man sitting on the right side of the room. He had quite angular features, well built muscles and at least one scar on every part of his body that could be seen. There was something feral about him. Something that suggested he is quickly angered. Not to mention his eyes that repeatedly shimmered up red then went back to normal blue.

A weird giggling laughter came to answer the comment. Supposedly from the mentioned Neeas.

“Oh, I never mind competition it that matter!” this voice came from a meager man sitting in the middle of the room on a rag. He grimaced in an annoying way. He had beige skin and hay toned messy hair. His beady eyes black as abyss looked at Mntui as if trying to see into her soul. There was no doubt about it, he must have come from a hyena tribe.

“Khesshak!” said suddenly the other more mature looking man sitting on the opposite of the rug. He had black hair. His eyes differed, one of them was pale blue while the other chestnut brown. He gave out an aura calm as meadow stream, yet those asymmetrical eyes were always cautious. He reached out with his oddly long hands to take away few hexagon shaped runes from the rug.

“It’s not fair!” Neeas cried out in an irritatingly high pitched voice. “I wasn’t paying attention!”

“Then it’s clear you should have…” the answer came in a tranquil manner but it was far form rigid or unemotional. Mntui could even see a gentle smile on his face.

“Aagh!” the meager man shouted as he looked on the runes left before them. He swept away the tiles angrily with his hands after understanding he was destined to lose the game. “Cheater!”

“Surely you jest! After all the time I caught you turning the tiles in the wrong direction deliberately.”

“It wasn’t deliberate!” Neeas burst out in a hysterical voice.

“I can understand that you are a sore looser, and I can bare your questionable manner. But don’t expect me to stand you taking me for a fool” the other man narrowed his eyes.

“Fine” the hyena pushed his lips together. “Let’s take a brake. We have something more interesting before us anyway.”

“Just leave her alone, Neeas.”

“Leave her alone?” he looked back at his gaming partner offended. “You are the one to talk about manners, yet you would not even introduce your self to the newcomer?” Neeas walked over to Mntui. “Heya there, beautiful, my name is Neeas from the Spotted Hyenas. Nice meeting you.”

“Emm… Hi. I’m Mntui. I’m… I was from the White Tigers” she looked at the short man doubtfully.

“See? She doesn’t bite!” Neeas looked back to the others but only for a moment. In the next moment he put his arms around Mntui’s shoulders before she could even notice. She got so surprised she forget to offer any objection about the situation. By the time she would the man started speaking again.

“That brooding fellow over there is Ghashek. He comes from some feline tribe.”

“The Emperor Lion, mind you” the mentioned person narrowed his eyes. He could also tolerate the stupid behavior of Neeas to a point. Which point was way shorter in interval than for most of the others. But offending the spirit of the Great Emperor Lion? That was over that point by a longs shot.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Mntui was quick to suspect that Neeas deliberately was mocking the blonde maned person. “My dear opponent in Shak-Ekh, is Re’am. The one and only, hailing from the Painted Steed.” Re’am nodded towards them in a friendly manner upon hearing his name.” That one, over there” Neeas pointed towards the opposite corner of the room not even caring if he was rude or not. “We just call him Hoot-Hoot.”

There was a chubby man sitting with straight back where Neeas pointed. He had ebony skin which reminded Mntui about Taob, but just for a moment. The two of them could not be farther from alike. Hoot-Hoot was smaller, had even lesser hair. And his eyes. His eyes were plain creepy. He just sat there on his bed motionless staring forward with his big, round eyes without blinking. Yet most likely seeing nothing.

“Err… yes, he does that all the time. He is no better than a decorative furniture, an ugly one none the less. He supposedly comes from the Dancing Owls. Some powerful Eye turned him, they say. And he is like that ever since. Well ever since we know him.” Neeas dramatically paused for a moment. Then continued on a chatty voice. “Last but not least” he motioned, or more like dragged Mntui a few steps away and turned her around. “The broken beauty there is Tisha. Supposedly last of the Grey Cranes.” For a yet unknown reason Neeas started to whisper after this. “Rumor is, it was one of her tribesmate that turned herself into a nasty ill-omen after the Highlanders slaughtered the rest.”

“Ill-omen?” Mntui asked in surprise. “It doesn’t happened to be the one on the northern front lines?”

“Yeeeah. That one. The nasty one” he nodded enthusiastically.

Mntui looked at the only other woman in the room. It was one thing that Neeas looked mangy, but Tisha… She was upright fragile. She also sat on her own bed, hugging her knees, and hiding her face. Mntui could only see her thin hands and sandy long hair covering her from prying eyes. She didn’t even look up as they were talking about her. Was she sleeping? Or as unresponsive as the other whom they call Hoot-Hoot, Mntui wondered. Still she found it strange.