Anaya's father would look at his little family in front of him, "Yes, we plan to go very soon. The tribe head has no patience to wait for the snow to come onto the pathway. There is another settlement on the south side of our settlement. The tribe head wants us to head down there and settle for both tribes to grow together. It’ll be a bigger tribe, but we need it. They have such things as tents as well, so it would be best for us to try and learn their ways of living as well, other than a cave.” Brut explained.

“Well… I suppose so. We can’t exactly do much other than to improve our tribe and feed our people. We have our little Ana as well, who needs to grow up big and strong.” Remi worried about how the tribes would work together, but they would surely be able to work it out. “He wants the tribe to leave now?”

“I will have to visit and ask. Will you and Ana be okay?” Brut caresses his wife’s cheek while planting a kiss on her lips.

‘Please!!! You both have a child, for heaven's sake!’ Anaya wanted to leave so badly now. Her parents were acting all lovey-dovey again, and she didn’t want to see any of it. ‘Please, let’s just be on our way!’

After the kiss, Brut smiled and gently patted his daughter’s head. “Daddy will be back. He is going to get some information. When we start traveling, then Daddy will carry you.” Brut smiles before leaving to speak to the tribe head. Remi had herself hugging Anaya tightly. There would be a lot on her mind, but she had to calm down.

“I hope that this travel will do well. It’s hard to get along with another tribe when we can be outsiders and such. Mommy is just worried about our little Ana.” Remi kissed her daughter’s head.

That day, the tribe head had ordered everyone to be on their way and travel together. The decision to travel before the sunset. It was still early that day. Anaya clung to her mother, but she was wrapped up in a sling that her mother took months to make when she had been in that belly, it seems. She doesn’t recall it, though, for the most part.

The winter wind was coming and hitting her face now, which caused her to sneeze due to the cold. Arok stayed close and snug in between Anaya and her mom in the sling.

‘Master, is it really a good idea for the tribe to travel in this kind of weather?’

‘To be all honest, no, it is not a good idea at all to travel in this weather, but since this is just the start of the world, then it is the only way that the tribe can grow. We have to get stronger.’

Speaking to Arok, it was going to be a tough journey, but the good thing was that they had enough materials and thin tents for the tribe's people. ‘Seems like this tribe really does need the necessary stuff for materials and improvement. I wonder how much more advanced the other tribe is compared to us.’

"Brut, is that everyone?” The tribe head was speaking to Brut, his right-hand man.

Brut looks behind him, and he has been counting. He counted over one hundred people. There were some men and women and, of course, children as well. "It seems to be everyone. Did you need me further?"

The tribe head nodded, allowing Brut to return to his wife and daughter's side. Brut did not hesitate to go to his family and urge his wife to let him carry their daughter. "Is the tribe head okay if you come to me?" Remi wanted to be reassured.

"Of course, I am still her father, and I have to do my duties as your husband and bear the burden together." Brut happily said, helping his wife carry and move the baby sling over to him. “How is our little Ana?” He stared down at Anaya, who babbled.

‘What do you think? It is cold!’ Anaya would shout in babble only. Arok just remained still like a little toy and watched the event happen, with Anaya being given tons of kisses. ‘Enough!!! I can’t stand these types of affections!’

The wind came flying through as it strongly blew into everyone’s face, making Anaya sneeze with her shivering. Brut worried, hugging his daughter close to his chest while holding his wife’s hand. “Let us go on. It will take us seven suns to make it to the south where the Kynel Tribe.”

That night, they had found a cave by luck, taking their place there to have themselves warm with a meal. Rations are being given equally enough to preserve and manage well. It was only the first day that had passed, but from what Anaya had learned so far, it was the end of the first sun. There were, thankfully, no conflicts so far in the tribe of D’noll.

The next five days, they would wake up and have their meal. After breakfast, the group would continue to move, finding the river, but at the end of it was a waterfall, and they had no choice but to cross. “Honey, stay close to me.” Brut held his wife’s hand, his daughter still in the baby sling in front of his chest. The water was steady still. Yet, it is still too steady. Brut would keep his eyes out on the flow of the water. His eyes spotted the movement in the water, which he senses highly.

“Aagghh!!!”

A man would shout out as he had been pulled into the water and around in circles. There were traces of blood all in the water that did not hide the death of the man. With the hissing sound, everyone froze in fear, but not one. “Everyone hurry and get to the other side!” Brut shouted he was a hunter, and he knew that this was none other than an anaconda.

Men, women, and children were all taken and rushed to reach the other side of the river as they screamed and panicked. The anaconda had swallowed the prey that it caught before sensing another and had its eyes set on Remi. “Remi, hurry!”

Remi escaped from her frozen trance before she started running to reach the other side of the river. Brut could easily see the anaconda charge at his wife; pulling his axe out, he managed to block the snake from biting him with the clear fangs right in front of him.

'There is something wrong. I keep sensing something!' Anaya could not see what happened, but there was a crack, and she knew that the fang of the anaconda had broken. Wrapped around in the baby sling, she could not escape with such an immobile infant body. The hissing of the snake, it was enraged and knew that it lost a fang. Dark energy escaped around the snake; it was no wonder the snake was so huge. It had been contaminated with the ‘Infection.’

‘You mere humans come into my territory and now break my fang! I will kill you!’

The anaconda was vengeful as it attacked with one fang, which Brut managed to dodge, but the baby sling broke. The splash in the water with Anaya floating down the river to the waterfall no. “Ana!” The baby sling was in a few thick layers that were light enough to let her float down, but the flow of the river had been increasing.

‘Master! This isn’t good! We are going to die!’

Arok was afraid and could see that they were going to drown and hit down the rocky waterfall. Anaya knew that she still did not have a ton of power in her since she was as weak as a little chick. Brut tried to hold the anaconda that wasn’t going to let the human that broke one of its fangs.

Remi ran down, “Ana! Someone, please save my baby!” Remi shouted and kept running to reach her child, who was only reaching further down the waterfall.

Brut shouted in anger, once pushing the anaconda’s mouth back enough before he swung to injure the anaconda on its bottom side of the body, which nearly got cut in half.

‘Damn humans! You won’t see the end of me! You will all pay for this day!’

The anaconda swam and escaped into the river water while Brut got out and ran down to reach past his wife and tried to reach his daughter. “Everyone stop them!” The tribe had ordered his men to stop the two before they jumped down the waterfall to their deaths as well. He would not tolerate losing more of his people.

Anaya was flowing closer and closer to the waterfall. It was almost as if it was her fate to be separated from her family. “No!!!” Remi shouted, being stopped by the men of their tribe as well as Brut.

“What are you doing?! Let me go!” Brut was angered, being pushed down and restrained by his wife. Both parents would be left to watch their daughter go down the waterfall. “Ana!!!”

She closed her eyes, and suddenly, everything became a blur. A very small spark of light came while she was unaware of it. Arok joined his master in closing his eyes, but they hadn’t seen the light that slowly let them float above the water and pass the danger of the rocks at the bottom of the waterfall. She would be left to keep floating down the river.

Remi and Brut were released once they could no longer see their child, who disappeared at the bottom of the waterfall with only the mist covering the entire bottom. “I will not tolerate losing any more people. We must hurry on our way to the Kynel Tribe.” The tribe had no sympathy for the two who lost their daughter.

Remi fell to her knees and cried out while Brut clenched his jaw. Going to hug his wife, both could not bear the feeling of guilt for losing their daughter that day.

***

‘We are alive?’

Anaya could see the late-night stars while still being carried by the river before her bundle baby sling was clamped out of the water by a wolf. The wolf was oddly smart to carry an infant out of the river from where it had been dragged from the current.

‘Master, are we going to be eaten by some wolves?’

Arok asked, looking to see a wolf carry and set Anaya down while sniffing her as if observing the child that it had taken from the waterside. With the red fur and golden eyes, the wolf was rather… motherly towards the infant. It licked Anaya’s cheek before biting the baby sling again and ran deeper into the forest.

‘I don’t think we are being eaten. Let’s wait and see where we go.’

Anaya could only wait and see the results while Arok was still in the chest part of the sling. They didn’t know what awaited them in this tough world, but they needed to survive.

It was only a couple of minutes later when the wolf arrived, and there was more than just one wolf around now. They were in a pack. The wolf that had carried her had set her down before it shifted, and Anaya was shocked to see her creations. ‘They are not the human clan. They are part of the beast clan.’ The sound of bones cackling and breaking would come. The woman was beautiful with her light skin in the night and flaming red hair with golden eyes. The woman carried Anaya and carried her right into the wolf tribe.

A man with black hair and red eyes came rushing up to the woman and hugged her. Anaya could spot those ears on him, but it made her wonder why the woman did not keep hers. “Where did you go?!” He held only concern and worry at the woman before he saw a little green-haired infant in her arms. “Where did you find this human child?” He sniffed, and it was easy to tell that she was a human.

“She was by the river. I do not know if her parents tossed her away like trash, but… I will raise her.” The woman spoke out, and there was a longing and sadness in her voice.

‘Why do you sound so sad?’ Anaya would stare at the crying woman who held her. Her eyes were getting tired; it was time for such a small body to get some rest after the turmoil that day.

***

(The couple who found Anaya)