The night was far from young. Tiber and Mika had been tied up for hours sitting in a tent far away from the rest of the Jungle Tribe. She feared their Chief would alert her tribe and send her back. She decided that she would rather die than face that fate. Struggling against the vines was no use. The man obviously had a powerful mastery of his Element to hold such a grip even when he was not physically present.

As Tiber thought of this, the tent's flap moved, and the man who entangled her walked in alone. He had a damp cloth in his hand. In one motion, he wiped the blue and green paint from the left side of his and then the right side. His teal eyes were piercing and gentle, both at the same. His skin was a deep brown shade, and his short wavy hair was several shades darker. He sat across the room away from her, "So, just what are you doing venturing into my territory?"

"It's a long and miserable story," Tiber's voice shook.

"Well, how about this: I will release a vine every twenty minutes?"

"The only thing I care about right now is not being sent back to my tribe."

"Do you fear for your life?"

Tiber nodded.

"Start talking," he demanded.

"I was working for Neptune, and a mission got really messed up. I captured the seer and made an honest mistake that almost killed her. My partner is also working for Neptune, and he betrayed me. He was fine with the seer dying, and I wanted to save her. We fought, and the girl freed herself and fought us. She was this powerful Storm, and we were no match for her. She knocked us out. I woke up, and several of my other tribesmen had been attacked too. My father, who is Chief, was Chief, held a council. I lied to everyone because I didn't want them to know I was with Neptune. But the crazy thing is that my partner lied too, but he mixed it with some truth. The whole problem fell on me, and I got locked up to await my punishment. I escaped to have a one-on-one with my father, but someone had killed him when I got there. He gave me one last message and told me to go. Then my partner walked in and blamed me for killing my father. The tribe believed him, and they shot my cat. We fell into the river, and we hid in the Jungle."

"Why can't you go back and tell them the truth? You must have at least one Moonsayer for them to determine that you lied and your partner didn't."

"We do, but they may kill me first because of my father's death, and I have no protection. The only thing I can do now is get the seer to clear my name," Tiber was frantic.

All of the vines that bound her were immediately released. "What? You believe me, just like that?"

"I could tell you were telling the truth," he replied.

"That's impossible. Moonsayers are unique to my tribe," Tiber was shocked.

"Wrong, Moonsayers are gifted to Waterbearers only. Just like Seers are gifted to Windmasters only. Your tribe operates on many myths and superstitions, which I believe have allowed you to fall to the Worldly Order. In the Jungle Tribe, we are firm believers in the Universe. I am a Moonsayer, and I am also the Chief of this Tribe. I will allow you to stay here and help you work out your delicate situation under several conditions.

Tiber groaned as she was untying Mika, "What conditions?"

"First, you will have to work hard like everyone else and pay for what you need. You're not staying for free. Second, I want all of your leads on Neptune."

"Why, what business do you have with him?"

"I want his head. He murdered my father after he did not give Neptune control of our tribe."

"You want to avenge your father too? I'll agree to your conditions. However, I have one ally in my tribe helping me out, but we can only meet every two weeks. I agreed to work with Neptune because he promised to cleanse our tribe of the Moon curse, my sister is pregnant, and I don't want her to die. I want to make sure she's safe."

"Alright, you will have to stay in this tent away from everyone. You don't believe as we do, so I can't mix you in like that."

"Cove, I was not raised to believe in the Universe, but life is showing me the error in that way. Please give me time to give the Universe a try. I want to believe. Differently, I want to be different. Give me a chance," Tiber pleaded with the young Chief.

"They'll need a form of payment now," Cove extended his hand.

Tiber reached into her bag and gave him her locks of hair, "Hair off my head, plenty of it."

Cove inspected its length and quality. "Alright, this should be able to pay for a tent and some new clothes. Give me a while, and I'll be back." Cove left Tiber and Mika in the isolated tent by themselves. The panther purred after being freed from the vine entanglement.

"I told you we would be starting over. Mika, here's my chance to transform into a better person. I just hope that I can clear my name. I don't want my tribe to think I'm a murderer when I know I'm not. I still don't even know what to think about my father's last words to me. Just how much did he know? Did he know about Neptune and his plans for our tribe? Did he know that I was working with Neptune? Mika, I'm scared that father's last thoughts of me may be marred with my mistakes," Tiber began to sob into the soft jet black pelt. She heard footsteps and quickly wiped her eyes dry. As the tent flap opened, she saw the girl from earlier with two plates of food.

"Eat up, now," she slid one plate of raw meat to Mika and another plate with cooked fish and vegetables to Tiber, "I'll bring you something to drink later." The girl with the paint-clad face turned to leave.

"Rilian, thank you," Tiber called to her.

Rilian turned to face Tiber, and nodded her head slightly before exiting the tent. Shortly after Rilian left, Cove returned with some clothes in hand.

"I talked briefly with some of my council. You will be sharing a tent with one of our tribe sisters for the time being. However, you now have a few changes of clothes. I have to see who will be willing to allow you to stay with them."

"Cove, will I be able to clear my name by having the seer vouch for me?"

"To be honest, I don't think that's a good idea to go to her first. You almost killed her, accident or not. She overpowered you half dead. I don't think it's wise. I think you should focus on consolidating information from Neptune so that you can convince her that you've changed when you see her. So this will rest on you and your tribe ally doing their part."

"Thank you, I appreciate the help."

Rilian returned with water jugs, "Oh, I'm sorry," she began to leave.

"Rilian, wait, can she stay with you," Cove asked.

"Well, for how long," Rilian raised her thin dark brown eyebrows.

"Let's just start with a month for right now, then we can come back and reassess things," Cove suggested.

"Alright, I'll try," Rilian gave Tiber one of the water jugs, "I'll take this one back to my tent. I'll come and get you once I've made space."

After Rilian left, Cove spoke, "Well, there you go. Rilian can be pretty intense, but she's charming once you get to know her. I think you'll get along well. I'm really sorry about your father, Tiber. My father always told me that Chief Dalit was a good man and believed in equality for the tribe's brothers and sisters. He will be greatly missed. I hate to ask this, but do you know who the successor is?"

"No, he did not discuss things like that around my sister or me," Tiber thought hard. "Cove, what kind of work will I start doing? You know to do my fair share."

"I was thinking about that. I understand that you want to clear your name. We are going to have to move quickly. Once your tribe realizes you are nowhere in their domain, they will start questioning my tribe and Marina's tribe. You must clear your name, but I don't think the seer will even talk to you after what's happened, so you need to pique her interest and offer her something she can't resist. Your job must be flexible enough to allow you time to travel and gather information. How about this, we will both sleep on it and meet in the morning as I introduce you to a few key tribe members?"

"Okay, I can do that," Tiber nodded.

"Alright, well, Rilian should be getting you soon. I must go now, but we'll meet in the morning." Cove left Tiber and Mika in the tent. She thought long and hard about what he said, and he was right. Tiber knew that even attempting to contact Aqila right now could plunge her people straight into a war. A battle between the Windmasters and the Tribe of Snow and Ice was a guaranteed defeat for her people. However, she wasn't sure if she could gather enough information on Neptune to get Aqila's attention. Instead of trying to take her fate into her own hands, she decided that she would be patient and give the Universe a chance to help her.

"Hey Tiber, I've made a spot for you and your panther. Onca won't bother her. I'll be sure of it," Rilian smiled. At this point, it was incredibly dark. Tiber was surprised as to how Rilian could navigate. She would instinctively reach out for her when she felt unsure of her step. In the distance, she could see fire light and hear chanting, but Rilian pulled her in the opposite direction. "Maybe another time. Tonight Cove wants you to get settled."

As they entered her tent Tiber saw a floor bed set up for her, "Mika, you have to stay out here, alright. Everything will be okay." Mika obeyed Tiber and stayed outside. She could tell that Onca, Rilian's jaguar, was several feet away. Tiber put her bag in the corner by the floor bed.

"Do you have any blankets?"

Rilian looked bewildered, "Why do you need blankets? It's the jungle!"

"I'm not cold, but, well, never mind," she turned to face the tent wall. She closed her eyes when she felt Rilian's footsteps approach her. Suddenly, a brisk wind hit Tiber's skin, followed by the gentle caress of fabric.

"I don't have blankets, but I've got plenty of sheets. I'm going out now, but you try and get some sleep. I won't be gone too long."

The additional layers provided comfort. Tiber wanted to tell her that a blanket would make her feel at home. But she didn't have a home anymore. Her people wanted her dead. Her father was dead, and her sister would die as soon as she had her baby. Tiber fought back the tears. How could she go back if she had no family to return to? She wished she had listened to Aqila's reasoning. Aqila had told her that she had no proof that Neptune was who he said he was. She and Nahal were supporting a power-hungry murderer. Then Tiber thought about Sita. She didn't know what was going on. Sita was going to try and get information from Nahal. Her life could be in danger if she got too close to him.

Frustrated with everything, Tiber tossed around on the bed. She tried to think of a plan that would allow her to clear her name. However, the blaring truth was that clearing her name meant exposing Nahal and Neptune. Her tribe was divided, some strongly following her father and their tribal customs and the rest staunch followers of Neptune. If she exposed Nahal, she would be facing the wrath of Neptune herself. "If I have to die for everything I've done, that would only be justice. I betrayed my father's trust, carried out missions in Theyra, attacked and nearly killed a seer, and was willing to capture the Golden Eyed Legend. Maybe it's too late for me to get out unscathed. Maybe the price I must pay is death. But if I have to die, I'll die for the crimes I've committed and no one else's," she vowed.