Finally. Finally! The leader had invited me to a meeting!

I was anxiously waiting with Dy in the town community centre, as they called it. It was where everyone met up when they needed to discuss something amongst the town elders. Dy's mother was there too, pouring tea in cups.

The building was also used for communal happenings. Like town parties. It seemed very snug, but it would do with a bit of love. Some paint. New furniture. I put it on my mental list over things I wanted to give more money to. The Aatskina tribe deserved a nice place.

I was sitting next to Dy by a table that could seat eight people. Well, I could barely sit still. I was fidgeting with my new arm, squeezing this rubber ball Huck had given me to better my motor skills in it. I kept squeezing it with one finger at a time.

It still felt very weird. I could feel myself moving the fingers, but I had no sensation in them. I knew there were moving, but I couldn't physically feel them move and yet I could. It was so odd.

The leader entered with two other people whom I assumed were the tribe elders. They sat down opposite us, and the leader smiled.

"Welcome. I'm happy we could finally officially do this."

"So am I. I'm very grateful for all of your help. I wouldn't be here without it."

"We only did our duty," one of the elders said and touched his forehead. "We serve those with holy blood. That is our role to play."

"I'm still grateful. I will not forget the hospitality and kindness of the Aatskina tribe." I bowed my head and touched my forehead too.

"Now, we need to plan our next course of action," the leader said, folding her hands on the table. "We need the other tribes."

"Bursaaq isn't going to help. You know that," Dy muttered, fiddling with one of the buttons on her jacket.

"Maybe they'd listen to one of their own?" the leader countered.

"I'm not one of them. I didn't grow up there. Blood means nothing to them. You know that."

"Dina, we need you. The queen needs you. I would send your father, but the miners need their overseer. No one knows the land as well as you do. You being with the queen could maybe grant you an audience with your grandmother."

Dy sighed deeply. "She was pretty clear the last time I saw her."

"That was ten years ago," Naaja chimed in. "She can't possibly still be angry."

Dy just snorted.

"They have the weapons we need. And maybe..." the leader hesitated and looked back at me. "You can find spiritual help in the icy mountains."

"Not this again," Dy groaned. "You know the spiritual powers have been dead for centuries."

"Have they? Or have those of spiritual blood just lost their connection to the spirits?" one of the elders said, raising his eyebrow at her.

Dy rolled her eyes again. "Fine. Sure. Don't come crying to me when they turn us away." She rose to her feet and left the room.

I glanced a little awkwardly at Naaja, and she shrugged a shoulder.

"I'll... Go to talk to her," I said and rose to my feet. I found Dy outside, leaning against the building, her hands buried in her jacket pockets.

"So, when are we going?" she asked, but she didn't sound very motivated.

"I don't know. I figure they want us to leave as soon as possible."

"Better get it over with."

"Is it bad, I'm excited?"

She snorted and finally looked down at me. "Why are you excited?"

"I've never seen glaciers before. Or the northern lights."

She softened right up. "Well, you're lucky. It's the season for northern lights up there now. And there are tons of glaciers."

I held my hand out towards her, and she fitted her fingers in between mine.

"I can't wait."

She chuckled and shook her head, pulling me with her down the streets.

We were driving to Bursaaq. It was going to take us at least one full day, so we had to sleep in the car. We wouldn't be passing a whole lot of villages the further north we went, but I didn't mind. I had never slept in a car before.

It was needless to say that I was excited about this. We had packed our stuff in the back of the four-door car. It was so slick! Green and with an extra tire packed on each side. If we were to get into an accident, we'd be prepared.

I sat in the front seat, running my hands over the leather, almost bouncing up and down.

"You need to calm down," Dy laughed and turned the engine on by turning a knob and then turning a key on the dashboard. Her foot pressed down on a pedal, and the engine roared to life. She then turned the knob on the radio, the sound coming out very wonky at first but then it recalibrated itself and music started flowing out through the speaker.

"I've never been on a road trip. And it's such a nice car too."

"It's just a car, Al."

"For you, it is. For me, this is an adventure!"

Dy chuckled softly, and we rolled out into the street. I leaned back and looked out the window, watching people move past us.

"So, you're Bursaaq?"

"No. My father was. They don't follow the same rules as us. You're only Bursaaq if you grow up there. Live there. And never leave. My dad was excommunicated when he decided to leave for good. So, there aren't many warm feelings between us."

"Yikes. He was excommunicated by his own mum?" I cringed.

"Yeah. He fell in love with my mum." She shrugged a shoulder. "And then they had me. So, he got a choice. Either he'd leave my mum and bring me back with him, or he could never return."

"That's not right."

"No." She clenched her jaw. I leaned over and patted her hand, resting on the steering wheel.

She glanced at me and smiled a little.

"It's part of their culture though. Can't really tell someone their culture is wrong."

I shrugged a little. "I don't know. If there are problematic areas, then I don't think it's wrong to point out something could change." I sighed and leaned my head against my hand, my elbow propped on the little windowsill.

"So you'd be totally fine with pointing out problematic areas in your culture?" Dy glanced at me and then looked back at the road.

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Your culture erases others. We're not called 'The Mountain Tribes'. We're not a monolithic people, and we don't like being put under one blanket term."

"I'll make sure to change that in our vocabulary then."

Dy sighed. "It's not just that. This isn't an attack on you personally. You've been good. But the rest of your people? They look at me and say 'Oh you're from the mountain tribes.' I'm not. I'm Aatskina. I'm proud to be Aatskina. We're nothing like Bursaaq or Paamut." She sighed. "Sorry, I'm ranting."

"You're free to. I don't mind."

"Believe me, you'll grow tired of it eventually. It's a sad, sad song that has been sung for deaf ears too many times."

"Maybe it's time to reform what we're taught down in Andaheim then. We really aren't taught much about you or your cultures up here. All I know, I learned on my own. From books in our library."

"Do you think it's the responsibility of the people or the tutors to teach you about cultures outside of your own?" Dy asked.

I moulded that over. I wasn't sure. Was it really the duty of the common man to be enlightened about the world outside of his own? Was being educated a responsibility of the country or the people?

"I don't know," I admitted.

"You know, not a lot of people admit when they don't know something." She smiled fully now.

"I didn't know that either." I laughed, and so did Dy.

We passed the last village and then we were officially no longer on the official road. All road maps of the country stopped here. I didn't even know there was a road here. And there barely was. It was just a dirt road, but Dy didn't seem discouraged by it at all.

We had to stop when it got dark. Dy didn't feel comfortable driving almost blind, and I was grateful. I was exhausted and could definitely use some sleep.

"I'll just sleep in my seat, and you can take the back seats," Dy said and looked in the back of the car.

"Don't be ridiculous. You go first, and I'll just sleep on top of you."

She snorted and stepped out of the car, slamming the door behind her. The door in the back was fast to open, and she crawled into the back seat. "Come on then," she said and smirked at me.

I crawled over the backrests and ended up on top of her. She immediately lifted her head and kissed me. I sighed, and she smiled, her teeth grazing over my lips.

"Was this your plan all along?" she murmured.

"Actually, no." I pulled up and looked down at her. "I just thought it'd be nice to cuddle. And it'd be warmer."

"Clever," she breathed and kissed me again. "It's also better this way. If we stay close, it's harder for the fairies to kidnap us."

"The fairies?" I smiled down at her, and she nodded.

"They live in the boulders. They come out at night and dance on top of them. Sometimes they bring the northern lights with them, and that's when their powers are the strongest."

"We better stay very close then. So we don't get captured."

She circled her arms around me and nodded. "Yeah. I'll keep you safe, though."

I put my cheek down on her chest and sighed contently. "I feel safe."

Her fingers found their way to my hair, the tips of them softly pressing into my scalp. I fell asleep with her softly massaging head.