The deal was made between Rex, Syphen and the Beto-Bound tribes-people. They now were known as the Green-Cat Tribe or the Nahuali people. All Rex had to do was beco the Tribe-Father by marrying Flora who by default was the Tribe-Mother due to the deaths and forced vampiric transformation of her parents thanks to Beto The Blooded.
Adelmo suggested they sanctify the deal with a spilling of blood— to mark what transpired over the Fallen-Rock. Their eting table.
Rex’s imdiate response was no. Actually, it was hell no. But Syphen’s eyes told him it was another way of working with the people and their customs.
So, they all spilled a drop of blood at the center of the Fallen-Rock’s ringed surface.
Imdiately, Rex’s mind got to work.
"How will we do this?" Syphen asked.
"Well, if I bite them in my current form, they’ll beco Anhurians and Bastetians. Healers and warriors. I could absolutely use both. But then again, I could use anyone. More importantly, there’s only about one hundred or so of you. Barely a Brigade. As WereLions they wouldn’t be as strong or experienced enough as Remulus’ horde.... Wherever it is. We need to lean into our gifts. Stealth. I got it." Rex thought before turning to Syphen and saying, "You will bite them."
"....?" Syphen hissed soundlessly as he looked to the others.
Rex nodded, "If you could pass so of your abilities to them— I think, it would be better than doing it."
Syphen hesitated for a mont before nodding.
"Alright." Rex adressed everyone. "Return to your posts. Tell your groups what’s going to happen. To fully beco the Green-Cat Tribe, we’ll have a Changing Ceremony in ten minutes. Along with this, tell them about their new enemies in Remulus and the other Totem Awakener’s."
They all nodded as Syphen explained Rex’s orders precisely before leaving the eting room.
Suddenly Rex was alone with Flora.
She walked around the table to face him. She was still wearing nothing but hemp underwear.
"You will be the one to change ." Flora said.
"Who told you that??" Rex asked as he looked down at her before abruptly thinking, "You speak English???"
"...what?"
Rex cleared his throat, "Why do you want to?"
"Structure." Flora said, "I will be like the rest of my tribe— when I’m supposed to lead them. With you."
Rex thought to himself, "That makes sense..... leaders have visible distinction. But that’s purely symbolic. Flora will just be a Werepanther. I don’t have ti for this. If it’ll get her working with , it’s a sacrifice I can make. One for one hundred."
Flora continued to eyeball him.
"Alright." Rex said. "But that’s the last demand you make over . We run this. You don’t run ."
Flora held out her hand, "We run eachother."
"What did I just say?" Rex said without shaking her hand.
Flora smiled for the first ti, "Good..."
She gave a bow and walked past him, sparing a single glance back before continuing her strut back to the Green-Cat Tribe.
Rex watched her go— probably for too long, "What the hell just happened?"
The trek back was quicker than the journey towards the eting room. When Rex and Flora arrived, Syphen, Adelmo, Bruno and Maria were already organizing the people in preparation for The Changing Ceremony. If anything they worked quick. Lush flower beds were adjusted and situated in rows facing a platform of stood and wood slabs frad by a Jaguar skull that held two torches in its eye sockets.
"Let guess—"
"I have created what the Nahuali spirits told to create!" Adelmo roared as he looked from his book to the real world mirroring it.
"Yep..." Rex nodded.
"He has always been this way." Flora said as she stood beside him.
"Have you always been this way?" Rex asked.
"What way?" Flora asked in her usual deep voiced accent.
"Secretive. Misdirecting. Cold." Rex said as they watched the people organize from the shadows.
"I am for my family. I watched my parents allow a strong.... magical man, co and turn our village into a feeding ground. All thanks to promises of purified blood. I had to be sure. Not only that you can lead. But that you weren’t like him."
"Like Beto." Rex assud.
"I will bow to the enemy for rcy no more."
"Never planned to anyway." Rex said.
"That’s what I’m noticing." Flora said.
"You ready?" Rex said.
Flora nodded.
Rex stepped into the light of the flowered cave lands. As he did, he switched forms, reassud his base Werepanther shape. He shrunk down a foot or two and lost about fifty pounds of muscle. His fur darkened, glimring with galactic spots. He felt his senses shift. His sense of sll grew stronger. His hearing weakened and his paws grew softer, made for quieter steps. At the sa ti, the exotic heat of his jungle-Fire burned in his veins.
The Green-Cat Tribe stood before the Werepanther in their rows of freshly blood flowers, grown in the wake of a jungle-fire blast that saved them all.
The crowd was silent.
Rex looked around. "Damn.... this looks like a cult."
Adelmo took over in Rex’s silence as he climbed up to the platform they stood on, placing himself behind and between the two.
"My people! Today marks a day of change and Union! The Great Panther is not our god. Not our savior. He is our ally. And as our ally, he wishes to bring us into the truth of this world. To expel a great evil and experience the great beauty this world holds through the eyes of the feline! To mark this day, The Great Panther will make another in joining Flora as Tribe-Father to lead us as a people."
A few of the warriors nodded. A few more elder won smiled and gossiped among eachother. It seed so bizzare to Rex. They were just told their daughter of sorts was marrying a giant humanoid cat-beast. And they were giggling like school girls.
Then again, he was sure people who lived beside monsters and under vampiric rule probably didn’t look at them the sa way he did.
That was to be used to his benefit.
"To bring these two together, we will begin in body, and continue in mind over ti." Adelmo said.
Imdiately after, Flora took a step forward. Rex did the sa. The two hugged. Which wasn’t what he was expecting.
The tribes people watching the unification did the slowly trademarked feline bow before shouting in approval.
"Alright I’m done waiting." Rex said.
"And now, the Changing Ceremony will be—"
Rex pushed Adelmo out of the way softly and opened his jaws, biting down on Flora’s shoulder.
The tribes people stayed in their bowing position with their arms outstretched, digging into the grass and flower beds beneath them.
Syphen hopped through the ranks, biting the arms of everyone as he went until all except the kids were sporting glowing bite wounds.
An unnatural drowsiness hit them all at seemingly the sa ti, causing the cave to be filled with sleeping individuals in the midst of transformation. They stead as jungle fires flowed within. As their mana signatures transford and their physical essence fortified.
Rex stood with Flora in his arms.
"This better work."
"It will."
Rex almost jumped as Adelmo appeared behind him.
"I’ve dreamt of this day."
"You have?" Rex asked.
Adelmo nodded, "I’ve dreamt of a lighted night. A night of bliss— knowing that the days were set to change. That we were set to change. Not through purified blood. But one of history and hybrid essence."
"Right....." Rex said.
Adelmo held his gaze for a mont before dropping into the bow, "Allow to join my people. To continue my scripture with the right fra of reference."
Rex looked back to Syphen who hopped up after them.
He stood beside Rex, waiting for his order.
"Go ahead."
Syphen took Adelmo’s arm and bit him.
Unlike everyone else, Adelmo recovered, standing back up to begin writing. As his bite wound glimred.
Rex and Syphen shared a glance.
Adelmo began hobbling around the cave, writing and giving prayer to the sleeping changed.
Rex looked out to the caves exit. "I’ve gotta get back soon." He said to Syphen.
Syphen whined, "Yes...."
"Sorry buddy. I’m stuck at the mont. We all are. Just bare with ."
Syphen snorted, "I don’t like bears."
Rex laughed, waving Syphen off with his confused expression.
Soon after he added, "Will you and Hassan be enough to guard all these people?"
"Not just us..." Syphen hopped over to the cave exit and whistled into the dark. Rex followed behind him.
It didn’t take more than a few minutes for six massive jaguars to pad inside. They purred as they brushed past Rex and began walking among the people.
So of them sat beside a specific individual while others circled an area.
"You’ve made friends." Rex said to Syphen.
"Good friends." Syphen said.
Syphen’s words made him think of his own. With such a big step made in his plans, he couldn’t wait around to be found with his hands tied. He had to get back to Imani.
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