"Where are we going?"

Destan did his best to ignore the curious looks from tribers and keep up with Aruna's brisk pace as he followed after her fluttering dress through camp. Her thick grey hair was tied neatly between her shoulders, swaying left and right with every step.

"We're late. Hurry up." They were the first words she'd said since forcing him to leave his dinner behind and follow her. She still hadn't explained what she needed him for.

He opened his mouth to ask what they were late for exactly, when they rounded a corner and she finally slowed down.

Much larger than any other cottage in camp, both in width and in height, Chief Kardos' home also functioned as a place of business. People gathered there for meetings, and the Chief made his announcements and speeches to the tribe on the open space in front of the building.

It was most definitely not a place for an outcast.

He slowed his pace, lagging behind the older woman. His palms became sweaty inside his pockets.

"Aruna, why are we going to the Chief's hut?" His voice came out almost an octave higher than normal.

Aruna knocked on the polished oak door, which opened almost instantly. A bald, gruff-looking man welcomed her, his sleeves rolled up to show the lightning-shaped atraments on his forearms. As she stepped past him, she turned around to notice Destan had stopped a dozen feet away. She frowned.

"Make haste, we don't have all day."

"I'm not allowed in there," said Destan, frozen on the spot and wide-eyed, looking up at the building that must've been three times as tall as him. The man in the doorway stared him down, the huge scar ripping through his left eyebrow sent a shiver down Destan's spine and his muscles bulged through sundried skin. If Destan had to guess, he'd say this man had the same power as his mother; exceptional, inhuman strength.

"You are when you're with me. Come on, they're waiting."

Shuffling past the glaring guard, Destan inched inside. His uncle's words about Aruna training him rushed to mind. He glanced over his shoulder, swallowing hard as the world disappeared behind the closing door.

What was he supposed to do? He couldn't go against the orders of someone as highly regarded in the tribe as Aruna. If there was one thing his father had taught him before his death, it was respect. Obeying his superiors.

Finding himself inside a long hallway, several doors on either side, Destan trailed after the old tribe trainer, forcing his feet to keep moving. Aruna entered a door to her left, which she left open for him. Voices floated out from the room, welcoming her as she apologised for being late.

Hesitantly, he inched closer to stand in the doorway. Aruna stood with her back to him, in front of the largest, roundest table he had ever seen. To her left sat uncle Lys and a man Destan recognised as being in charge of the farms. He wore the same brown overalls as the farmworkers, but without the patches of soil on the knees or the dirt under his fingernails. On the other side sat a man and a woman he didn't know, whose faces turned into frowns upon his arrival.

On the other side of the table sat Remus Kardos, Chief of the Tribe, donning his thick white robes. His face paled, eyes widening upon spotting his grandson.

"Destan!"

His heart jumped into his throat when uncle Lys called out to him, pushing himself up from his seat.

"What are you doing, barging in here? Get out, boy, out!"

The fierce tone in his voice had Destan ready to flee back outside with his tail between his legs, but Aruna was quick to speak up. "The boy is with me."

A hushed silence filled the room. Aruna ignored it and sat down in the last available chair by the table, leaving Destan to stand in the corner of the room. Unable to stand still under the pressure of six high-ranking tribers, he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

The Chief's eyes drilled into her, as he asked, "You brought the outcast into my home? Why?"

Destan squirmed under his voice. Staring at the grey, rugged floor, he pushed his back into the wall, wishing it would swallow him up. If only he could disappear. He'd rather be anywhere else in the world but here.

Aruna didn't even flinch. She folded her hands on the table and explained, "During our previous meetings we have considered the dire situation we are in and we have established the need for a change. As you all know, I am very much in favour of sending people to Grimsby."

Destan's throat went dry as her words registered. Sending people to Grimsby? What did she mean by that?

Oh scrap, am I going to be kicked out of the tribe?

"Hold on," said the farms manager. His low voice rumbled through the room like thunder. His long, scraggy beard hung on the table as he leaned forward. "That has not been agreed on yet."

"Oh, come now, Willos," uncle Lys interrupted him. "The icebox is empty. We won't last another month, let alone the upcoming winter, if we don't do something drastic."

"Yes, but Grimsby? The last time we went over there –"

"The Inops don't remember that," said Aruna. "We would know if they remembered us. Besides, we know that they have an abundance of food and that they wouldn't miss it if we took some."

A silent, shuddering breath escaped him. They weren't planning on sending him away, they were planning on stealing from the town.

When several pairs of eyes flicked towards him, the dots connected. His eyes widened and he pushed himself into the corner, wood pressing against his back. So that's why she trained me last week.

"You can't be serious," scoffed the only other woman in the room. "You want to send this boy, this boy, on such a crucial task?"

Remus watched her intently, the crease above his brows deepening by the minute.

"Indeed," said Aruna. "His levitational powers are perfect for this. His atraments are particularly strong. If he wasn't an outcast, this wouldn't be up for debate; you'd all have agreed that he's the best choice."

"But he is an outcast," uncle Lys reminded her with a pointed glare. "That changes everything."

"It doesn't change his power," Aruna shot back.

"It changes his reliability." The Chief, who had been quiet throughout all the bickering, stood up. "I lost my son because of this boy. Since then, he hasn't done a single thing to make up for his mistakes. What makes you think we can trust him?"

His words were like a punch to the gut. The man hadn't been a grandfather to Destan in a long time, but every time his father was mentioned it tore open an old wound in his heart.

Dad... I'm sorry. It's all my fault.

"Chief Kardos is right," said the man opposite Lys. "He should have earned his way back into the tribe long ago. Someone who has been an outcast for as long as him, cannot be trusted."

Destan's head hung and he blinked furiously. These people were right. He'd had years to regain the trust of the tribe, and despite being out in the woods all day every day, he barely managed to collect enough food for himself and his mum. Filling the icebox had never been an option.

A scraping sound interrupted his thoughts. Aruna stood up, facing her Chief. "The boy never had a chance to earn his way back into the tribe. Simple hard work wouldn't have sufficed, not even with his powers. We wouldn't be in this situation if a single boy could fill the icebox to pay for his sins to be dropped."

A murmur ran through the room, but Destan didn't dare look up.

"Let this be his chance to make things right. We will take whatever measures necessary to make sure it doesn't go wrong. The ancestors have blessed us with this power through him for a reason. With the farms failing and the forest thinning, we have no other choice. We cannot afford to let this opportunity go to waste."

The men and women muttered amongst each other. Destan couldn't focus on the words. Different conversations melted into a single rumble.

His heart raced as his mind threw possibilities at him. If he brought them food and helped the tribe survive winter, they might forgive him. Never before had he had such an opportunity to make things right. To belong again.

And he'd never get another chance. His hands balled into fists as he prayed for the ancestors to grant him this blessing.

"I can get the food," he blurted out. A blush crept up his cheeks as six pairs of eyes fixated on him. "Aruna had me train in a replica of Grimsby and I succeeded her task. I can do it. I swear I won't let you down."

He stood up as straight as he could as Aruna nodded approvingly. His heart drummed against his ribcage as he waited for their decision. Whatever measure they'd wanted to take, he'd deal with it.

If he would just get this chance.

"Destan."

He gulped when his grandfather called his name. Looking up, the Chief's eyes were filled with ice and shadows. The others leaned forward, but silenced at his words, showing their Chief his due respect.

"You're already an outcast," he said in a low voice. "If you betray our trust, there is only one thing we can do."

"Remus..." Lys' face flashed with anger when his Chief held his hand up, refusing to let him finish whatever he wanted to say. Willos, the farms manager, stroke a hand over his beard. Aruna flashed an encouraging smile over her shoulder.

"The world has become a dangerous place. You will not survive outside the forest. But if you betray our trust, we will not hesitate to banish you. Is that clear?"

Destan nodded furiously.

"Alright then," he said, sitting back down. "You may go. Aruna will let you know when it's time."