Sosora sighed and looked out the window, the only hole that belonged in her wall. She could probably sneak out at night. Even if the elders had assigned someone to watch her, they wouldn't be able to stop her should they notice her escape.
But then what?
Shirking her responsibilities wouldn't lead anywhere. But she couldn't exactly own up to what she did and apologize to the Lowat tribe, either. She didn't regret what she did, after all.
However, she detested sitting still.
Sosora knew her actions had sparked a heated discussion among the tribes of Tiabe. But she didn't know how far they had come or what they were discussing.
The first thing she needed was information.
Fortunately, she knew just the person to ask for help in that area.
Sosora waited until it was dark before getting up.
Her floor creaked with each step she took.
"Sosora, you're not sneaking out, are you?" The guard posted outside her room asked when he heard the telltale sounds of someone walking slowly on a floor that was due for some upgrades.
"O-of course not. I'm just having trouble sleeping."
The guard sighed audibly.
"Alright. Don't make it worse."
"...I won't."
"..."
"Thanks, Vire," Sosora said, one foot on the windowsill. She didn't get a response. She pushed off, leaving the wooden cube up in the trees behind. She quickly sank toward the ground for a few seconds before unfurling her wings and catching the wind to sail along the ground.
The members of her tribe were used to flying in the air. It was easier. Fewer obstacles and better drafts to carry them. The other guards, who would actually try to stop her escape, would be looking at the sky to see if she was making an attempt.
If she flew straight from her room, they would also notice the flapping of her wings.
A stealthy escape close to the ground would make sure her tribe didn't notice her escape until it was too late.
But in the dark and with the tree tops blocking the light of the moon and the stars, it was easier to fly straight into a tree than not. Sosora might have been in trouble if she hadn't already flown the same route a few times already.
Gliding through the forest under the cover of darkness, it didn't take long for her to arrive at the Bawin tribe.
As the errand boy for one of the Bawin tribe's more influential elders, Malak would surely have some understanding of the current situation of the forest.
The problem was that he lived in the center of the tribe in a hut that wasn't that far from his elder. Sosora had to employ very stealthy tactics when sneaking through the village.
Fortunately, the Bawin tribe's members had a shared tendency to sleep very deeply. As long as the guards didn't notice her, which was unlikely, she would be mostly fine. Although things in the forest were surely a little tense, it wasn't like they were expecting an invasion.
The guards were mostly watching for appearances' sake. Like most tribes, the Bawin tribe was neutral and didn't have any real enemies among the other tribes. Their vigilance was not at the highest and far from enough to notice or care about the slow-moving shadow crawling across the ground and hugging the walls of the huts as it made its way to the center of the village.
As she had expected, Sosora saw a flickering light from behind Malak's door. He couldn't sleep either.
Sosora glanced around and made sure the coast was clear before quickly dashing forward, opening the door, and entering Malak's one-room house in one quick breath.
Malak was sitting at his desk, his head hanging over a stack of stone tablets.
Before he could react in alarm, Sosora darted over and covered his mouth.
"Schh!" She held a finger across her mouth, asking Malak to be silent. Malak quickly calmed down once he recognized Sosora and nodded.
"What are you doing here…?!" He whispered harshly as soon as she removed her hand from his mouth.
"Uh…" That wasn't the warm welcome Sosora was hoping for, so she wasn't sure what to say.
"The Elders will throw a fuss if they find out!" Malak tried his best to keep his voice down, but it was hard. The surprise visit and the awareness that Sosora would be in trouble for not only breaking the house arrest but also visiting another tribe in the middle of the night had his emotions running wild.
"Oh, no…! Not the Elders…!" Sosora said mockingly before patting Malak on the shoulder.
"Relax a little. That just means it's fine as long as they don't find out. Besides, what are they going to do? It's not like I did anything wrong."
Malak sighed.
"Did I…?" Sosora asked after that reaction. She glanced back on her way to take a seat on Malak's bed.
"Technically not. But a lot of the tribes don't like what you did."
"Well, I don't like what the Lowat tribe was doing to Nuir."
"You know that the Aer tribe has been…" Malak trailed off. He wasn't sure how to put it in a way that didn't sound insulting.
"My tribe has been what, Malak?"
"I'm just speaking historically, and I'm not saying it has anything to do with you, but the other tribes remember when the Aer tribe tried to…'oversee' the other tribes' activities."
Sosora rolled her eyes and plopped down on Malak's bed.
"That was ages ago! Can't they ever let go of the past?" She complained.
"The other tribes think you crossed a line. They want to make it clear that each tribe is only to subject to their own elders' influence."
Sosora sighed loudly.
"Ugh. Are people forgetting that we live together? We share this forest! We are a community! We help each other with food, tools, clothes, abodes. We take care of each other's children, and we water each other's plants.
"The moment we start caring only about ourselves, we open ourselves up to strife, war, and invasions!"
Malak winced as Sosora slammed her hand into his bed. He just had to let her rant a little.