For some, like Basla, the week passed like a snail trying to cross a bed of salt. The elders had advised him to prepare, but prepare for what? He already had the Jakka, Uaya, and Vedel tribes on his side.
They weren't the most influential or powerful tribes, but they also weren't the weakest. Each one could be compared to the Aer tribe, who had left their glory in the past.
As far as he could tell, in the matter of Sosora and Nuir, the Aer tribe was mostly alone. Their past had come back to bite them in the ass as they repeated what had caused them to fall from their glorious past.
And in the matter of the Outsider, they had tentative support from several more tribes. There were also tribes who did not want to antagonize the Outsider, but no one was taking a strong stance. They were just being voices of caution. Nothing would happen if no one listened to them.
The one thing that worried Basla was the Gezercher tribe. But Monkey had disrespected him at the last meeting. He wasn't going to lower himself to visit and talk, especially since it seemed Monkey had no interest in talking.
Basla rolled his thumbs and waited for time to pass.
For others, the week was far too short.
After hearing about the Gezercher tribe capturing Sosora, Malak panicked. He was supposed to help her, but if she was stuck in the Gezercher tribe, there wasn't much he could do.
He could either do nothing or take over what Sosora had been planning to do.
He was conflicted. Kobo was considering an alliance with the Outsider, but he was cautious. If things were looking dark, he wouldn't hesitate to take another path. He was not going to die on this hill.
If Malak worked independently of Kobo's wishes and started trying to ally with other tribes to secure support for the Outsider, he might offend Kobo. He might offend all the elders. That would make life in the Bawin tribe difficult.
However, if he did nothing, he would be disappointing Sosora and betraying her trust.
He was conflicted, but in the end, the choice was only one.
Malak had wasted enough time hesitating, so once he decided on what to do, he didn't waste any more time.
Unfortunately, he wasn't as capable as Sosora. He couldn't fly through the forest at night to visit the other tribes. Being fast enough to visit a tribe and make it back in one night undetected was one thing, but he also had to consider the sneaky aspect of it and the monsters lurking in the forest.
But he had learned diplomacy from serving Kobo. And he knew how to send messages. Issa could help him.
Issa was Sosora's friend, so Malak wasn't sure if she would be willing to help him. But it was worth a shot, and it paid off.
Issa could help him send messages to the other tribes on his and Sosora's behalf. However, the only tribe he had some confidence would actually respond positively was the Ursa tribe. He wasn't sure if that would be enough, but it would be better than anything.
He also tried to send messages to Sosora and the Gezercher tribe, but the birds returned with no messages and full bellies. They had been bribed into silence by the Gezercher tribe.
Malak couldn't get any information on Sosora. It made him feel a little hopeless. It also made him desperate.
That was why he remembered Sosora's last words to him. He decided to take a gamble.
Issa hesitated when he mentioned it, but she still did her best. After getting her to agree to one risk, getting her to agree to another one was a little easier.
Issa regretted it as soon as the bird started flying away.
The Phoriae were one thing. They were unlikely to even respond. Even if they did, it would probably be a short refusal to partake in anything that didn't involve the forest's well-being. Some could argue that the Outsider's presence was a threat to that.
But Nick hadn't done anything yet. And with the Seg not saying anything about Nick posing a threat to nature, the Phoriae wouldn't take the other tribes seriously if they made such claims.
Issa was willing to send a message to the Phoriae, but she wouldn't lie about Nick's nature. As far as she could tell, he was a neutral existence. So far, he neither contributed nor harmed the flow of nature.
The Phoriae had no reason to care about him. They had even less of a reason to support the Aer tribe against the Lowat tribe. That was just a personal dispute. It did not warrant their interference.
Issa wasn't sure their interference would even be a good thing, should they decide to heed Malak's request and attend the meeting in a few days.
The Phoriae worried her a little, but mostly because of the rumors that they had started moving.
However, Malak's other gamble worried her because she was sure it would backfire.
They were lucky that the Asa tribe kept to themselves. All of the tribes were lucky that the Asa tribe kept to themselves for reasons not entirely dissimilar to the Ursa tribe's.
But the Ursa tribe was more unlucky than anything. Their misfortune had built up over the years, and they had earned the other tribes' displeasure and resentment. They didn't see a reason to interact with the other tribes, so they stayed on their mountain.
The Asa tribe, on the other hand…
They didn't get along with the other tribes because they didn't want to get along with them. They couldn't be bothered playing nice with the other tribes, so when opportunities arose, they didn't.
They had stayed in their part of the jungle for at least a decade without anyone seeing them. It was to the point where the younger kids had started treating their part of the forest the same as the center.
It was a dangerous and mysterious part where one should never enter.
Malak had asked that tribe to come join the festivities.
'Sosora would be proud,' Issa thought to herself, shaking her head. They were a perfect match.