The Nagual

The sun was starting to set and Felia laid back on the lounge chair that sat outside on the deck on the stern side. The boat was driving away from the sunset so she had a perfect view of it. She heard Kahili laugh at something Noah said, who stood at the helm which was on the second tier of the boat, just above Felia's head. She was oddly jealous. She folded up her arms as she heard one of them walk down the ladder-styled steps next to her.

"Ah, hello Grumpy." Kahili said more bubbly than usual. "Why don't you join us upstairs? He's just dying to talk to you, Felia." she laughed while leaning on her.

"Get off." Felia said, pushing her off. "And I don't care."

Kahili made an overly-pouted face. "Oh, come on. Don't be such a . . . such a-"

"A wet blanket? A spoilsport? A downer?" Felia asked. Her tone wasn't kind at all.

Kahili genuinely frowned a little. "Alright, Felia. You can stay here. Just don't be such a bitch about it." She got up and went inside the cabin, slamming the door as loud as she could but it didn't close all the way. Sighing deeply, Felia pushed herself off of the lounge chair and went to the door.

"Kahili? Look, I'm sorry, okay? I-" She pushed on the door gently and walked in. The walls inside were all wooden panels. In this cabin, there were two double beds lined next to each other on the port side of the boat. Both had tropical-style bedding and four pillows each. The floor was made of some light-orange tile, and there was a small kitchen in the corner of the starboard wall and the wall that blocked off the bathroom. Kahili was in the back of the cabin, looking out a small, opened window.

"Hil?" she called out. Kahili raised her hand. She seemed to be focusing on something. "I wanted to-"

"Shh." she whispered curtly. With a silent hand, she gestured for Felia to come closer. As Felia walked slowly towards her, Kahili looked down. In front of her, there was a small metallic table. On top of it, there was a folded note. Felia looked out the window just in time to see a white bird flying off into the distance. With a steady but slow hand, Kahili picked up the note and stared at it for a long time.

Felia tried to look over her shoulder but thought she better not try her patience. So she asked, "What does it say?"

Kahili turned to her and said to her, "They know where I am. And they know that I'm bringing a guest."

Felia waited a while before asking, "Is that a bad thing?"

Kahili sighed lightly and folded up the paper, sticking it in her shorts' pocket. "Not necessarily." she said. There was a worn-out blue couch nearby and she sat down. "But it does mean that the leader's power is getting stronger. It's hard for a Nagual to identify exactly where another is. Let alone pinpoint the exact boat we were on. I mean, there's got to be others out there." she said, more thoughtful than conversational towards the end.

"Or," Felia started, sitting next to her, "maybe we are the only ones here."

Kahili looked at her and said, "We can't be. He's trying to gather up a meeting. There has to be more coming. How could he tell us apart from the rest?"

"I don't know, Kahili. I'm new to this. But, I mean, it doesn't have to be bad. It just means-"

"He's powerful." Kahili finished.

"Which was understood already, right?" Felia prodded.

"Yeah." Kahili said, pushing her red hair back. "Yeah." she repeated, softer.

"Speaking of this leader, who is he? What's his name?" Felia asked.

"His name is Fraus Olc. He's the most powerful Nagual of the century. It was pretty obvious even before he was the leader that he was going to be chosen after Argos died. He was the previous leader, by the way." Kahili said. She took a deep breath and was about to continue when Noah was calling out for the two women. They looked at each other and both left the cabin. Felia followed Kahili up the ladder to the helm.

"Felia." Noah said, smiling lightly. "Nice to see you again."

"What is it, Noah?" Kahili said, not wanting distractions.

Noah cleared his throat and began, "The weather is supposed to be rough, so I wanted to know if you ladies wanted to stay there." At that, he pointed to the shore that they were rapidly approaching. It was a hotel with bright, golden torches and palm trees carefully planted to highlight the building. Above the entrance from the beach, the words "The Haven" were scrawled on the wall in large, maroon letters. The hotel was all white except for the sign and the red shingled roof. With the sun gone, the firelight dancing on the dark water, and the smell of hot food wafting out to them on the boat, there was hardly a choice to make.

Felia was the one to speak up. "Let's go."