His Starbound Claim

POLOMA

***

For one hundred thousand years, my people have walked these lands.

The great island of Itse, magnificent in its grandeur. It gives generously, so long as we give back our fair share.

Over the years, the Gods have bestowed upon us life, happiness, and plenty.

With the resources of Itse, the tribes have flourished, and advanced technologically far past any other society on the planet.

But of all the gifts the people of Itse are blessed with, none is more powerful than the Starbound.

Every native person is blessed with one. They’re like your second half, your soulmate.

The legend says the Starbound is bestowed by the Gods themselves.

Modern science says the pairing is caused by a gene that only the Itse people possess.

But whatever causes them, they’re everything to a Native person.

They say when you meet your Starbound, there’s no stopping your love.

You’ll do anything to be with them. Just to sink into their arms.

Being without them creates physical pain.

But being with them creates a life of bliss and harmony unmatched by any other romance.

It doesn’t really matter if the Starbound are bestowed by genetics or Gods.

They are your everything. Your reason for living.

Now why can’t I find mine?

***

I make my way downstairs for some much-needed godwater. Sleep has evaded me for weeks now, and I know why.

Him.

I have been trying to find him since the first time I started training my godsound ten years ago.

The older I get, the bigger the gaping hole in my chest grows.

A girl needs her starbound.

My mother always told me my starbound would be my everything.

If only I could find him.

I am now twenty-six years old and still haven’t seen hide nor hair of him.

For all I know, he could be dead.

I live in River Tribe and currently stay in the tribal lodge. It’s a beautiful place, really. Snow-covered forests and glistening, frosted lakes make up most of my tribe’s territory.

We have a small tribe. Twenty-four thousand people to be exact.

The tribal lodge is a two-story lodge with a beautiful kitchen and enough rooms for all the people who haven’t found their starbound, which isn’t many.

I finally make my way downstairs and walk into the kitchen.

I put on some godwater and stare out the huge window in front of the sink. Nothing but rural, frostbitten country for miles.

I genuinely love it here. It’s so quiet and peaceful I barely register someone walking into the kitchen behind me.

“Good morning, Polo,” my brother, Daanas, says.

“Morning,” I say. “Want some godwater?”

“Should that even be a question?” He smirks.

Daanas has always been my best friend and mentor.

Our father passed away when we were very young, and our mother raised us the best she could until she passed a few years back.

Our dad was an alisde, so Daanas was expected to take on that role when he became old enough.

Nat’ani Talako, our nat’ani, took him under his wing and taught him everything he needed to know.

Nat’ani taught him how to truly be a leader.

“Where were you last night?” he asks me.

“I went for a run. I needed to clear my head, and my godsound wouldn’t leave me alone.”

He knows how I feel about finding my starbound. It has all but consumed me this past year, but he just says to have patience, that my time will come.

I want to believe him, but it’s so hard when you have been looking for as long as I have. Most people find their starbound shortly between the time they turn eighteen and when they reach their twentieth year.

“Ah. Well, before I forget, I wanted to let you know the nat’ani from the Mountain tribe and a few of his warriors will be down tomorrow to discuss some territory issues.”

“Okay, and why are you telling me this?” I ask him, tensing slightly.

A nat’ani is the leader of a tribe, and everyone has heard about the nat’ani of the Mountain tribe.

He’s ruthless.

A monster.

He takes what he wants and kills whoever tries to stop him. He’s hardly better than the colonists.

“We haven’t had a visit from the Mountain tribe in years, so I don’t really know what to expect. You know what everyone says about him. Nat’ani wants everyone to keep their eyes and ears open. We don’t want a fight.”

I nod and wait for him to continue.

“Also, I’m going to need you to ask Galilani and Awinita to help you cook enough food to feed everyone when they arrive.”

“I’ll ask, but you know those two,” I tell him while pouring him a cup as well. “You have to literally beg them to do anything. Can Shimmi not help?”

Shimmi is my brother’s starbound and my only friend. There aren’t many people here so I’m as close to being a loner as you can get.

“She would, but she’s in charge of cleaning and fixing up the dining hall.”

He takes his cup of godwater and turns around to leave. Before walking out the door, he looks back over his shoulder at me.

“Keep your head up. You will find him soon, and he will absolutely adore you,” he says and leaves.

***

The drive to work takes only five minutes.

Working at a bar isn’t exactly what I had imagined doing growing up, but it does allow me to get out and meet new people.

As soon as I arrive, I go straight behind the bar and begin cleaning up before the customers start piling in. I hear someone come through the front door and look up.

Shimmi, my brother’s starbound and my coworker, comes through the door and gives me a questioning look.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone last night?”

“I had a lot on my mind, my godsound was acting up. Just went out for a run and didn’t get back till really late,” I tell her.

To a native of Itse, your godsound is everything. It’s the voice in your head that tells you what you really want and can communicate with the world around you. In most cultures, people smother this voice and teach themselves to ignore it.

In tribal cultures, we embrace it. In fact, we train it in school. It’s the most important thing in our decision making.

Shimmi gives me a small, pity-filled smile.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“I just want you to be happy.” She smiles sadly.

She comes around to behind the bar and starts drying the glasses that I’m washing, and I give her my biggest smile.

“I’ll be fine. Just need to keep busy so I can keep my mind from wandering so much.”

She finally drops it, and we finish cleaning by the time customers begin to arrive. A couple hours later, the night is in full swing.

Bar patrons are pouring in, and I can tell it’s going to be a long night.

***

It’s been four hours since I arrived at work and it’s finally slowed down. Only a couple people remain in the bar.

A tall, drunk man flags me from the end of the bar, so I make my way to him.

“Hi, what can I get for ya?” I ask quickly.

His eyes roam my body, lingering on my chest before I snap my fingers to get his attention.

“Can I get you a drink?” I ask again.

“I’d like to get a whole lot more than a drink if it’s coming from you,” he says behind a smirk.

I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest.

I’m used to getting attention from men, but I’ve never been very interested in any of them that have hit on me.

I’ve had a couple flings here and there but nothing permanent.

I’m still holding out hope for him.

When the man says nothing else, I turn around to head toward the other end of the bar.

“Excuse me, but you didn’t fix me a drink,” the man says as I’m walking away.

“Excuse me, I gave you a chance to order, but you would rather make sleazy comments instead,” I say as I glare at him.

“I’ll take a vodka, on the rocks,” he says, smiling like a smug asshole.

I grab a glass and fill it with ice, feeling the man’s eyes on me the whole time.

When I look up from the bar again, I notice a group of men I’ve never seen before entering the bar.

Just one whiff and I know they are from a different tribe.

I lock eyes with the largest man. My entire world stands still as our eyes meet, and I know, without a shadow of a doubt… this is the moment I’ve been waiting for.

I have finally found him.

I don’t move.

Hell, I don’t think I even breathe as we continue our complete stare-down.

I can’t look away, and I can feel my godsound going crazy.

He starts walking toward me, and that’s when I really take him in.

He’s tall, well over six feet, and has muscles for days.

He’s one of the largest men I have ever seen.

His hair is jet black, just like mine, and his eyes are the color of fire.

He carries such a powerful aura that has me shaking in my shoes.

Gods, he is beautiful.

He steps up to the bar with three other men tagging along behind him.

“Starbound,” I say out loud, before I can stop myself.