A New Season

Stan woke up in the infirmary feeling rested, but his entire body ached. Yesterday, the healer had harshly scrubbed his wounds to clean them and applied an ointment that burned enough to make even the fiercest man cry. The pain was so intense that Stan had a hard time answering the healer's questions about how he had gotten the injuries and, when his wounds were finally stitched and covered with clean strips of cloth, he breathed a sigh of relief. Kyle had warned him the cleaning process would be hard, but he never imagined that when everything was done, he'd only want rest. He had even fallen asleep in an awkward position because he didn't want to move a muscle. However, even though he was still hurting, he wasn't the type to stay still in bed. He sat up and was about to stand when Butters, the healer's main apprentice, entered the infirmary hut and rushed to his side to stop him from rising. “Oh, Stan! I see you are awake already. How do you feel?” he said, resting a hand on Stan's chest to oblige him to lie back down. “I’m fine; I’m ready to go,” Stan said, although he obeyed Butters' silent request and lay down. “Ahm,” Butters said, bringing a finger to his mouth. “I’m not sure about that. Let me check your wound, but you can’t leave until my mentor says so. She said you’re lucky the tendons didn’t get damaged.” With steady hands, Butters removed the bandages from Stan’s leg, revealing the stitched wound underneath. He reached for a clean basin of warm water and a soft cloth, dampening it gently before cleaning the area around the wound. Stan winced but didn't groan. Even though Butters was a trusted friend, Stan couldn't risk Butters telling anyone that he had acted weak. To Butters, it was apparent Stan was pretending not to feel pain, so he offered words of encouragement and reassurance throughout the process. His words made Stan roll his eyes, but he wasn't offended because he knew that's just how Butters was. Butters was a perfect, sweet, gentle omega who caused quite a stir when he bonded last season without even being pregnant. As a rule, it was frowned upon to bond without proof of affinity for procreation. Fortunately for Butters, he and his partner held a respected position within the tribe, which allowed everyone to overlook that detail. Stan wasn’t attracted to Butters, but he understood how Butters' caring nature, family background, and knowledge of healing made him attractive. Before mating, Butters was considered a catch, to the point that even Stan's father had encouraged him to court him. However, Stan refused, and perhaps that was why he was one of the few alphas Butters could truly relax around. Once all Stan’s wounds were covered with a fresh layer of antiseptic ointment, Butters re-bandaged them, making sure the cloths weren’t too tight to allow proper airflow. “You are such a brave patient,” Butters said with a smile while gathering the materials he used to heal Stan. “Eh, sure,” Stan said, trying not to sound annoyed. “The wolf you took down was massive, the biggest I’ve ever seen. It’s a miracle you survived the attack. Everyone in the tribe is impressed.” Butters paused for a moment and then chuckled a bit. “Eric was so jealous this morning when we saw it. Your rank among the huntsmen is surely going to rise after this. How did you encounter the wolf, though? I heard that he—Kyle was there.” At first, Stan's face lit up with a mix of pride and relief—it was a gratifying feeling to know that what he considered a failure really wasn't—, but then he heard Kyle’s name and immediately looked for him in the infirmary. However, the only two beds in the hut were empty. “Kyle, how is he? Did he leave earlier?” he asked. Even though Kyle wasn’t visibly injured, surely he too had to be treated by the healer and Butters. Butters made a funny face. “I don’t know. He never came for a check. Was he hurt too?” “I don’t think so, but still, didn't he come? It is the protocol to check everyone’s health after any incident.” “Yeah, it’s protocol. But maybe he was feeling okay and decided not to show up.” Butters shrugged, not caring at all about Kyle. Stan frowned and stood up. “What are you doing?” “I’m gonna check on him,” Stan pushed Butters gently away and finally put his weight on his injured leg. The wound hurt a lot, but his state was unimportant. Kyle didn’t say he was hurt, and Stan didn’t notice any injury, but what if he was indeed injured and didn’t tell anyone? Kyle needed to be checked by the experts regardless of anything. “But you can’t leave yet.” Butters got nervous at the idea of Stan leaving; he could try, but even if Stan was injured, Butters wouldn’t succeed in stopping him if Stan was determined to leave. “My wounds are fine.” "They are healing properly, but you can’t leave now unless you want to limp for months!" Stan kept frowning, and Butters, worried about Stan’s health and not wanting to be harshly reprimanded by his mentor for letting Stan leave, said, “What about if I go to check on Kyle? I’ll make sure he is fine. You need to rest. Please.” “Would you really do that?” Stan hesitated. He wanted to ensure Kyle was all right in person, but at the same time, he knew neither he nor the tribe could afford to have him injured for a whole month, or even longer. "Su-sure," Butters hesitated because he and Kyle didn't have a good relationship. Butters didn't mistreat Kyle, but he did believe Kyle brought bad luck. Furthermore, Kyle actively avoided him. Stan finally sighed. “Okay, please go check on him.” When Butters was about to leave, Stan opened his mouth, wanting to ask him to let Kyle know he was thinking of him. But the thought alone made him feel ashamed. He knew he'd felt a strange attraction to Kyle yesterday—more potent than any other he had experienced—and attributed his intense libido to the approaching mating season. He understood it would be strange to long for Kyle so intensely, and Kyle might be weirded out if Stan sent a message like that via Butters. Instead, Stan resolved to visit Kyle once he was allowed to return home, under the pretext of claiming the taste of the jam Kyle was so proud of and Stan was owed.   Kyle stood in his kitchen, a subtle aroma of squished berries filling the air. He had been spending the morning making his jam. Yesterday, he had selected the best berries in his stash and cleaned them so he could start early today. The first mix was ready early in the morning, but it didn't feel like the best he had made because he wasn't using fresh berries, so he started cooking again. He played with the ingredients until the mix tasted right. It was about to be noon when he finally had the perfect final product, ready to pack and give to Stan. As he filled a pot, he couldn't help but hum a tune, happy as a bird in spring. He was so lost in his world that he didn't notice someone knocking at his door until they gave it the third hard tap. The knock startled him because he rarely received visits. He wiped his hands and rushed to the door to find out his visitor was Kenny. “Hello,” Kenny said happily, and Kyle promptly returned the greeting. If Kyle dared to call anyone a friend, it would be Kenny, but Kyle felt more comfortable calling him an acquaintance. He preferred this to avoid creating expectations and ultimately getting disappointed. He and Kenny occasionally talked, and it could be said they were in a similar situation, with Kenny facing only slightly fewer difficulties than Kyle because he was an alpha. Kenny’s mom and dad never held high-ranking positions. They were, to put it nicely, mediocre. They were known for consistently abusing the fermented drinks and mushrooms used to celebrate the change of season, which meant they rarely fulfilled their duties. Fortunately for Kenny and his siblings, once they reached maturity, they were able to begin to carve out their own status and improve their lives. However, their happiness did not last long. When Karen, Kenny’s younger sister, had her first child born dead due to malformations incompatible with life, the tribe became a nest of gossip. Even Kyle, who usually wasn’t aware of the gossip that traveled around the tribe, found out about it. These types of situations used to be hidden by the healers because they brought a lot of pain and shame to the birthing omegas. But Karen’s birthing came to light along with the rumor that her family was cursed. Everyone found out the omega of their older brother, Kevin, had also barely managed to birth a healthy child—after three miscarriages of malformed babies—and hell broke out when it was rumored that Kenny’s parents had the same problem. When the situation was at its worst, Kevin took his family and left the tribe. Karen’s alpha abandoned her, and she was left under Kenny's care. As a result, Kenny—despite being a good hunter and generally a good person—began to be avoided by all the omegas. Kenny and Karen were still involved in the tribe’s life, but Karen had episodes of depression in which she barely left her hut for days, and Kenny did nothing but care for her. Kyle felt bad for them, not only because the situation was terrible, but also because Kenny and Karen had always been friendly to him and were among the few people who bartered with him in exchange for his jam. “Oh! My nose was right, you were making the good stuff today.” Kyle chuckled, his eyes lighting up with amusement. "Come on in, I’m packing the first batch."  Kenny followed Kyle into the kitchen and saw him putting Stan’s pot aside before presenting him with a pot of equally deliciously looking jam. The sight of the vibrant fruits infused in the jam made Kenny’s mouth water.  Their tribe wasn't known for eating sweet things, not because they didn’t like them, but because they didn’t know how to make sweet dishes correctly. Kenny was the exception. Since he had to spend long hours in his house taking care of Karen, he used to experiment with food. He had even come up with a brisket using Kyle’s jam that raised his and his sister's spirits. “It smells so good.” Kenny was already thinking about what he could cook with this jam’s flavor. “On yesterday’s hunt, I got part of the rib cage; I’ll bring you some later if that’s okay. Karen is skinning it now.” “Sure, but can you bring it when the sun goes down? I'll be outside.” Kyle savored the prospect and thanked Kenny as he led him to the door. Kenny always traded more than a fair share with him, and Kyle always made sure to thank him. Kenny even became more generous with Kyle once the situation with Karen had blown up, probably because he knew how difficult life would be for Karen if he wasn't around and how hard Kyle’s life was. Even though Kenny had been raised in a poor home, he always had the name of an alpha taking care of his family, contrary to Kyle, who was an omega living alone. “Karen will bring you the meat then. She is feeling better today. My shift was extended, and I’ll be busy through the afternoon and night.” “That’s okay. I can’t wait to say hi to her. I’m glad she’s doing fine now.” Kyle figured that with Stan out of commission, many of his activities would have to be redistributed to other tribe members.   As he and Kenny were saying goodbye at his hut's door, Kyle saw Butters walking on the path that led to his house and raised a surprised eyebrow. It was a novelty to receive two visitors in one day. Under other circumstances, he would have been grateful because that meant he would have more food to store, but Butters wasn't the type of person who made trades with him, so Kyle had no idea why he was there. Furthermore, more visitors only delayed him in his goal of visiting Stan. He didn't want to arrive at the infirmary and find out that Stan had been discharged, because then he would have to visit Stan at his hut, and that was a little intimidating.   Butters stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw Kenny, and he briefly looked as if he wanted to turn around and leave, but he immediately regained his composure and continued forward. “Hello!” Butters glanced at Kenny, who ignored him, so he immediately focused his attention on Kyle. Kyle returned the greeting while Kenny just told Kyle with a hand gesture that he had to leave. Kyle wanted Kenny to stay a little longer, as Kyle and Butters didn't have a good relationship and their interactions ranged from nonexistent to awkward. However, Kenny ran away from the scene as fast as he could. “What brings you here?” The direct question was probably a little rude, but Kyle didn't have many people to practice his social skills with, and he also didn't think Butters would want to spend a lot of time casually conversing with him. Butters looked at him with a confused expression, as if he didn't know what to answer, until he shook his head slightly and told him he was there to check on his health. He knew Kyle had been involved in yesterday's incident, and ensuring he wasn't injured was necessary. “Oh, thanks for coming to check on me. But I’m fine, you don’t have to worry.” “It’s good to hear that. Are you sure you didn’t get any injuries during the attack?” Butters insisted, looking concerned. His insistence made Kyle feel a bit irritated, but his following words filled his stomach with butterflies. “I told Stan that if you were injured, you would definitely go to the infirmary, but he was very worried about you.” “Really?” His excitement could be seen in how he perked up his ears, and he couldn't help but gently wag his tail from side to side. Butters was surprised by his reaction and couldn't help but smile. It wasn't a mocking smile, but Butters definitely found it amusing that Kyle was so enthusiastic about Stan, especially because Kyle always tried never to show his emotions to any member of the tribe. Kyle blushed. He didn’t want anyone to notice the things that made him happy so they wouldn't ruin them. Of course, he never showed up when he was sad or angry either. It was curious that he was in front of the main reason he learned to restrain himself.   It happened four years ago, during the most difficult time he had ever experienced. A few days after his father passed away, and having just begun to accept the idea that he would never have a mate, it felt as if Kyle himself had ceased to exist. Kyle was young and knew he had done nothing wrong, but for some reason, he was treated as if he was no longer necessary to anyone. He wasn't exiled from the tribe, but it felt like he was. The few people who used to casually talk to him when his father was alive stopped acknowledging his presence. He was alone, and no one reached out to him. He wasn't sure what he was thinking that day, but he hated everyone and wondered how dangerous it would be to leave his tribe. He didn't have an exact idea of how to get to his mother's tribe, but he was certain he could find his way there. He would go from tribe to tribe, asking for a group that shared his physical traits, and he would join them. He might die along the way, but honestly, he didn't care. While harvesting as far away from his omega companions as possible, he was making a mental list of the things he needed to do to prepare himself to leave. He was so concentrated that he was obviously irritated when Butters approached him to ask some nonsense that Kyle didn't hear properly. Kyle knew Butters was trying to be kind, but instead of making Kyle feel better, it made him want to hit him because Butters had everything easy and was the most annoying omega he had ever met. Butters came from a good family, could attract any alpha he wanted, and, to top it off, the leader of the healers had chosen him as her apprentice. Yet, Butters still gathered with the rest of the omegas because he didn't want to distance himself from the many friends he had. Kyle was not in the mood to become a charity case, much less be used as just another tool for everyone to keep saying how perfect Butters was. He detested him. So, when they were gathering thorns by the riverbank and Butters became even more annoying, Kyle pushed him to get him to stop following him. It hadn't been his intention to harm Butters, but Butters stumbled and fell into the river, which carried him downstream. The worst part was that Butters nearly drowned because he couldn't swim.   Kyle had to meet with the council without anyone's support, and when he faced the real threat of being exiled, he realized he didn’t want to leave. The world out there was scary. He cried, and the tribe leaders forgave his mistake to honor his father's memory and because he was young. However, they warned him they wouldn't spare him again. He, who had never truly intended to harm anyone and felt genuinely sorry, decided not to lose himself in a spiral of negative thoughts again and to control his emotions as much as possible, both the negative and positive ones. That was one of the many reasons he avoided many people in the tribe, especially Butters.   When Butters finally left, Kyle felt grateful. It wasn't yet late enough to visit Stan. In fact, the timing was perfect because it was almost lunchtime. He packed the jam into his favorite basket before, for the first time in several years, making himself look a little presentable. Still, he didn't want to appear like he had taken a long time to prepare. He was afraid of raising eyebrows and seeming pathetic because there was no way to look attractive. So once he washed up and tidied himself a bit, he left his hut, taking slow breaths to gather courage and not appear nervous when he met Stan.   He was very happy, walking with confident steps and tightly holding onto the handle of his basket, when a couple of older tribe members and council assistants blocked his path. "Come with us," one of them said in a severe tone that didn't allow room for protest. Still, Kyle asked what they wanted. He didn't want to be interrupted on his way to see Stan. "Come along," said the other, gently pushing him toward the direction they needed to go. "The council requires your presence." Kyle no longer protested, but he felt severely intimidated and experienced déjà vu from the last time he saw the council. Mainly because, as he marched toward the council meeting hut, several people looked at him with suspicion.   He felt very nervous when the men made him enter the cabin, and his whole body trembled when he realized he was standing in front of a significant portion of the council. Stan's father was at the center, presiding over the meeting. This was not good news. Stan's father only presided over meetings when a tribe member was accused of doing something wrong. Something serious. Kyle immediately remembered that it must be known to everyone that he went out alone to gather, breaking all the rules, but he was sure that such a violation wouldn't warrant being brought before the council. If he were to be reprimanded, it would be the omega leader of the gatherers who would handle him. "What-what's happening?" he mustered the courage to speak. Then, without further preamble, Stan's father told Kyle that he was exiled from the tribe and that he had to leave tomorrow morning. “Thanks to your inability to follow the rules, one of the most prominent members of their tribe, Stan, my son, had been injured. You were warned once before—about what would happen if something like this were to occur again.” Kyle gaped “But I-I didn’t do—” “This is already decided,” said Stan’s dad louder than Kyle’s stammering. Kyle had no idea what was happening. He didn't even feel the moment when the basket slipped from his hands and his freshly made jam spilled all over the floor.