About 30 minutes of walking after my encounter with the 4 men, my mind began to wander again. Once we got off the bus at Syabrubesi, I mistakenly believed it to be Langtang at first. Rohan was quick to laugh at me when I asked if this was it.

"This is just another stop, Thomas. Most people that come this way, take 2-3 days of following that trail to get to Langtang. We will be there tomorrow before dark. The next day we will head further into the mountains. Jiva's Home is several days travel further in, away from human habitation."

What followed was a forced march, that was only slowed to slightly faster than normal pace when we were in view of people. To fill the time, I asked about the Tribe and Clans, wanting to get as much information as I could.

"The most relevant clans are the Yak, Horse, Bird, Fox, Bear, and Cat clans. In each Clan, there are sub-Clans. The Yak Clan has Bull, Sheep, and Deer members. The Horse clan claims to be many, but their features are remarkably similar. The Bird Clan has representatives of the Crain, Golden Eagle, Raven, and Albatross Clans last they reported. The Fox Clan has the Tibetan fox, Red fox, and Corsac fox. The Bear clan have Grizzley, Asian Black, and Brown bears. Finally, there is your Clan. The Cat clan, there are Snow leopards, Panthers, Lion's and finally Tigers."

He paused here, letting the information overload settle before continuing.

"Each major Clan selects its own leader however they chose, and then those leaders select a Tribal leader amongst themselves. Any time there is a change in leadership of a Clan. There could be a request for a change in the Tribal leader, thought that is usually rare."

I thought for a moment and asked. "What about lifespan?"

"We tend to live longer than the most locals, averaging around 110 years."

"So, your shift does not prolong your lives?" There was surprise in my voice. The Quileute had documented stories of their gift giving longer life span to those that shifted often. Wait a minute, that reminded me.

"Also, what Clan did my grandmother belong to? Was there one created for Wolves when she was here?"

"To answer your first question. No, the ability to change form dose not add to our lifespan."

I wanted to interrupt, because that answer left a led to a lot more questions. But I let him continue. Getting answers was the whole reason I was here. I didn't need them all the first week.

"Your second question, the answer is No. There is no Wolf Clan here. She married a member of the Cat Clan who had his Changeling abilities bound. But because of her abilities, she stayed in Jiva's Home with her husband."

"You know that's going to take some explaining, Rohan."

Rohan sighed, "It's like explaining the basics you learn as a child to an adult. There is so much I just feel is basic that I forget to tell you. Okay, obviously, the whole population does not live in one spot. The Clans are spread out all over Nepal and some surrounding areas. Those members who awaken the changing abilities gather in Jiva's Home."

"Your grandfather was a Tiger member who wanted to go out into the world, so he had his ability bound. It was on a trade expedition that he met your grandmother, and she claimed an imprint on him. We of the Tribe had never heard of this Imprint, but accepted it all the same. After all, each Clan has its own ideocracies."

My big take from that is there is a good chance that I will not imprint. I couldn't wait to tell Edythe about that.

Rohan continued, "To be bound, you must come to Jiva's Home and undergo a ceremony that blocks you from changing. This can only be done between the ages of 24-25, and must be voluntary. However, no system is perfect, and some do slip through the cracks, thus you have all the stories of Yeti or Bigfoot, the Skinwalkers, and many other myths."

My train of thought was interrupted by a rather large problem. On the trail ahead of me, standing about 6ft at the shoulder and looking to weigh about 2,000 pounds, was a solid black bull yak. Its belly fur hanging nearly to the ground, it looked at me evenly. There was no fear in its eyes or even wariness. It just looked at me as if waiting to see my own reaction.

I looked around to see if there was a way around it and came up empty. My left shoulder was at a steep incline that offered little purchase to climb up it, and looking to my right was a gradual slope down the mountain. This was the worst possible place for this to happen.

I let out a deep sigh. I really didn't want to change to my tiger shape just to get around a damn Yak. The fact that it was here and just standing still made me think of the 4 idiots back at the clearing. I laughed at the thought of how many training ark cartoon and comic stories started this way.

The wandering hero heads to the great master's training palace only to be met with multiple tests along the way. BORING.

"All right, Yak. I am headed that way, and you are in the way. I will walk past you and be on my way, or you push your luck, and I find out if you got your name from the flavor of your meat."

The trail was big enough for two Yak's to pass each other, so my passing it without causing it any distress was doable. It seemed to watch me as I got closer to it, showing no signs of fear or aggression. Having only seen cows on TV or in pictures, the only real differences I could see were the obvious ones. The hump on its shoulders, its short snout, and definitely its long hair.

A normal animal was no threat to me, so I calmly moved to walk past it. The Yak made no move as I approached. I hoped my confident pace would keep it from getting skittish. The thing didn't look like a wild Yak, just a clean domestic one that had wandered onto the trail.

I walked along the shoulder of the trail, hoping to pass with no incident, but I kept a wary eye on the long horns the closer I got. It was a good thing I did as well, because the damn Yak swung its head as I was about out of range.

Instead of moving forward, giving the Yak more opportunity to attack me from behind, I stepped back, placing my body between the dubious safety of the two horns. Out of reflex, my hand reached out and smacked the snout of the Yak. Hard.

The smack forced the head down and in surprise, the Yak stumbled back a few steps. I knew that the nose was a sensitive spot for all bovine species, and that was why in the old times people placed rings in the bull's nose to control them.

"You could have just let me pass. I was no threat to you, so your actions have made this necessary. So now it's your turn to choose what to do. You tried to gore me and got slapped for it, and that was me being nice."

Talking to the damn thing was probably a little crazy, but I was used to having company on this trip, so my thoughts spilled out of my mouth. It wasn't like I was looking for a conversation. Just talking and hoping my voice would carry my intent.

It didn't work. Even with the little animal experience I had, Bugs Bunny taught me enough about what it meant when something with hors starts to paw at the ground and lower its head.

"You really don't want to do that."

I said out loud, hoping this didn't get any worse, but when it started to tense up like it was going to jump at me or charge, I started to pull in the heat from my mental fire. With a bellow from its mouth, the Yak went into full charge mode, well as much as a charge as it could get on this trail.

I reached out and placed a hand on each horn, getting a solid grip, then I twisted my body. With my increased strength, this caused the back end of the Yak to whip around, and a twist of its head had the stupid thing tumbling down the slope of the mountain, once I let the horns go.

I watched as it made a few tumbles and came to rest about 60 yards away. It laid on its side, obviously dazed. Not wanting to be in sight when it got its focus back, I made my way along the trail, but kept an ear out for anything running after me from the back. That was kinda fun.