Following Chris the next few days had been a cumbersome task. He moseyed like a fast walking ant, moving so quick that at one point, River was scurrying behind him and if she turned away even to brush off her knees from the mud she would lose sight of him the next moment.

One time she caught him snooping into the secret flap of the main pavilion, where they were first taken to do the blood oath. She sneaked from the back and saw him, take pictures of the dragon fire with a device.

Huh. That was weird. Cell Service didn't work in Amazon. And obviously, they had no charger or plug points. Something terribly wrong was working out here and all the signs point back to Chris.

She began to recall the months of tireless trekking and how he used to make her wait at every turn or a particular spot giving a excuse he had to take a leak or had a big job behind the bush.

Too many times did they stop and she hadn't once thought he could have been marking his way for maybe...some more people to shadow them. Flagging critical points for the people behind.

What if they were already here? Is that's where he keeps niggling off to? She had no answers.

Lamentably, she had to report to Yisrael at the end of each day. She didn't see him throughout the daytime only to meet him back at his tent, where he would sit like a damn king and listen to her accords.

He would always comment on them with an unimpressive turn of his lips, "I need more", "This I could have told you in my sleep" and "are you busy admiring nature that he slips by you every time?" the degradation goes on and on.

He didn't even leer at her nowadays. An unpleasant distance was maintained between them. Clearly not from her side this time.

He'd often ignore her for no reason and when she thinks she could get away from a stupid reporting duty, he'd be right there in his tent with snake playing mountain on his shoulders.

Like always, River the analyst would examine and rethink and think again what he was trying to do with her. Making her play spy on a person she thought was a friend, this new aloof span Yisrael had created of himself was irking her.

It was like she was in those mirror maze. Everything has a reflection of her bannering thoughts from all sorts of angles but when she was searching for a way out, she keeps hitting a hard cold glass.

What creeps her out was the each reflection showed a different River. Some bad, some good, they all had a personified side but none of them were whole self.

Her feelings were just like this.

When we find ourselves in uncommon ground, we have so many perceptions of it in that spilt one second but only the one that matter to us the most comes in the forefront.

With Yisrael and his little bundle of not-human tribe, she had so many things in mind but her first moments was unbelief, then came the morbid curiosity and lastly, the urge to leave.

This place was built for them and only them. It had no space for River and she couldn't be a part of something that was entirely different from her way of being.

However, Yisrael comes center in her head and all hell breaks loose. No perception, no candor of her feelings, only left behind was beautiful chaos.

This chaos was like whirlpool. A cyclone that resembled the man. He was so maliciously magnanimous. He was full blown lost in the times super colossal.

And man, that evokes her stupid heart beating.

But if she gave in, every line of this chaos will break open like a vase falling down from a height and knowing it's going to shatter into those million pieces that you would have to clean and pay for dearly.

She didn't have to know the vase would probably be her but in the off-chance, it's not and it could be her interest for him finally subsiding and washed away with the shore, she had unknown sense of emptiness in her.

"River? What are you doing here?" She was so lost in her trance that she didn't even realize Yuri stood behind her.

God, she was the worse spy ever.

She was currently hiding behind a bush, watching Chris take a bath on a fresh water stream down the pathway.

He had taken an honest bath but didn't want to leave any stones left unturned.

She was aware that Yuri knew everything so she simply shrugged, casually. "Spying."

"I see." He folded his arms and she suddenly saw the stark resemblance between Yisrael and him. Both were dominant, huge and damn annoyingly determined.

"I heard Yisrael put you up for this task. I'll come clean with my intentions if only you will because he seems to trust you and my son isn't that bad on his view on people."

Her breath hitched. Yisrael trusts me?

"If you think I would steal from you, let me make it clear. I didn't even think you even existed. You are all a legend that kept the entertainment of the great Amazon all fired up."

"And now?"

"And now, I know you are partly human. You do live slightly longer than average and there is this weird thing with your strength that makes you jump with sharp reflexes similar to a Jaguar. Plus your names all start with Y."

Yuri was impressed by her observation but then again, she could have gotten all the information from her friend Chris. As much as he didn't trust humans, he was doing this as a favor.

A wish to fulfill for his dead wife, Yalli.

"Hmm. Ever wonder why?"

"What do you mean?"

"The jaguar's native name is 'yaguar'. It mean he who kills with one leap. My tribe's ancient ancestor Yate had saved an injured yaguar once long ago and instead of killing him, he nursed the yaguar back to health. The yaguar then changed into the Jaguar God of the underworld who was moved by this and granted him a boon. He asked for half of his heart so as to live longer, gained the speed and strength of a Jaguar. It's why we don't harm the ones here living with us. We respect them."

River blinked. Clearly stunned at his words. This was so out of her depth. The compulsion to laugh right at his face was potent but she didn't want to come off rude when he looked so damn serious.

"So you-wow, that explains nothing to me but somehow you make it believable."

He shook his head. "Don't believe it or believe it, I don't care but you must know the Ibronians are a race that lived through the times and we are all connected through one fire."

Remembering what Chris had once told her, she nodded. "You mean the red flaming stone."

"You have heard of it." He looked at her suspiciously.

"Chris had mentioned in passing. I didn't pay much attention back then."

"Well you better start to pay attention more closely. Your Chris is going to steal the heart of the Iborians and if that happens, my god help you both."

"Wait. That's the heart of the Iborians? The one your ancestor was given by that jaguar god?"

His head inclined. "You are slow. I don't know what Yisrael sees in you."

Glaring at him, she pointedly ignores his last comment. "What will happen if the heart is stolen?"

"Once the heart is taken away, we lose our longevity. We grow weak instantly and we die."

"I'm sure it's hidden somewhere where people can't find it. Isn't it?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, it is."

Control, River. Control. The man just told you he is partly jaguar. Don't make him angry.

"But I'm sure you have a back up plan if things does get escalated. Right?"

"We do, actually."Her back straightens in awareness when she hears that sexy roll of his voice from the back.

She turns around, noting Yisrael's towering length behind her. Well, at least now she knew why she can't hear him.

He glared at her with those jet black eyes. "It's called mind your own business."

She placed her hands on her hips, not liking his tone. "I was just trying to find about what your voodoo culture is all about."

"That's not your task, is it?"

"No but-"

He enunciated again, slowly. "Is it?"

With a begrudging second later, she relented. "No."

He looked at her disappointingly, shaking his head like some school principal. "I hope my father didn't take up all your history lesson time because your Chris is nowhere to be seen."

She looked around him to find no one at the stream. Shit.

She looked up and gave a wry smile. "It's his fault." She pointed a thumb back only to find his father had disappeared. Heck! These Jaguar men!

When she glanced at his face, he wasn't looking amused. "Do you remember what you said?"

"What?"

"That you will do anything I want." Her toes curled at how thick his accent became. He grabbed her hand, pulling her to the stream.

It was languid in flow and slow-paced, solitude by nature. Boulders of different shapes rose out of the water like stepping stones which the flicked against its surface in watery flakes.

The hints of moss befouls the too sultry air.

"Where are you taking me?"

"You look dirty and sweaty from your little spying mission." She looked down at her rumpled clothes and sniffed at her skin. Yuck!

She did need a bath. "Then, I'll head back to my cavern and clean up. After I'm done, I'll give my daily report to you back at the tent."

"First of all, that cavern is mine. Secondly, all your reports are dissatisfactory to me. You didn't even find out the one thing I wanted."

"Hello! It takes time and besides, I'm not so good at sticking my nose into other people's businesses." And she mumbled under her breath. "Unlike some useless giant."

He snapped his gaze back and his eyes going wild. "You like to push me, don't you?"

Acting nonchalant, she looked at the stream. "It's not my favorite hobby but it's sure a good way to pass some time."

She could sense his ire growing. "You like it when you taunt me, you little wicked female."

"I don't have so much time- what are you doing?" He took out a familiar sturdy set of green vines from his pocket.

When it clicked what he was about to do, she yanked her hand away and ran back only to have him catch her so swiftly by her waist, her wrists captured behind her and she was dragged back like some ragged doll.

After tying her wrists with the lengthy cord like vines, he turned her.

"Ask me to bathe you."