257. Rin - The Bird Clan 1

257. Rin - The Bird Clan 1
For the next parts - if I made mistakes, I only have Google to rely on during my research, but I will fix them, if any.

I haven’t set foot on the reservation since my mother married Stan. I think that deep down, I blamed my tribe–The Bird Tribe–for pushing my mother away. When Yan and Aunt Ayita also left, my convictions grew even stronger. Of course, that is not true, but that’s how I coped with things. 
Lately, I’ve felt a need to return to my origins. To go home. 
After talking about it for a couple of days, my blood-brothers, my bonded, our children, and I have decided to visit the reservation. Yan and I still have family there, and I want to reconnect with them.
It takes us about three hours to get to the reservation. I’m not sure what to expect, so I prepare myself for the worst-case scenario. 
I park in front of my grandfather’s house–my childhood home–and I go to take out the luggage from the trunk while Cirro and Yan try to get Harper and Roman out of their car seats. 
Steven pulls in behind me a few moments later. Mads quickly jumps out and helps Emily out of the truck.
It doesn’t take long for the front door of the house to open and for a man to step out. Even if I haven’t seen him for a long time, I still recognize Uncle Yonah, which means bear. The name fits him like a glove because he has to be one of the biggest men I have ever seen. He’s my mom’s oldest brother. 
Even if I do recognize him, I can’t say the same about him. 
“Who are you?” he asks while his gaze takes in all of us. He studies Yan for a couple of seconds, but he doesn’t recognize his nephews.  
Aunt Karen appears behind him. She’s one of the sweetest women I know, and unlike Uncle Yonah, she does recognize us. “Rin! Yan!” Uncle Yonah gives her an incredulous look as she keeps talking, “Oh, God! Is that really you two?” 
I nod. “Hi, Aunt Karen.” 
She steps onto the porch and puts her hands on her hips while her eyes narrow. She looks pissed. “Hi, Aunt Karen,” she repeats. She not only looks pissed, but she also sounds angry. “Really? Is that all you have to say after not seeing you two for such a long time? And where are your mothers? The scolding they are going to receive when I get my hands on them! How dare they not call or visit us during all this time!” she huffs and puffs. “Do they even know how worried we’ve been? Yonah has tried to find them many times, but has had no luck.” 
She turns toward Uncle Yonah, “Isn’t that right, Yonah?” 
Uncle Yonah nods. “Yes, dear.” 
Probably hearing the commotion, their daughters slowly start to make their way to the front door. From what I remember, they have five girls, two older than me, one the same age as me, and twins born a year after Yan. And they all look alike. Like the same face, but with small variations. 
The oldest of them, Ama, asks, “Rin, what the hell did you do to your hair?” To Yan, she says, “Look at you, all grown up.” 
I laugh as I run my fingers through my short, white hair. “I was forced to cut it years ago, and I never let it grow after that.” 
“Why white?” she keeps insisting. 
“I will explain later. Right now, come meet my family.” 
Cirro finally manages to unbuckle Roman’s seatbelt and get him out. Mads also gets Harper out.
The second oldest, Raina, suddenly squeals, “Is that a baby?” She quickly ducks her head inside and screams, “Hey, all! Come meet the baby!” 
“There are two of them!” Avani, one of the twins, says. 
I start to wonder who they’re talking to when four more girls—each the spitting image of their sisters—appear in the doorway. At the same time, Avani, her twin Zayla, Mariella, Ama, and Raina rush to take Roman and Harper from Cirro and Mads.
I look at my uncle, who shrugs. “Your aunt wanted a boy really badly, but she eventually gave up on the idea.” 
The other four girls are between the ages of seven and fourteen. 
Raina picks up Roman. “You are such a cute baby!” she coos while Ama and Mariella try to take him from her. 
Avani and Zayla are busy with Harper, who seems to enjoy the attention just as much as her brother. 
Aunt Karen starts introducing the cousins I haven’t met yet. “This is Lisa. She’s fourteen. Kiera is twelve, while Tiffany is nine. The youngest, Elina, just turned seven a couple of weeks ago.” To them, she says, “These are your cousins Rin and Yan.” 
While my cousins fawn over Roman and Harper, the rest of us step inside the house, where I finally say, “Let me introduce you to my blood-brothers and bonded.” 
I don’t need to explain what those terms mean since Grandpa Takoda was never shy in telling the family about his days as a Lord. 
I flick my wrist while I say, “Cirro, Mads, Steven, and of course, Yan. And–” I take Emily’s hand into mine and interlace our fingers, “Emily. She’s my soulmate in every way possible.” 
Aunt Karen, who doesn’t really believe in personal space, starts hugging and kissing everyone’s cheek–I blame it on her Spanish stepmother, who used to kiss everyone’s cheeks–while saying, “Welcome to the family.” In Yan’s case, she says, “So glad to have you back. I also can’t believe you are a father now.” 
Uncle Yonah shakes everyone’s hands. “Welcome, welcome,” he tells my blood-brothers. 
After everyone is seated in the living room and Aunt Karen serves us iced tea and homemade cookies, Uncle Yonah asks, “So, where are my sister and cousin?” 
Both he and Aunt Karen are smiling while they wait for my reply.
Emily gives my hand a squeeze. 
“Mom and Aunt Ayita are dead,” I say. 
For long seconds, no one says anything. 
Then, Aunt Karen finally manages to ask, “How?”
Not wanting to go into great detail, I only reply, “They are dead.” 
“Was it a car accident?” Uncle Yonah presses for answers. 
“No,” Yan says between clenched teeth. “They were killed. By different people.” 
Uncle Yonah jumps to his feet. “Who?” 
“It was already taken care of,” I say.