FicWad

"I see." Shahdee says simply.


"What's that supposed to mean?"


"Nothing, nothing."


"So, how are you- What was that?" Hector asks as Shahdee sits straight up and cocks her ears to listen.


"Shh." She says to Hector. "Horses. Maybe three, definitely more than one. And they're close."


"And they've woken up everyone else." Hector says, pointing towards the camp where sounds of activity are now coming to them.


"Come on." Shahdee says, getting up and running low to the ground in the grass. With Hector right behind her, they both skirt the encampment and come up behind the people who came into the encampment.


"Oh crap." Shahdee says, whipping back behind the nearest ger.


"What, what is it?"


"There's three of them and, oh god, one of them's Agate."


"Agate? Who's that?"


"Okay, he's my age and we were betrothed when I was eight and we were going to be married when I was seventeen, and the year before we were to be married, he got bit with the Rath bug."


"Rath bug?"


"You know, he left cause he got bit with the 'I wanna leave and try and make things better outside of Sacae for nomads' bug? Also known as the Rath bug?"


"Oh, that bug. So, this guy hurt you too? And how old are you anyway?"


"Uh huh. And it's best I don't come face to face with him, otherwise-"


"Things could get a little ugly?"


"You bet. And I'm eighteen." Shahdee sneaks another look around the corner of the ger and sees Agate talking and Rath looking really pissed off and the next thing Shahdee knows Rath has taken a swing at Agate and Agate ducks under the swing and lands uppercut on Rath's jaw.


"Hey!" Shahdee shouts, rushing out from behind the ger. "No one is allowed to hit my brother except for me!" She heads for Agate and piledrives him square in the cajones.


Agate drops to the ground, immediately holding his balls and curling into the fetal position. One of the men Agate was traveling with goes to attack Shahdee and she immediately drops to the ground and knocks him down with a low kick. Only she gets up too fast and suddenly feels very lightheaded. The other man Agate was traveling with tackles Shahdee and a second later he goes flying off as Hector throws him off and leaves him to the others as he helps you up.


"Are you alright?"


"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just got a little lightheaded is all."


"And people tell me I push myself too hard." Hector says, as Shahdee turns around to face Agate and his two companions.


"Hector, I need you to hold me up." Shahdee whispers in his ear.


"What?"


"I'm starting to feel a little woozy and I can't be falling over when addressing those three, it won't look good. We'll just go over by everyone else and you just stand behind me and put your hands on the back of my hips so your hands can't be seen so well."


"Okay, I can do that." Shahdee and Hector walk over to the place where everyone is assembled and Hector takes up his spot behind Shahdee and she feels him lightly place his hands towards the back of her hips. Rath, who's jaw looks a tad swollen, has Agate in a standing position with his hands behind his back and Guy and one of the group that came in the day before, the paladin who spoke to you, have the other two and they are all facing you.


"So, Agate, why did you come back?" Shahdee asks.


"I heard what had happened to our tribe soon after the actual event and I came from the southern coast as soon as I could."


"It doesn't take six months to get from here to the Southern Coast or vice versa."


"It did for us."


"Agate, may I remind you that you are still technically a member of the Kutolah and that is forbidden to attack another member of the tribe and it's an even worse crime to attack the chieftain, which both of your companions here have done."


"No they didn't. I know the laws of my own people, thankyouverymuch, and while it is against the law, Rath started it and they only attacked the chieftain's daughter, and I want to speak to Night now!"


"How very juvenile. While Rath may have thrown the first punch, you landed the first hit, ergo, you're going to be the one in trouble and you attacked a family member of the chieftain too. And all you must have heard was that the Kutolah got attacked. My father was among the dead, and that makes me chieftain, so yeah, your friends did attack the chieftain, which as you may know, is a crime punishable by death, considering one of them tackled me when I was not in a position to defend myself."


"But your father excommunicated Rath from the tribe when he left, how the hell is he still protected under the family law?!"


"Because I say he is. And you might consider talking to me differently aside from the fact that I am now your chieftain, as making me angry is a very bad idea."


"The worst you could do is slap me."


"No, the worst I could do is a lot more then that. I went into studentship with Master Wolf so I could kill you with my bare hands or anything that could be a weapon and my more, natural abilities could kill you too."


"Natural abilities, yeah right."


"Rath, let go of Agate for a minute please. And Agate don't consider running." Rath backs off and Agate stands there, immediately looking for a way out and Shahdee stares at him and all of a sudden, thanks to her, the wind picks up and Agate is lifted three feet off the ground and spun all the way around once before Shahdee sets him back on the ground and Rath re-assumes guard duty of him.


"How the hell did you do that!"


"My natural abilities. A bit recessive and latent, but they are natural nonetheless. Now, I am not in a killing mood at the moment, frankly, I would rather be sleeping then having to talk to you, pathetic as you have become. So, you and your pals here have until the count of ten to get out of here and I never want you to come back here. And from this point forward, you are no longer a member of the Kutolah tribe."


"You can't do that!"


"I can and I just did. Rath, Guy, and-"


"Marcus." Hector whispers in your ear.


"Marcus. Release the prisoners. One. Two. Three. Four-" And by five the three of them have gotten on their horses and are galloping like hell for the horizon.


"That was most impressive." Marcus says.