Seventeen - Tarka

Even though I could have sat beside the two young men down below, my instincts were telling me to stay up above them in this tree. Somehow, I felt that being up here would make me all-around above the two of them, as well. I had heard their entire conversation. "Just . . . whatever"? Pfft. Well thanks. I didn't think you were all that either. 

"Boys," I muttered. "Who needs 'em?" Well, I just need one. But he's gone. 

I squatted down on the branch for a good few minutes, munching on a piece of fruit when Alden called up to me, "Hey you, will you please jump, er, slide, or uh . . . whatever you do, to get down from the tree? We need to talk with you." 

I hesitated before I gracefully climbed down the tree. What would they do with me? They had pretty much let me be for the most part. If they were to charge at me or chase me, I could outrun the Palkin, probably even take him down. I didn't want to think about what the Brackin would . . . or could do with me. I silently made my way towards them, with my head held higher than my confidence truly was at that moment. They stared at me. 

"What do you want? You look like you've never seen a Viridian before." 

"Well, I know I haven't seen many, if any, before you at least," Alden looked me up and down. "You're really quite, er, fascinating . . ." Tristram gave him a good slap to the arm to shut him up before he went any further. 

"Ow! I only meant your people. I didn't know you were quite so . . . reptilian. It's pretty neat actually." 

"I've seen your people only a few times, as well," bellowed Tristram. He put his hand in his pant pocket. "When I served in the king's army. When we would travel, we would pass by the Viridi jungles, I would catch a few glimpses of some of your leaders making their way out of your territory to greet us."

I nodded in silence, my long dark braid slightly thumping my back. "Well, what do you want with me, then? You wanted me down here for a reason," I grew impatient. 

Alden and Tristram looked at each other. "Well, we want you to come join us down here. We don't want to have you retreat to a tree and disappear until kingdom come," Alden said. "We don't even know your name."

"Why should I tell you that?" I crossed my arms. 

Tristram now put his foot on a stump and leaned on his leg with his arm. "If we're going to all stay together, we've got to at least know each others' names," he reasoned with me as he looked to the side of us. He had a point. "Besides, I'm assuming you don't have anyone to go back to in your village, do you?" he now looked at me and raised his thick dark eyebrows. Another good point. I shook my head. 

"Fine. My name is Tarka. Just Tarka." My heart started pounding without warning. Why did I feel this way? I had only told them my name, but I feel like I had already given them a huge piece of my heart by doing so. 

"Tarka. I like it," said Tristram. 

Alden had a huge grin on his face. "Just Tarka? Interesting name. Rolls off the tongue." 

My eyes widened at the all-too familiar memory of Damian. Tears filled my eyes way too quickly before I could force them away. I turned around and ran off into the jungle where the two men wouldn't see me cry. 

I kept running until I almost couldn't hear Alden defensively questioning, "What did I say?"

Sixteen - Alden

Tristram came back with a smug look on his face as I attempted to make our small fire a little bigger. He sat down, giving me a knowing look that I knew nothing about.

"What?" I asked.

"I just want you to know that I am here if you ever need any advice." He said, resting his hands against the back of his head as he leaned against a tree.

"Right..." I said, pretending to understand what it was he was trying to say.

"Girl can be tricky things, I've had my fair share of experience."

"Girls?" Suddenly I understood what it was he was implying and I grew furious. "Are you stupid!" I got up in a huff. "I'm going for a walk." I managed through clenched teeth.

I made my way down the path with the two intertwining trees, safely tucked away from the glow of the fire, and slid down beside a strange looking bolder. How could Tristram even begin to think that? We were two completely different species, it doesn't make any sense whatsoever. I crossed my arms, feeling my face growing hot regardless of the fire's absence. Glancing up at the trees, I did have to wonder if she was watching.

Maybe Tristram was wrong about the whole love aspect, but I suppose I did feel a similarness between the girl and I. Her eyes, while supposedly hard as Viridian eyes should be, were not. They looked like they had seen too much, just as I have. Perhaps I would be the only one to understand the pain behind hardened eyes, that there was always a reason for it and it was never a joyous occasion.

I sighed to myself, "She's stupid, I'm stupid, it's whatever!' I exclaimed, trying to convince myself none of this mattered when I heard something within the trees. I jumped up. "Who's there? Are you there?" I cried, but the trees were quiet with only the descent of a couple leaves. I stepped closer to where the leaves fell. "I'm sorry." I said, in a sincere tone that I'm not sure I'd ever taken towards another person before. "I don't know what it was, but I'm sorry." I stood there a moment, a hand resting on the rough bark of a nearby tree, taking in the smell of the musty land and trees. After a minute or so passed, I decided to head back to Tristram, with any luck he would already be snoring and my episode would be forgotten.

Fifteen - Tristram

I thought for sure our plan had failed. Alden kept yelling his lines ("I'll be taking that back!" and "Okay, whatever you say") to assure that the thief heard us but he sounded so obvious! Of course I had no idea what the heck was going on, I had just woken up with his scimitar in my hand, but after he told me the ruse a couple minutes later, I was sure he had given it away. Alden knew right away that I hadn't taken the sword. I was asleep when he left the camp. There was no way I could have been running through the forest one minute, then asleep another: the thief had to have been much faster. That, when added to the green glints we kept seeing, led us to conclude that our thief was a Viridi. Creating a trap was simple too. Now that we had our thief though, what to do with him...?

... Her?!?! The thief was a girl? As Alden  untied the trap I swooped in and tied her up. Then an awkward silence ensued. Honestly I had doubted we would have caught the thief, again I thought Alden had given it away, but now that we were here... what to do... With her soundly tied up I sat down by the fire only to notice Alden hadn't moved... in fact neither had the girl. They were looking at each other. Not glaring, not leering, but dazed; not wholly conscious of the world they inhibit. A look I myself have experienced when I met Elane.

I coughed, unlocking their eyes, bringing them back to reality. Alden blushed and muttered something under his breath about never seeing a Viridi before, something I truly doubted. The girl, however, took on a guilty look. She didn't blush but perhaps realized once again that she was trapped. I picked up some juk meat and knelt down by her. "My name is Tristram and this is Alden. We aren't going to hurt you." I offered her the food but she refused to acknowledge me. "What's your name?" I asked. No response... I sat down, relaxing  my knees, and thought for the hundredth time, what are we going to do with her. We can't kill her, we probably can't even harm her. Two banished foreigners have next to no privileges in Viridi territory. I guess there was only one this left to do: let her go.

"I'll let you go if you promise to stop stealing our things and messing with us." After a long moment, she nodded her head, stiffly. I untied the ropes and as soon as there was enough slack, she sprinted up a tree. We could hear her climbing away. This wouldn't be the last we saw of her. Not by a long shot. I'm familiar enough with that look to know that she won't be able to stay away... and Alden wouldn't let that happen either. Alden, the boy is huddled by the fire, still confused by the looks of it. I guess it's time to counsel him. I look once more at the tree the girl climbed up. I'll leave some meat there in the morning, perhaps even leave an obvious trail. She'll be back, and who am I to stop young love at it's first blossom?

Fourteen - Tarka

I sprinted through the green leaves and branches surrounding me on the jungle floor. Alden was not used to running through this kind of area like I was, and even if he were, he would be the pathetic type that wasn't used to running at all. I don't know how it happened, but I kept a good hold of the scimitar while running at what seemed a billion miles per hour. It kept slashing through branches to the side of and in front of me, but that helped me all the more.

I finally dashed up a tree before Alden caught up to where I had been. He slowed down to a stop, scratched his head, looked around the trees and even looked up at one point. Luckily, I had hidden myself well enough to where he didn't see me. He let out several large huffs of breath before finally starting back to camp.

It dawned on me that I could potentially have fun with this. I was quicker than Alden (AND Tristram probably as well). They didn't know I existed. "I wonder how many things I could steal from them? I could make them think it was each other . . . Now wouldn't that be a sight?" I thought to myself and chuckled. Why not give it a go?

I swiftly flew from tree to tree ahead of Alden towards camp. When I saw that Tristram had fallen asleep sitting against one of the trees, I hung from one of the lowest branches and dropped down to the ground. Being cautious and making as little noise as possible, I slipped the scimitar's handle in one of his hands resting in his lap. I was also careful to point it towards the ground, so that if he awoke suddenly, he wouldn't stab himself. When I heard the sound of Alden's footsteps coming up behind me, I scampered up the tree again and waited for some fun to begin.

Alden stepped into the campsite and stopped. He glanced at Tristram snoring. His eyes widened. "So it was YOU that took my scimitar! I bet he's only been pretending to sleep, " he said to himself and the sleeping Brackin. He sped his footsteps up, bent down and slapped the Brackin. Tristram awoke with a start. "I'll be taking that back!" said Alden rather loudly.

Tristram furrowed his eyebrows. "What're ya talkin' about, Alden? I don't know how that got into my hands, I promise!"

"Oh yeah, sure."

"Honest! I've been asleep the entire time."

"Okay, whatever you say," Alden stated very loudly again, but he still didn't seem convinced.

I stifled another giggle. I went away from the campsite for a while to find something to fill my growling stomach; I didn't want it to give me away! About an hour or so later, I was able to find some fruit to keep me filled for a bit. I made my way back through the trees and climbed back up in the one overlooking the Brackin and the Palkin.

The two men had built a fire, eaten some fruit they found in a tree and some squirrel or rat thing that Tristram had caught, killed, and skinned. As the moon rose in the dark sky, they drifted off to sleep. I looked around at something else I could take. Something of the Brackin's this time. But what?

I found it. Tristram's knife; it was laying out in plain sight by the fire on one of their unused blankets. It was perfect.

I slid down the tree and landed soundlessly on the ground. I tiptoed with my scaly tail held up so it wouldn't drag and make noise. I stepped onto the blanket.

Before I could grab the knife, I felt myself being lifted up, almost catapulted into the air. The blanket engulfed me, and I couldn't see anything. I bobbed up and down in the air. "Shoot! They set a booby trap! I should've known. They probably set it up while I was gone. Curses!" I thought to myself. I tried to wriggle my way out of the trap but it was no use. I was stuck.

I heard rustling beneath me and then both of the men chuckling. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? A THIEF!" Alden exclaimed.

"It'll think twice before it decides to steal from the two of us again!" Tristram agreed.

"That was a great idea to set up that trap, Tristram."

"Ahh, well I've learned a thing or two from being a Brackin."

I felt myself being pulled down and set on the ground. I struggled to get myself free, but the blanket was still wrapped tightly around me. Finally, the blanket opened above me.

My green eyes finally met with Alden's very blue and very confused ones.