Eighteen - Tristram

A streak of purple interrupted the vibrant green of the forest before it disappeared amongst the leaves on my right. I readied my knife. The tell-tale rustle of leaves could be heard on my left and I spun around, jabbing the knife in the air at where the Juke should be. I caught is belly in mid-leap, like I had to so many of his species. I was getting tired of the simple fight, the predictable tactics: be seen on one side, pounce on the opposite. I hadn't had a proper enemy to fight in months. I had been training Alden, and though he improved quickly, he was no warrior. A warrior takes years of training, I'd only been training Alden for a month now.

I knelt down to skin and clean the Juke, first removing some sort of bone it got stuck in its ear. Had it really been a month now? A month since I found my nearly dead redemption? He had grown a lot since then, Tarka too. She was still distant to us, never spoke about herself, but she would walk with us now and camp with us, rather than silently follow in the trees. We had grown on her. An odd group we made. I smiled at the thought of the fish monger in the last village we visited: mouth gaped at as as the fish he was about to butcher started to flop away. While our people weren't strangers, we certainly never interacted, and the Viridi least of all.

I flipped the Juke over and remover another piece of bone stuck in the other ear... Something nagged at the back of my brain but I couldn't quite place it: the fish monger still at the front of my mind. After watching that, Alden had decided we should have fish for dinner. What he meant was he wanted to show off his fishing skills to Tarka. He fell in the nearby river three different times before Tarka took the spear and caught some for us. Those two...

A rustle to my left. I twirled around expecting another Juke, but there was nothing. Looking around, I picked up the carcass and slowly headed for camp, but something was following me. I had spent enough time with Tarka to recognize when something is moving in the trees. That said, nothing attacked or showed itself. I reached the camp only to see another surprise: nine Viridi soldiers in light flexible leather armor, each holding a spear with a short sword attached to their belt. The tenth jumped out of the trees behind be, he had been following me. I glanced around for Alden and Tarka. They stood next to the campfire, opposite the party. I stood just halfway between them, knife still in hand, but trying to show no other signs of aggression.
The one that followed me marched up to the leader, distinguished by two green streaks across the shoulders of his armor, and whispered something. The leader spoke, then, with a deep gravelly voice, that of a general. "You are hereby charged with poaching the kings personnel pets, signified by engraved bones attached to the ears. The mark on your hand distinguishes you and an outcast, thus the punishment is death."

I did the only sensible thing I could. I ran.

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.

Thirteen - Alden

I had a dream I was running. The ground was soft, and the trees seemed to move out of the way as I raced through woods. When I got to the end I saw nothing. It was like the world just dropped off into nothingness. I turned to go back the other way, but when I did so I felt a grip on my ankle, pulling me down into the depths of nothingness. I clung to the edge of Terraro's surface, crying out for help. Below me a menacing cackle echoed. I dared a look down, to see who it was that clung to my ankle, and saw the glowing eyes of Lesion, slowly digging his clawed hand into my ankle. 

"Come with me." He hissed, yanking me off of the edge.

I bolted up right, body shaking and sweat dampening my ripped up tunic. I sat back against the tree I had fallen asleep under, taking note of Tristram's sleeping form against a tree across the way. Still trying to calm myself, my fingers searched for my scimitar, but to my dismay felt nothing but leaves. I sat up straighter, becoming more alert. After searching my area thoroughly, and searching quietly around Tristram, I realized I was never going to find my scimitar.

I sat down again, defeated. I glanced up through the leaves, trying to get a gage on the time, but the trees hid the location of the sun, leaving just a few rays leaking through here and there. 

Tristram was snoring quite loudly at this point. I didn't know what to make of him. He was a Brackin, and for all I know I can't trust the Brackin people. But then again, he's an exile like me. A part of me wonders if he knows anything about my brother, maybe he was even responsible for my brother's death... No. My brother would never fall prey to the barbaric acts of which Tristram explained. If I knew Fastus at all, which I surely did, I know he died trying to get back to me. No matter how hard I always pushed, he was always there when I needed him to be... until now at least.

I stood up again, trying to be as quiet as I could; Tristram kept snoring away. I ventured a bit into the woods, figuring I should find something new to defend myself with. As I walked between two intersecting trees, a tree-nut fell in front of my feet. Confused, I glanced up, thinking I wouldn't really see anything, but did see brief gleam through the leaves. I tried to get a closer look, and surely enough I caught a glance of a light bouncing off of my scimitar. 

"Hey!" I exclaimed, excited to have found my scimitar. "There you are!" I made a move to climb the tree when suddenly my scimitar was moving. "What the--?" There was a flash of green, and suddenly I realized that my scimitar was being held by someone. "What?" I sat there, stunned for a second, and then I began to grow furious. "The heck!" And I began to run after the thief.

Twelve- Tristram

I listened to Alden's snores. We slept under the stars that night, a beautiful clear one. Had it been raining, I would have brought out the tent, but why trouble yourself when the ground is dry, the sky is beautiful and I finally wasn't alone... "of all the people I met in the forest, it just had to be the brother of the man I killed," I thought, "there is no doubt about it, I can see the family resemblance...". I pushed the guilt away, for now at least.

I happened across Alden quite by accident. I had been hunting and saw an odd color through the trees, it had turned out to be Alden's skin: dark, unlike all the green here. It was a miracle I even saw the kid, the forest is so dense, especially here in Viridi territory  that you can pass someone who is five feet away and neither of you notice. It had happened a couple of times already. I would be walking along then glance behind and there would be a trader a couple feet behind me and to the left, having crossed paths ten seconds before and not even noticing.

It was these chance encounters with traders that probably saved me life. The crate I had been given contained a proper knife, a waterskin, string, and flint. Both were old and not suited for the humidity of the forest, hence they broke after a couple days. By then, however, I had scored some kills for both meat and fur. Traps proved very effective for catching smaller mammals, but I had several close encounters with the juks: ferocious cats whose meat and skin were both profitable. I traded what I could spare whenever I came across a caravan, and had gotten a couple of proper knives, a tent, and a pack that could both hold supplies as well as water.

Perhaps I could trade some more of my skins to get the kid some stuff. He looked like he'd been out here a week or so. If he really was banished, then it would have to have taken him  a handful of weeks at least to cross the desert and reach this far into the forest. He's lucky to be alive. Besides his rusted sword, he didn't look like he had much else on him. He was deliriousness too, he thought his brother died a few days ago... if only he knew it had been a little over a month now... and that the murderer was right next to him. Guilt washed over me once again... Leaving this kid brotherless. I caused his banishment. Surely he wouldn't have done whatever it was if his brother was still alive. Maybe this was my chance for redemption... taking care of the brother of the man I murdered. It certainly can't be a coincidence that we met in the forest. I'll have to tell him in the morning, perhaps ask him to join me. I'd hate to be alone and he needs someone to take care of him... he can't be older than 16, untested by the harshness of life... but now... My eyes kept drooping... couldn't focus...

As I started to drift, I thought I saw something move up in the tree above... a flash of green, a different hue than that of the tree, in the moonlight... But I fell asleep, and when I woke, whatever it was was gone.