Ten years after the battle at Single Oak, the four groups of Oregon are still reeling from its after effects. Territory lines were drawn and stories have been told, those who were heroes once are legends now. In order to avoid new conflicts, solstic...
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"You fought really well." Aleu murmured over the crackling of the campfire flames. The heat radiated out of the pit and lit up their skin with a hue of flickering orange. Embers floated up from the smoldering kindling and danced higher into the sky, taking their place among the stars. The stars, remaining ever so still, like humble guides. Whereas the twirling orange were like graceful danseurs, turning in circles on delicate, perfectly pointed feet, fluttering up and up until their spark dissipated, sizzling to a tragic halt, the moon standing as the final witness. "You should be proud, Hamish. I'm sure Hawk is."
Beside them, Hamish's lips broadened into a great smile. Grease from their dinner dripped down his chin. He widened his eyes, cheeks flushing with embarrassment, then wiped it ungraciously on his sleeve. "You really think so?" He mumbled through his bite of venison, which had previously been dried, but with some clever cooking from Darren and Keisuke, had been re-hydrated with a spare can of broth Phoenix had brought. If the Saviors are good at one thing...that'd be cooking. Aleu had to give that to them, at least.
"I know so." Aleu replied sternly. "And don't you let anybody tell you otherwise." Muninn cawed from where he'd settled into Aleu's lap, as if in agreement.
Phoenix crossed her arms. "I know I wouldn't have done that well."
No surprise there. Aleu held back the harsh comment when Hawk looked at them out of the corner of his eyes. He could tell exactly what they were thinking about saying. The question was...should they listen to him? After all, they were irritated and for a good reason. They could simply choose to cause some problems. But they relented and held their tongue. It's too late to start anything. Won't be much use anyways. Not like we're going to be around them much longer. Aleu hadn't looked forward to too much in their life, but one thing that stood out to them? Finally getting away from the Saviors. Every time they looked at Darren, Phoenix and Keisuke, no good thoughts came to mind.
Hawk nodded to Keisuke, then the girls that had been gently laid down beside a tree. They'd been tied there just in case. The oldest one deliriously mumbled something every hour or so, the only other symptom exhibited was a heavy fever and dripping sweat. The younger of the two seemed relatively unaffected, but she didn't communicate at all, only staring off into the distance at nothing in particular. "Are you still going to bring them back?"
Keisuke replied carefully. "Yes. If they even have so much of a chance then they deserve somebody to give it to them." They aren't going to live. Aleu could tell that. Somehow...both looked as if they were sickly and weak, yes. But if somebody didn't know they'd been bitten, they'd just assume the girls had the flu. Like an irking sort of poke at the back of Aleu's mind, like a distant, barely noticeable scent on the wind, they knew. These girls were not going to live much longer, past the estimated time any treatment could be given. You become friends with a few Deadwalkers and you think you can save everybody. They thought wryly.
"I understand your way of thinking," Hawk replied. "However, I will simply say one thing. They are your responsibility. They will return to your home. Any resources provided to them will be yours. This is your decision and you must dedicate nobody else's time to it but your own."
