A Nagas tale

A new promise

I didn't mean to be as rude as I was when Kogen introduced me to the general. I just found it very hateful that she would talk about us being gone like it was a fact. I followed Idris and Leo back to the room where Kogen wanted me to wait for him. I look out at the courtyard bathed in sunlight. The heat and the sand of this city remind me of That ancestor's cave. 'You can call me Don, it's my name.' He speaks up. I nod watching the people rushing about their day. 'Don, why did the leviathans attack?' I ask wanting to understand even just a little bit more. He sighs 'If I understood why I would have done my best to prevent it.' He answers. I nod feeling a little sad that all he knew was what the snakes said. 'using a Nagas blood you can regain your Aura.' I tilt my head 'with our blood? but we aren't anything special.' I frown as I try to understand their reason. "this is it, you should go inside," Leo tells me. I look at him and smile "Thanks for leading me here, what are you two going to be doing?" I ask. They shrug "We need to put away the reports we've sent over the past year." they answer. "Oh, that must be." he cuts me off"Boring! life sucking!" Idris answers. "I could be out there buying booze and looking at the wears!" he grumbles. I giggle "Well, finish up quickly." I answer before walking into the room. I notice the coffee table has tea and a bunch of snacks and sandwiches. 'Oh!' I walk over and notice a note. 'The meeting might take a while so for the time being rest here and enjoy the snacks. Kogen.' I giggle 'he took that joke before so seriously.' I sit down and spot a few books on the side table. 'oh! nice!' I take the first book and lay on the pillows ready to read and snack. I closed the book and finished with the story of a murder mystery. 'oh this was so good!' I feel my stomach grumble 'Oh, I haven't touched my snacks.' I sit up and start eating the crackers and sweets. I eat some of the sandwiches before picking up the next book. 

the meeting dragged on after Audrey left. The general is the elder of the Pheonix tribe so he reprimanded his heir for the way she acted. We then got a lecture on the importance of keeping a balance between each tribe. "I am surprised you of all people would settle down." the general chuckles. I nod agreeing with his words. I look out at the dark skies 'I would laugh at anyone who would have told me I would settle down with a stubborn five-foot-nothing woman.' Yuri had remained silent the entire walk to the room I prepared for Audrey to rest in. "I feel I owe their tribe an apology for my elder's mistakes and my ignorance." the general huffs. I look at the door to Audrey's room. I knock but get no response so I open the door. I spot Audrey sitting crisscross reading one of the books with a cookie in her mouth. She lifts her eyes quickly closes the book and pulls the cookie out of her mouth. She wipes her face and stands up "Good evening." she greets. I look at the snacks I brought for her to pick through. The general chuckles "I see I disturbed your rest." Audrey shakes her head "Not at all!" she answers more calmly. "W..why don't you take a seat?" she offers nervously. He nods taking a seat in one of the chairs. "You can rest." He allows. She sits down but keeps her eyes on him. I walked over to her and sat next to her so she felt a little more at ease. Yuri took the other chair not saying a word. "I... I apologize for my outburst before." she starts. He shakes his head "No, your anger is warranted, My granddaughter has known no hardship since she was born, If anyone needs to apologize it is me." He stands up and bows deeply to Audrey. "I want to apologize for my ancestor's mistakes and my ignorance of the hardships your tribe has been put through." Audrey seemed shocked as he remained bowed. "I... I accept the apology, as long as my tribe can live without harm I am not going to cause any trouble," she answers nervously. He lifts his head and looks at Audrey. "I... I just want my family to live in peace, as small as it may be I just want them to live as long as they can," she mutters. "How many are in your tribe?" he asks before sitting back down. She puts her hand on her stomach before looking at him. "Four as of a few days ago, we are Four strong." Her answer was prideful. The color drained from the general and his eyes grew wide "F...four!?" he asks. Audrey nods "Yeah, My great grandma and great Aunt died before I was born." his face seems to twist in sorrow. "May I ask how?" He asks. Audrey looks at him before turning to me. "It's fine," I assure her. "My great-grandma must have gone mad from being confined within the ancestor's barrier for as long as she was." She answers "She ran away from the barrier with my great aunt and.." she frowns "Some of the government soldiers murdered them after..." She shakes her head. I saw the hurt she felt reading the old logs. I put my hand on her back "I... I see, we made your tribe suffer." the general sounds hurt. "I feel verbal apologies cannot make up for the damage, but it is all I have," he whispers. Audrey takes a deep breath and nods. "There is not much we can do about the past, all there is left is to move forward, learn from the past, and make the future better." Audrey sighs. "So All I ask, is that my tribe remain safe." The General seems curious but nods. "We will do as we promised." He answers.