The Rebel And The Warrior.

Responsibility.

Tondc was almost the same as when I left it. Rhae and Thalion immediately set off from me, joining their friends. One of them I recognized, a boy I had taught to shoot a bow when he was younger named Artigas. It was obvious Rhaeneys liked him, and I thought it was really cute. He was a good warrior and Indra's second, meaning he was exceptional in his skills. Even Rhaeneys found ground with him in hunting. An elder was having trouble cooking outside her home, so I stopped by. She looked up at me with a smile. "Ah, Visenya. One of the only people around here who helped old ladies like me." She laughed in Trigedasleng, and I recognized her as Loka. She was right. I was one of the few around my age who helped her out, especially with cooking and cleaning. "How have you been, darling?" "Troubled." I replied, and we both laughed. "Got caught up in the Sky People drama. I tried making peace, and... we can see how well that worked out." Loka nodded, keeping her silence as I continued cooking. I hadn't until then, but I wanted another opinion so bad I could almost taste the words on my lips. "Loka, what do you think of the Sky People?" Loka let out a breath, seemingly thinking about her answer carefully. "A bunch of bastards." She spat, and I remembered two of her four grandchildren were in the fire. "Killing my precious grand babies. Have they no soul?" I wanted to point out we attacked them and provoked the Ring of Fire, but I knew it would be useless and I would seem like a traitor. I nodded, looking at the ground. "They're not all bad." I said softly, and she gave me a scornful look. "But I offer my condolences. I was their prisoner for weeks, so I got to know a couple of them. As I said, not all are bad. Turns out they're all criminals sent down because they were expendable which explains their soullessness now I think about it." Loka laughed, rubbing my shoulder. "I wonder why they have no adults with them." "Because only juveniles are held prisoners. Anyone over eighteen is executed." I told her, and Loka fell straight silent. "Doesn't matter how noble the reasons for their crimes' were Murphy's exact words. If you want to sit down inside, I'll finish the cooking and clean for you tomorrow." Loka shook her head, and we fell into a much lighter convocation about her latest grandchild, a fifth one. Apparently her daughter would be bringing her granddaughter by soon and stay in Tondc for a week. I made Loka a bowl of her stew before leaving as the sun began setting. I searched for my siblings finding Thalion, Rhaeneys, and Artigas in our home as I began thinking of what we would eat tonight. Evidently, I had little to worry about as Rhaeneys and Artigas skinned a couple of squirrels and Thalion cooked them over an open fire. "Hello, Artigas." I said, giving him a half hug. "Hey, Visenya," He replied, returning the favor while trying not to get animal blood on my clothes. "Rhaeneys was just telling me about Bellamy Blake and some of the Sky People meeting you this morning. Did one of them really hold you at gunpoint?" I glared at my sister, and she turned scarlet with a shrug. I sighed and nodded. "Wow. I'm surprised he's still alive." I sat down on the ground. "He's looking for someone important to him." I said stretching my limbs. "If it were Thalion or Rhaeneys, I would do the same exact thing. Once you have someone important to you, you'll begin thinking similarly. You'll wonder where you'll stop in order to keep them safe." "Not just me and Thalion though," Rhaeneys said with a slightly evil smile. "She would go to lengths for Bellamy too. I woke up in the middle of the night to find his arm wrapped around her as they slept. It was so cute." I cocked a brow, though I still turned bright red. "Might I remind you of when I found you and Artigas sleeping outside because you wanted to see the meteor shower but were so far off it still had another three moons rotation?" Rhaeneys blushed with me, and I made it worse to both her and Artigas's embarrassment. "You were both holding each other pretty close too back then, weren't you?" Thalion laughed, and I gave him a look. "I'll remind you of that girl, oh what was her name? The one mom caught you swimming naked in the lagoon?" He sputtered, trying to find an excuse as I smirked at him. "Uh huh. Shut your mouth little brother, because we all have dirt on each other for almost every occasion." Artigas was silent for a moment. "Now would be a bad time to mention the guy from before you left, right?" Rhaeneys and Thalion both turned to look at me, and I licked my lips trying to come up with a valid explanation only to find I was lacking. We erupted into laughter and night of invincibility. "Peace out losers, imma go play." Rhae laughed as she threw my dagger into the wall before she ran off.