Retreating shadows

CH7

This called for a meeting. Eib was busy with her date and Agon was occupied—those who did not have feet were trying to roller-skate. This left Sunchild, Nox and Erok sitting at a table conveniently placed in the shade of the trees.

"I can barely believe it," said Nox.

"It's about time," said Erok, "Do we leave right now, or do wait for the night to fall?"

"This is quite a shock, I know," said Sunchild, "But we shouldn't disappear from the meeting halfway through. If we go back now, we'd only be stuck in the shadow clan, waiting for the ships to arrive."

"I don't like it." said Erok. He pondered on their situation. "Wait," he said, "If we're leaving this continent permanently, there's no reason for me not to be an ass to the fire clan." He grinned.

"Please don't," said Sunchild.

"You're already an ass," said Nox.

"I can do worse," said Erok.

"please don't," repeated Sunchild. "We shouldn't abandon the rest of the clan to deal with the fire clan we pissed off."

"I suppose," said Erok. He petulantly kicked at a rock and missed.

Nox said nothing.

"I need to ask you a favour," said Sunchild. "Tell the rest of our clan that you need to talk, in private. Explain this to them then."

"Will do," said Nox. "You won't be there?"

"I need to talk to Elliot," she explained.

Elliot Dark made up a third of the high council. His mother was a shadow clan member who had fled to the earth clan to escape the occupation. There, she had fallen for a centaur.

Elliot mostly took after his father. He had grown up with him in the earth clan, until he'd gotten kicked out for the optional dragon features he'd inherited from his mother. He'd met Emanda Flame and Richard Blue, after, and eventually, they'd become the council and managed to end the war.

Elliot had been offered a spot on the shadow clan ships soon after they'd first departed. He'd declined, citing his attachment to his friends and the other clans. Sunchild had always assumed he had informed the high council. None of the other clans had since in any way shown that they were aware, at least.

She had hoped to speak with him during lunch, to ask him if he was available for a conversation elsewhere. When he wasn't there, she decided that she would look for him herself. However, as she tried to explain this to her fellow clan members, loud voices from the direction of the water clan interrupted her.

"Excuse me, would you shut up? Assholes." Erok grumbled loudly.

"Erok," hissed Sunchild, "We just went over this, no antagonizing!"

The commotion had lead to a similar whispered conversation in the wind clan. A scarred water clan woman shouted a challenge to them in response. Sunchild felt her throat go dry. A disturbing mirror to the lines the people of the fire clan had on their skin naturally, those burns were a stark reminder of what they were capable of.

The fire clan had never done the same in the shadow clan and had instead executed all who refused to fall in line. But then, during the war, one of the fire clan leaders had been forcibly reincarnated—that is to say, murdered—and the shadow clan hadn't done it.

The water clan woman certainly looked capable of violence. Here and now, the wind clan was her target and victim. "If you have something to say, you can say it out loud, instead of just sitting there whispering and staring," she yelled. She let out what was clearly a water clan language curse, then went on to accuse them of inaction with increasing volume.