Alone Together

Prolouge

        I run as fast as I can, which is actually pretty fast. I've done a lot of running. I can hear the Tesera behind me. How the hell was I supposed to know I'd wandered into their territory if they didn't mark the borders. I pushed myself to go faster. I was pretty sure they were catching up with me, and they'd kill me if they found me. Even outsiders like me knew the Tesera were bad knews. They were hostile to almost everyone, and rarely, if ever, listened to explanations. 

        I'd just barely set up camp when they started chasing me. All of my equipment was back there, so I was out of luck. I was in tribe territory now, and going deeper every second. 

        All of a sudden, they stopped pursuing me. Warily, I turned and looked back. There were three warriors, all of them standing there. Looking closely, I could see scratches on the trees, in nearly a straight line. I'd crossed another border. I hope the next tribe I encountered was friendly, but I didn't trust the Tesera. I turned and started running again. 

        In a couple of minutes, I couldn't see the Tesera anymore. Checking over my shoulder to make sure, my foot got tangled up in a briar and I fell. I hit my head when I went down, and as I lay there to catch my breath my vision was spinning. I couldn't even untangle myself from the briar, and the thorns were poking uncomfortably into my skin. 

        I was just starting to give up when I noticed someone, then another someone. They were both definitely tribe people, but they seemed more confused than hostile. "Get her to the camp, Apollo. I'll run ahead and tell the chief. We can't leave her like this," one of them said before turning and vanishing. The other one, Apollo, came closer to me. "How did you end up in the middle of our territory?" he asks as he gently picks the briars away. "The Tesera were chasing me," I answer, winded. I'm still seeing stars from where I fell. "You fell?" he asks, an eyebrow raised. "Yeah. Damned briar tripped me up. I think I hit my head." He nods. "I'll get you back to camp and our medicine men and women will take care of you. Once you're well enough, you'll speak with Chief Ice-Veins, and he'll decide what to do with you." Apollo helped me to my feet. My ankle hurt as I put pressure on it, so I settled for limping along beside of him. I was too proud to ask for help. After a few steps he slipped my arm around my shoulder and took part of my weight anyway.        

        "What tribe are you from?" I ask. I didn't know much about any of the tribes, just the fear instilled in me by my parents. "The Akiire," he responds. We walk in silence to the camp. The Akiire were known for their hospitality. The warriors were fierce, but they never attacked without cause. They were bitter rivals of the Tesera, as the Tesera often went over the border and attacked those who wandered from the camps. There had been rumors of several outsiders being adopted into the tribe, and I wondered if they'd let me join. I was usually good at fighting, but the Tesera had caught me off-guard, and it was three on one. I might have been able to take one or two out, but the were good at overwhelming their enemies. 

        Nevertheless, despite all the good things I had heard about the Akiire, I began to tense up as Apollo helped me into the camp. The walls surrounded the camp were tall, and guardsmen shut the gate behind us immeditely. Luckily for me, the medicine men and women resided just next to the gate. Apollo laid me down on a bed of furs that had just been prepared for me, from the looks of it. The man I had seen earlier with Apollo knealt over me just as I was laid down, and began to examine my leg. 

        "Your ankle is sprained," he informs me. "It will heal soon, but stay off it as much as possible. Did you hit your head?" he asks. "Yes. I think so, anyway," I answer nervously. He tilted my head back and looked into my eyes, then ran his hands through my hair, searching for any abnormalties. When his hands got to where I had hit it, I hissed, but he pulled away looking satisfied. "There are no head wounds. I think you were just dazed. I'll give you something to help you sleep, and you can sleep it off. By the way, I'm Moon-Song," he tells me. "Okay," I whisper. He stands up and walks out of my line of vision. A few seconds later, he's back, a crude cup in his hands. He helps me drink the bitter liquid, then lays me back down. I can feel the medicine start to kick in as he walks away, and within a few minutes I'm out cold.