Clan War

Let the Game begin

~Everest~

As Monaley and I drew closer to our camp, the unmistakable scent of smoke filled our lungs. I stopped in my tracks and turned around in confusion. The smell seemed to be coming from all around me. I reached my hand out and Monaley grabbed onto it. I looked at her and she looked at me. Our faces must have been the same because I saw fear in her eyes and she seemed to see the fear in mine.

"You don't think..." I started.

"No, there is no way that is possible. He was imprisoned years ago. They even said that he had died there." Monaley interrupted.

"We'd better go then," I said.

Monaley nodded grimly and we continued on our way. The closer we got, the more worried we both became. Faint screams and crying could be heard. We both glanced at each other before ushering our companions to run even harder towards where our camp was. Once we arrived, I knew that no amount of time would have prepared us for what was before us.

Our camp was in ruins and there were charred piles scattered throughout the barren snow. There were people milling about. Their faces seemed distant, devoid of any emotion. It was like they were simply going through the motions. At first, I didn't know what was going on. Then I saw a girl hunched over a distinctly humanoid-shaped.Caelus started purring sadly and I jumped off her. Patting her side, I carefully made my way over to her with Monaley following me closely. Once we got there, I knew who it was. I slowly knelt down and put an arm on her shoulder to let her know we were there.

"Brook, What happened here?" I asked gently.

She had been crying and now was just staring at the ashen shape, defeated. She didn't answer me right away. Monaley and I just sat there with her until she was able to talk. As we waited, I tried to mentally prepare myself for the emotions. Slowly, my hand reached out and rested on what I hoped was the arm. Instantly, pain and fear bubbled up on my skin.

Everything in my body screamed at me to remove my hand, but I knew if I did, Brook would be more hurt than she already was. Tears flowed down and I knew there would be no stopping them. I bit my lip to stop the whimper rising in my throat. Soon enough, a metallic taste filled my mouth. Agonizingly slow, I pulled my hand away and most of the pain went away as well.

"The camp...someone burned the camp up... Jo was still here..." Her voice was hoarse. She must have been the one that was screaming.

We all sat there in silence as time seemed to drag on. Someone had infiltrated our home, and they left their mark. Instead of Sadness, Anger flared up in me. I stood up and dragged Brook with me. I marched her towards a med tent that some men had set up.

"Someone get her some water please," I said, sitting Brook down on a nearby, unoccupied bed.

As if I had switched something in everybody's mind, they all started to work. Their dazed glances were gone and determination filled their eyes. I turned and walked out of the tent and Monaley followed, as did some of the other empty-handed people. I stopped just outside of the camp and turned to the others.

"What are we going to do?" Monaley asked.

"We have to retaliate!" One of the men said strongly.

"Jakobe, we don't know who did this!" I snapped.

"What do you mean we don't know. It was obviously the Šuma Clan!" Jakobe screamed.

"No! It was the Walalope tribe." Another screamed.

"Varia no..." I started.

"No, it was the Yznak Nations." Someone else said.

"STOP!! WE cannot just declare war on our neighbors Yilla. We don't know who did this or when or why!! These are important questions to ask and that needs to be answered." Monaley said. I shot her a grateful look.

"Monaley is right. Right now I need someone to report this to the queen. And I need people to stand guard in case whoever did this is still around here. We will investigate this once the camp has been secured and cleared out. Understand?" I said.

"Yes, Ma'am." Everyone responded in unison.

" Good. Tralvaie nostroctum relwen bai." I said

"Tralvaie Notroctum relwen bai," Monaley said and the rest followed suit.

I nodded to them and smiled as we all made our way back to the camp. I split off from the group and made my way to the med tent. I entered slowly and made my way over to Brooke. Who was being forced to drink some water? I knelt down so that she could see me. The person who was giving her water nodded to us and left.

"Thank you Rain," I said as I watched her go.

"Of course Eve.Travaie bai." She replied.

I smiled as she left and turned my attention back to Brook. I stared at her with worry. She just looked dazed and confused.

"Brook?" I called out to her gently.

She looked me in the eye. She had tears that shined with denial.

"Who would do this? Who could do something like this?" She asked, her voice breaking.

"I... I don't know. No amount of words can express the sorrow that I feel for you. Losing your mate is said to be a pain worse than death. But let me tell you that you are not alone. You have us. You have your family with you. And I can promise you, this will not go unpunished." I said firmly.

This seemed to give her some hope and she cracked a weak, sad smile. We touched our foreheads, A sign of respect and friendship. When we parted, I helped her lay down, gave her some more water and a bit of food before leaving her to sleep. I crept out of the tent and looked to where Monaley and I had come from. None of the clans would actually accept another clan's help with anything nowadays. I was filled with determination as I came to a conclusion.

"I know what you are thinking. Do not even try it..." Monaley said coming up from behind me.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," I replied automatically.

"Don't even try it ...without me, dummy!." She repeated. I looked at her in a grateful surprise.

"Well then. We should probably pack some things and head somewhere I guess." I said, throwing my arm around her.

"And here we go onto another adventure." She replied following me to gather whatever meager supplies we had left.