chapter two - are you ready
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After the meeting last night, where Dakota volunteered to spy on the Sky People, she and Lincoln headed back to their tent in the village of Tondc.
There, Lincoln warned Dakota about the many dangers that lie within the forest. He gave her some quick survival tips and also told her exactly where the Sky People's campsite was so that she wouldn't wander into any other dangerous territory. Once he had finished, he told her they'd talk more in the morning, and that she should get some rest.
The next day, Dakota met up with Lincoln and he finished prepping her for the mission. She stood in place as he draped leather garments across her body and placed some more armor on top. It wasn't extravagant or anything, just merely for protection. After all, her job was to stay out of sight and hidden in the trees, and that would be quite difficult to accomplish if she had heavy armor on that was shiny, and made clanking noises whenever she walked.
"Here, you'll need these," Lincoln stated, carefully placing a sword in her hands, along with a few blades.
"Ooh, thanks!" She replied, sheathing the sword in its holder and strapping the blades to various, yet easily accessible, limbs on her body.
He chuckled and gave her a pointed look. "Don't get too excited, Sis. Only use them when necessary, okay?"
"Come on, Lincoln." She groaned. "I know this is serious and all, but can't I have a little fun?" She teased, giving him her famous puppy dog eyes. He only shook his head in response.
She giggled to herself as she turned her head to the left. There, she saw the foghorn lying on the table beside her.
"Is this for the acid fog?" She asked, picking it up.
"Yes." He replied. "When you hear it, take shelter immediately no matter where you are. Your place of rest will be our cave in the forest, so I suggest heading there until the fog lets up."
"Got it." She nodded.
Once they were finished, they exited the tent and proceeded to the front gates. Lexa was already waiting for them when they got there.
"Dakoda" she greeted her. "I'm happy to know you haven't changed your mind. Thank you for doing this."
"Of course, Heda," Dakota replied, with a respectful nod. "I'd do anything for your people."
"Our people." Lexa corrected her.
"Right." She chuckled, awkwardly.
They both shared a smile and bid farewell before Lexa walked off, leaving her with Lincoln.
"Dakota, I think I prepared you for everything except for what you should do if you have an encounter with one of them," Lincoln stated, looking her in the eyes. "It's important that you use the little knowledge they have on us to your advantage. They don't know we can understand English, so that could assist you in drawing out information from them."
"Alright. But what happens if they capture me? Should I resist or comply?"
"Your priority should be to escape. However, if you are unable to, and they take you, that's when you'll be tested."
"What do you mean?" She asked him, curiously.
"I mean your loyalty. You must be prepared for anything they might do to you, Kota. They want info on us, just like we want info on them. So remember, never allow them to break you." Lincoln replied, in a much more serious tone.
"Of course, brother. I know where my loyalties lie. I promise I'll stay true to Trikru and not give them any information."
Lincoln nodded. "Good. So, are you ready?"
"Born ready." She grinned.
Then, they gave each other a long hug before separating. They had both agreed earlier on that they wouldn't treat the departure as a goodbye. Still, Lincoln couldn't help but notice the flicker of pain he felt in his chest, as he watched his only little sister exit the gates, where she was no longer under his protective care.
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Dakota ran through the forest, jumping over rocks and leaping over fallen branches as the wind blew her hair. The young girl was in her natural element, and she finally felt free.
Once she finally ran out of breath, a while later, she switched from running to walking. It was smart for her to do so since she was nearing the camp anyway. During her walk, she couldn't help but start thinking more and more about her mission. Could she do this? Could she handle being alone and defend herself now that her brother wasn't there to take care of her? She shook her head, pushing her doubts away. Of course, she could. She had to. She couldn't let everyone back home think that she was still a useless and fragile girl. Because she wasn't.
Sure, she had her moments. When dead animals were brought back to the village from the hunting parties, she would always feel saddened when seeing their corpses, knowing how and why their precious lives were taken. But she decided long ago that her compassion for animals did not make her weak.
On other occasions, she would be hesitant when training to fight with Lincoln. She was never fond of the idea of killing people and the thought of taking someone else's life scared her. But she knew that in the end, it's how they survived. And so she also decided that having compassion towards other people, no matter where they came from, didn't make her weak either.
As the Sky People's campsite came into view, she knew that it was time to become serious. Even though deep down she was a loving and pure soul, she knew it was time to shove that aside so that she could instead act tough and ruthless, like a true member of Trikru.
Remembering the point of the mission, she found a tree to climb that was out of sight but also gave a good view of the camp. Once she got settled, she looked around noticing how quiet it was. The silence just made her smirk. She somehow knew that it wasn't going to stay like this for long.....
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Just as she suspected, when night fell, there was a commotion within the camp. Dakota had been lingering in the trees for a few hours when she suddenly heard the various voices behind the walls. She was currently in the middle of carefully sketching out her surroundings in the journal she had, but as if on cue, she tossed the book back in her bag and instead pulled out her warrior face paint. She then dipped her hands in the black ink and brought them up to her face, where she rubbed around her eyes before dragging her fingers down her cheeks.
There, now I look the part. She thought to herself.
When she had finished, she shifted in her position so that she could get a better view of the Sky People. As her mind wondered about what could be happening behind those walls, she glanced around before turning her attention upwards. That's when she finally took notice of the unknown object falling from the sky.
"What is that!?" She whispered to herself. It couldn't be more Sky People, could it?
Moments later, she saw a young man with dark, curly hair exiting the camp on one side, as another boy and a girl with blonde hair entered on the opposite side. Dakota didn't know what she expected these people to look like but she was certainly surprised that they seemed pretty normal looking, aside from their clothing.
Even though she was interested in learning more about them, she knew that her priority should be getting to wherever that thing from the sky landed.
She slowly slung her bag around her shoulder, then slid off the branch and down the tree that she'd been resting on. As soon as she landed on the forest floor, she heard footsteps behind her. On instinct, she crouched behind a nearby bush and rested her hand on her sword. As she did so, a young girl with long brown hair raced passed and deeper into the forest, not noticing the grounder girl creeping from in the bushes.
"Oh no!" Dakota muttered. That girl and the curly-headed boy must be headed for the fallen object too. "Maybe if I follow them, they'll lead me to it." She then got up and checked her surroundings before quickly running after the brunette.
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