be sick.”
I looked up sharply; I had not felt him enter the camp, to see
him leaning against a tree.
Allacia stood quickly and turned to face him before settling
into a fighting stance, “Mayhap taking some of your jealousy out will make you
feel better?”
Depression straightened from where he had been leaning against a
tree, “I’m not jealous.”
Her voice had a dark sarcastic tone to it as she said, “Yeah you
are. You’re jealous because no one would ever express an interest in
you.”
My eye brows raised slightly, I had noticed that when he had
come to my camp to retrieve Allacia the first time he had sneered at every one
of us but Kari. Maybe I should play matchmaker. Kari needs a guy who’ll look after her proper
like.
He growled softly, “That’s it.”
Then he launched himself at her with murder in his eyes. I
stepped forward slightly with the intent of protecting
her.
Allacia darted out of way tauntingly, “You
missed.”
“You moved”, came the enraged retort.
I stepped back sensing that I would just be in the way. Besides,I told myself,
You wanted to know how she fought.
“What do you expect me to just stand here and let you beat me?
Ha! Not on your life. I am nay yer punching bag.”
My eye brows went up slightly. So
she speaks the northern Crucible tongues as well as the common tongue and the
tongue of my enemy. I shook my head slightly as the fight
continued.
“No? Well you look an awful lot like one right now”, yelled
Depression as he tackled Allacia, pinning her arms to the ground with one hand
and repeatedly punching her face with the other.
A girl screamed, “He's gonna to kill her! Please, stop
him!”
I turned to look at the new comer. She was small and slim like
Allacia but her face looked like a feral cat’s accented by cat’s ears on her
head and… I widened my eyes in slight disbelief. And a tail. I moved forward
again only to be stopped by Allacia’s growl.
“Stay out of this”, she said growling as she brought both legs
up and kicked Depression over her head. She stood slowly touching her face as it
swelled slightly, “Ow... You are so dead.”
She tackled Depression then rammed her elbow into his stomach
multiple times before jumping up.
Depression stood up, eyes glowing, and growled, “I'm going to
kill you!”
Allacia’s voice was taunting again, “Don't make a threat you
can't keep”, she said as she jumped up in the air then executed a perfect
crescent kick to Depression’s head.
We both watched as Depression crumpled to the ground
unconscious.
An elf boy stood next to the cat girl looking at Allacia with
amazement in his eyes, “You HAVE to teach me that
one.”
She looked over at me apologetically making me smile. Chuckling
I opened my arms to her, using the movement to beckon her to come to me. With
agonizing slowness she approached then allowed me to fold my arms around
her.
“That was a nice kick”,I murmured into her ear as she slowly
relaxed against me. I rested my cheek against her hair as I continued, “He lets
his anger control him.”
I had kept my voice soft and gentle; I didn’t want to scare her
again. But as I spoke I sent healing energy into her body. She shifted slightly
as she looked up at me before looking at the elf boy and cat girl; but I could
see that the swelling in her face was reducing as her bruises
faded.
Following her gaze I asked, “Who are they?”
“Ming-Lynn and Kinow. Ming-Lynn is a bobcat-lion Anthro and
Kinow is part elf and part human.”
I nodded my understanding as Immortilis and John the Black
walked into our camp. Then I gently tightened my arms around the small girl
leaning against me as they stopped in front of me.
Immortilis was the first to speak, “Hello again Allacia. Are
these two a part of your family?” He looked over at Ming-Lynn and smiled then
looked back at me. “Sir.”
I smiled at him, “How was the walk?”
It was John who answered me, “Fine all is quiet.”
Immortilis was looking at Ming-Lynn again as he said a little
absently, “The rest will come soon.”
I chuckled knowingly, “Good. Tend to Depression if you
will.”
They both walked over to the boy’s prone figure with a “Yessir”
called over their shoulders.
I looked at the girl in my arms and smiled before saying, “They, if you haven't
noticed, are totally the same. They’re twins in a way.” My voice dropped to a
whisper, “I think Immoritilis has a thing for Ming. I think someone in the
council will like Depression, and keep him from getting too... hurt. Yes
definitely. She's..... let’s say, wiry.”