~
~*~:~*#K#*~:~*~
The tribe moved quickly through the trees. They wanted to reach the village and get home before day's end. In her hand Kerensa carried a sharp stick Rozenwild had snapped across her shin. Several others were similarly armed. They paused at the edge of the forest, looking down at the fields and buildings.
"Everyone ready?" Rozenwild asked.
There were nods and quiet sounds of agreement. With the next breath, they set off. The pace was a brisk march, threatening with heads held high. Kerensa was at the front with Rose holding the left flank. On her other side was Ellowyn, Sarielle, and Laceleaf. Behind her were Aster and Dendelyn, across from Sage, Evadne, and Willow. Amaranth was at the back left so she could shield Hevani if she got frightened. Abelia stood with Flora on the right because Flora insisted she could only reach aggression when protecting someone and would be a terrible choice for the front.
As the fierce group stormed into the town, the main street slowed to a halt. People stared with mouths open and whispered to each other.
"Abelia!" cried a woman, hand to her heart.
Abelia waved to her mother but didn't break ranks.
"What is this?" shouted the chancellor, bursting down the steps of a shop. The sight of the nymphs was enough to make him stop short of the group. "Whores! That's what you are. Hang your heads in shame and go back to your houses."
"Shut the fuck up," Sarielle spat as they passed.
Rozenwild snapped her teeth at a woman, who nearly fell over in fright. The tribe continued to the meeting lawn and took up position in front of the altar. Beside it was a large metal pot they used as a bell. Kerensa grabbed the mallet from inside and wacked the side of it repeatedly, summoning the town to the assembly. Elhuvens poured out of shops and nearby houses. The tribe was horrifically outnumbered, but most were keeping their distance. Kerensa eyed a man pushing to front. Evadne's father approached the group with a sneer on his face.
"You creatures stole our daughters. Give them back!"
Kerensa snorted. "We weren't stolen. We left, you idiot."
The high-pitched voice of Abelia's mother came from the right. "Abelia, you need to stop this nonsense right now and come home. Your father's very disappointed in you."
Abelia laughed. "Good. I think that means I'm finally doing something right."
The patriarch hurried over, one hand on his chubby tummy, the other clutching his staff. "What is going on?"
The chancellor glared at Kerensa. "How dare you ring the bowl. Give me that."
Kerensa threw the mallet at his head as hard as she could. It hit him on the chin and he stumbled backwards. Rozenwild stepped between them and lifted her spear.
"Back," she ordered.
He backed up, along with the couple of villagers he'd stumbled into, but he was fuming. "Immoral filth. You'll be lucky if your families even take you back."
Sarielle laughed. "You're completely deluded. You think we'd come back, to this? To people who hurt us, who treated us in the most horrible ways. We're not here to return. We're here to take what's ours and to deliver a message."
"Now you listen here, you depraved wenches." The patriarch banged his staff on the ground.
Rozenwild shot forward and ripped the staff out of his hand. She drove it against her bent leg, snapping it in half. "You're the ones who need to listen."
A man came forward on the right side and Laceleaf gave him a firm shove back into the crowd.
Evadne's father stalked that side of the group until he spotted his daughter. "Evadne, you disgusting pig. You're a sow of sin. You let these creatures and stupid girls turn you against your own family. Go home now!
Go. Home!
"
"Ignore him," Sage's gentle voice said.
Kerensa spared a glance her way. Evadne was pale and staring at the ground with hunched shoulders.
"Evadne, don't give in to them," Laceleaf growled over her shoulder. She left her position and took Evadne's chin in her palm. "Keep your mind where you want it," she said firmly and went back to guarding the group.
A tall man cut a path towards them, parting the crowd with his broad shoulders.
"Who's this one?" Rozenwild asked Kerensa, setting her eyes on him.
"Hevani."
She curled her lip. "He's not getting near her."
He didn't try. Instead, he found the patriarch and started talking to him.
"Is yours here?" Rose asked.
"Over by the tree."
A scream came from behind them. Evadne's father had her by the wrist. She pulled free right as Laceleaf seized his arm and spun it violently. There was a crack and he fell to the ground moaning in pain.
"I'm not going anywhere with you." Evadne yelled. "I hate you!" She kicked him in the leg. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you," she screeched as she kicked him.
Kerensa clapped her hands with glee. "Get him, Eva."
"So, you're her worthless father." Laceleaf hissed, picking him up by the throat. "I should break the other one too for what you've done to her." She threw him back into the crowd.
The people in front of the altar were getting too close. Ellowyn swung her arm and a runner of grass shot across the ground. Tall blades shot out like a fence, making the people recoil and shriek. Laceleaf raised another on her side to push them back before they started thinking they had the upper hand. Another man jostled people and stepped through the grass. Laceleaf broke from the group and pounced on him, sending nearby people fleeing.
"Laceleaf, no!" Sage ran to her. "That's my father."
"Yet you wish for me not to break his bones?"
"My parents might have been unkind at times, but they're not as bad as most here. Hurting them wouldn't make me feel better."
"Sage?" a woman cried from the crowd.
Sage walked towards her, with Willow on her heels. The people shrank away from the approaching forbidden creature, leaving Sage's mother standing alone.
"Arletta said you might be alive, but I didn't want to get my hopes up."
Sage hugged her. "I couldn't get back."
"People said horrible things about you, but I don't care if they're true. I'm just glad you're home."
"My home's in the forest now, with Willow."
