Arrianonna Nadorn's Story

((fox tale? really?))

I sit in my tent, watching the assorted shoppers go by, when I hear a commotion from down the "street". As its followed by cheers and whistles, I automatically think that it can't possibly be good, and walk outside. As usual, I'm right.
A well dressed pronghorn is beating one of her slaves in the middle of the street, and nobody is trying to do anything about it. That's just not right. Knowing for a fact i'm going to regret this later, I walk over, regardless of the laughs I'm hearing, and grab the woman's arm. I hear assorted gasps as other people begin to come out of their tents, but I keep a firm grip on her arm.
"Ma'am, If you persist in beating this girl, you will most likely regret it." The woman looks completely startled, as generally slaves are not treated as people. I continue. "I make jewelry, and if you come with me to my shop, i'm sure I can come up with something suitable to trade for your slave." Both she and the slave are now extremely confused, so I lead them to my tent, where the pronghorn sees something immediately. It is a delicate golden bracelet that is the perfect size for one of her horns. There are several more, so I trade these for the slave, who is completely dumbstruck. The pronghorn, feeling she has gotten the better end of the deal, leaves. I look at the slave, a young girl of about thirteen, and say "You have two options. You can either leave, or you can be apprenticed to me as a free person." She thinks about this for about a minute, and says "I'd like to be apprenticed. My name is X-47" I shake my head. "Not anymore, it isn't. Were you sold in, or born?" she immediately answers "Born." I sigh. "Do you want to come up with a name, or should I?" She doesn't want to, so I go to the back of my tent and find a book of assorted myths. I lay the book on its spine, and let it open to a random page, and then look at what is on it. One of the names just jumps out at me. "Sina?" I ask, and she nods. So now i'm trying to figure out how i'm going to deal with this mess I've just gotten myself into.

((I've had this tab open since last night, so if there are any more post more recent than about fifteen hours ago, oops.))

Zoozoo-um:
I camp out near Stripedneck. After sunhigh I notice Stripedneck entering his home with a rhino beetle. T-15! Refusing to give in to the urge to grab my sword and fight him for T-15, I wait for Brightnight to return.
I see Brightnight arrive into Pronghorn territory and go up to me.
"Zoozoo-um, I have extra-good news!"
"Yes?"
"I found T-15 AND I found another rhino beetle who has been rescued here in pronghorn territory!"
"Tell me more about T-15, then this other rhino beetle."
"T-15 is not the rhino beetle with Stripedneck right now, that is a member of the Dyastinae who went in place of T-15. T-15 is still in Dynastinae territory, sooo I brought her!"
"What?! You brought her here?!"
"She's safer here than there, she'd be discovered by sunhigh!"
Brightnight shows me the rhinoceros beetle that he'd been hiding from the Pronghorns. She looked very weak and scared.
"Hello, T-15."
"H-Hi..."
"Let me introduce myself, I am Beetlestealer." I say with a smile on my face to seem less frightening.
The expression on T-15's face goes from scared to horrified. She begins kicking and screaming.
"Please, we are in Pronghorn territory. I need to get that brand off of her."
T-15 is shocked. She seems shocked when i say her.
"T-15, I don't like that name. How about we change that? You will be living in Zhucran after you are nursed back to health, Zhu will be your surname. What given name would you like?"
M-34 never could think of a given name, she said she wasn't used to having even a surname.
"Llen. I refuse to say why."
"That's okay. So, Zhullen?"
"Yes"
"Okay, so Brightnight take Zhullen to my sister. Tell her to give Zhullen these herbs every day and feed her enough to get back to a normal weight." I say while handing Brightnight herbs.
"I'll tell you about the other rhino beetle before I go. Her name is X-47. She is living with a loner, a fox loner. She is here in the pronghorn nation." Brightnight says before going across the border again into the peacock nation.

Ah-Quaz:
After the council meeting, I go home and Brightnight is already there. He's my sister's hired red herring. He has a rhino beetle holding his hand. New slave?
"Ah-quaz, please take good care of this rhino beetle. She is underweight and sick. Feed her these herbs and she needs to regain some weight. Her name is Zhullen."
"Zhullen? Why is she here?"
"We rescued her from slavery, please take good care of her. Zoozoo-um wanted me to tell you eventually. M-34 was rescued and so is this rhino beetle."

Arrianonna:

This seems to be less of a mess than I thought it would be. Sina learns very, very quickly, and has an amazing eye for color, since she worked as a house slave. She has totally rearranged the shop (which does make it a lot better), and is badgering me about teaching her how to actually craft the jewelry. But the odd looks I've gotten from people about rescuing her are mounting. Presently she is sleeping on my bed, and I have a pile of squished up pillows and blankets, which originally she had been setting up for herself. That one went into the category of "not on your life", and she knows that. Several people have come in, partially because the rich pronghorn woman spread word of my place around to her friends, and partly to goggle at the apprentice I've acquired. But there is one thing that is becoming worrying. I've heard an uncommonly large amount of fresh rumors about the beetlestealer, and how she might be coming to get Sina, or X-47, next. I don't know much about the beetlestealer, but I do know that I don't want Sina taken to somewhere I don't know about. I know it seems overprotective, but I feel like I'm the only one she has. I will NOT let her get hurt.

Zoozoo-um
I am ready to go see this X-47. She seems to be in good condition, so I won't be needing to take her to Zhucran unless the fox loner willingly gives her to me to take care of. It's part of my code, I need permission from slave holder to take the slave unless they are abusive and unwilling to give away the slave. I walk over to a stall with various weapons and jewelry. Might as well go get some things from the stall. I visit the stall to but some new weapons and jewelry for my sister. I see the fox loner. Well, I knew she was the owner of this stall, but is the slave here? I'll ask her.

Arianonna

I hear footsteps coming into my tent, and I tell Sina to stay put. I walk into the store, and see a rich-looking peacock wandering around looking at the weapons. I go over to her, and say "can I help you?" she looks startled, and then smiles. "Yes, actually. I was looking for a present for my sister. Do you have any necklaces?" I nod, and go into the back room, where Sina has just finished twisting several wires of gold, silver, and a special, rainbow metal called niobium* into a braid, and bring it out. The peacock gasps, then says "who made this?" I yell "Sina!" into the back room, and she comes running out. The peacock looks at me, then at the necklace, then at Sina, then at me again, and says, "That's the other thing I wanted to ask you about. I had heard that you had recently acquired a rhinoceros beetle, and I was wondering if you were interested in letting me take her to a safe place, where she could not be taken back into slavery." I bristle, and say "No. Please leave. If you would like to buy the necklace, feel free, but I will NOT entertain the idea of putting my apprentice in any danger. Goodbye." The peacock looks startled, as those last few words came out as a bark, but she pays and leaves. she also leaves a card with her name, that says "Chom-ah-um-ome-zoozoo-do-tu, Grand Commander of the Peacock Army".

*actually a real metal, used in jewelry.

It's ok. I'm not mad about her not allowing me to have the rhino beetle. She seems to be in good hands. I am ready to go to Stripedneck and get the beetle. I put a hand on a sword in case there is an issue. I am prepared to meet Stripedneck, with necklaces on my neck. I look overly fancy and concerned with my appearance. How can my sister be like this all the time? I am fighting tiredness (is that a word??) I may not be fit to fight, but I am going to try.

"CICADAS!"
A scream wakes me up, and jolts me into thinking. Its been 17 years. Damn!
"TWO DAYS AWAY! RUN!"
The cicadas are the most destructive species on the planet. They... but I won't think about that.
"Sina!" I bark. "Pack up! We are leaving. Now." she comes running out, but i shake my head. "not now" i say. "Go." she nods, and frantically starts packing.

Two Hours Later

i swear, that girl must have a touch of goddess in her. She had the tent down and packed in an hour and a half. I spent that time trying to buy enough food for a days ride. When i got back, she was done.
"So, where are we going, anyway? This is rather... urgent."
"Cicadas." I say shortly. "We are going to stay with some of my... friends."

A Day Later

I finally see what i'm looking for: A plume of smoke from the trees. I tell Sina to stay put, dismount, mutter a short prayer to Vix that they don't kill me on sight, and walk into the woods.
The first one to see me was Kiri. She gasps (unsurprisingly, as the last time I saw her was when I was 13). "You... you came back?" i nod, and she says "stay here. then she runs deeper into the forest. "SHE'S BACK!!! SHE'S REALLY BACK!!!"

Half the village comes... not precisely running, more of a I-really-want-to-see-this-but-I-need-to-look-dignified-so-I-won't-run-but-I-really-want-to-run-and-see-this kind of running walk, led by Kiri, who doesn't care about looking dignified and is actually running, and then squishing all the air out of me.

I wake up to somebody yelling in the courtyard. The buildings here are all connected, so there is one large space in the middle. I walk outside, and see Ekarti yelling at a pronghorn for no apparent reason. Then the reason becomes painfully apparent: a rhinoceros beetle girl tied up. As I get closer, I hear whats going on.

"I will NOT deal with this! This is outrageous! Where did you hear I was under orders?? I have never heard of this insect in my life!", so on and so forth. The pronghorn, clearly used to being obeyed, was completely confused. I almost laughed, but stopped myself. Facing my foster father was... challenging, at best. Downright terrifying, most of the time. The rhinoceros beetle sees me, and motions for me to come over. i come over, pull out my knife, and pick the lock (skill I learned from my sort-of older brother). she stands up, looks at me, and attempts to run for her life. I pick up the knife, throw it, and pin her by the shirt to a tree. she looks at me in pure terror, and that's when the two men notice me. By this point, the pronghorn is seething about being screamed at, and Ekarti is really mad about the bug. So when they see me, the pronghorn says (in possibly the most controlled voice I've ever heard) "I did not bring this insect here for target practice, young lady." I draw myself up to my full height (a full 5 inches taller than the pronghorn, i just look shorter because I don't ever stand up straight), and say "if she hadn't been chained up, I wouldn't have let her out and then had to pin her to the tree to stop her from running." he looks... surprised, so I take this as the perfect chance to ask "Who are you, who is she, and what are you doing here, anyway?" his mouth drops open, and Ekarti answers for him. "Aria, this is Shorttail, the second-in-command of the Pronghorn government. Apparently he has been sent here by his leader in order to set a trap for the Dynastinae. The rhinoceros beetle is Vyjallen, sister of one of the higher ranking Dynastinae, and she is the bait." Bait? um. He continues. "Shorttail refuses to tell me all the details, but the Pronghorns hope to lead the Dynastinae to a spot in the forest, and then get the cicadas to kill them, and they will enslave the remaining living. I don't know where I would put Sina, let alone Vyjallen. As it is, the village will need to be expanded." the pronghorn holds up his hand. "Wait, who is Sina?" he asks. "Sina is my apprentice. I rescued her from a public beating in the Pronghorn-Peacock city. Before the cicadas were sighted." He looks confused, then his face sort of lights up. "So that's who you are! one of my females was talking about a fox who traded some bracelets for a rhinoceros beetle. X-47, I believe." I nod and say "Yes, I can also deal with Vyjallen, if you like..." The two men nod in relief, realize they were just arguing with each other, scowl, and walk off in opposite directions. Vyjallen looks at me and starts attempting to rip through the tree. I walk over, pull out the knife, lean over and say "I'm here to help you. Come with me." she nods, and we go back into the building.

((evil person makes cliffhanger! mwahahahahahahahaha!)

Arrianonna:

As Vyjallen and I walk back into the building, I see the other inhabitants looking out at me. Mouthing off at two high-ranking pronghorns in the space of three weeks is apparently unheard of in this area. Kiri comes up to me and says "Was that really a good idea? I mean, he's sort of in charge, right?" I start laughing. "There is nothing he can do to me. And I got a rhinoceros beetle off his hands, right?" oops. She didn't know about Vyjallen. she (Vyjallen) looks at me and says "I am not taken off of people's hands. Who do you think you are, anyway?" I look at her and hiss "the only thing keeping you from going back into the slave auction right now." she shrinks, then give me a look. "Kiri," I say, "Not now. I have to get Vyjallen situated." she nods, then runs off. I sigh, then look at Vyjallen. "you know," she mutters, "I didn't ask to get rescued." I laugh. "Do you want to back there?" she shakes her head vigorously. "Then I suggest you come with me." We continue walking, and then i walk into somebody else. A person that hadn't been there a minute ago was now standing in the middle of the hallway, looking curiously at Vyjallen and I. I back up, mostly to get a better look at him. He is about 5'9, with short brownish hair and gray eyes. And he's sort of (really) cute. I mentally shake myself and say "Would you please watch where you are going?" he smirks. "I believe that you walked into me. And you are...?" I stop the rising embarrassment (mostly by elbowing Vyjallen, who is giggling), and say "Arrianonna. Now if you would excuse me..." I walk around him, and turn the corner to my room. Sina is looking at me, then at Vyjallen, then back at me, and says "So, what happened?" I start to explain, stop, think about it, and say "I'll let Vyjallen explain." I then promptly leave the room and go outside to shoot at trees until I am no longer completely pink with embarrassment. Then I realize that I still have no idea who that guy was.
Well, that is until he decides to come watch me shoot, and says "I believe I forgot to tell you my name." I whirl around, and almost shoot him. Then I realize what he said. He continues, "I'm Cardon. Sorry for sneaking up on you. Put the bow down, please?" I realize that I have unconsciously pulled the bow up to aim at him. I put it down, and say "You should be. And standing in the middle of the hallway where people can walk into you is also rude." He looks at me funny, and I pinch myself to keep from blushing. He laughs, taps me on the head, and walks off. Halfway between melting and seething, I kick at a tree, squeak in pain, and walk off in a huff.

((I couldn't think of anything to write, so I pulled a mushy romantic. Thank you, goddessiris, for giving me an idea. Romance is fun!))

((MMMMM I hope you know what face I made at that picture! :) ))

Vyjallen:
The fox loner seems really rude. Obviously she is used to getting her way, even against Pronghorns. I am still puzzling over why she would release me and then take me. I would normally ask her. I am used to being around people who think they're better than me, in fact that's been my whole life. First in the Dynastinae, then as a slave, and now here too, I suppose. The other loners say that Adionna rescued the quiet beetle named Sina to be an apprentice in her shop. The Adionna I know, I can't see her doing a thing like that. I don't know why she treats Sina so much better than me. Why did she have to get involved in the first place?
I pluck up nerve to ask her a question. I decide to sound like an innocent little kid, since that's the way she sees me. I ask,"Can I train to make jewelry like Sina?" She glances at me disapprovingly. "No of course not. You're much too young." Of course. I think a 12 year old is perfectly capable to tell you the truth. Adionna orders me to go to my room, while is suprisingly well furnished. A nightstand is nestled in one corner, and the bed is covered with a warm-looking patch quilt. The window is hung with a deep brown curtain, casting a natural look over the whole thing. There is a nice rug on the ground, almost covering the whole wood floor.
I am suprised when one of the loners, called Elias, interrupts my sulking to present me with muffins. Huh, so not everyone here is all bad. He smiles a little when I open the door. "Vyjallen," he says. He shifts from foot to foot as he talks. "I'm sorry for the way Adionna treated you. I think perhaps she let you go and realized she shouldn't have, so she's extra mean to make up for it." He makes quotes with his hands. "I wanted to apologize for her actions." "With muffins?" I ask. His face breaks into a grin. "Just to ease the pain, I guess. Anyway," he sits down on the bed. "I should let you know that you shouldn't judge our tribe on her. She is not one of us, really. I'm sure you'll find that the rest of us are much nicer. And I am taking you out of her care, in a few hours. She has no right to keep you. While you are here you will live like an equal member of the tribe, not a slave." I am shocked. "Thank you!" I cry. I set the muffins on the nightstand. "Your welcome," he smiles. "But thank the tribe, not me." He closes the door behind himself. Already I think I've found one friend (or at least ally) in this tribe. Any bearer of muffins couldn't be all bad. I smile as I take a bite of one.

((No, Vyjallen does NOT like Elias. For one he is like 20, and for another he is not a beetle so that would be considered disgusting.))

Arrianonna:

I walk over to Vyjallen's room. I was really rude to her yesterday, and I need to apologize. I knock, and she comes to the door, opens it, sees who it is, and attempts to shut the door in my face. I stick my foot in and say "I think I need to apologize. May I come in?" She opens the door, gives me a surprised look, and lets me in. She sits down on the bed, and looks expectantly at me, so I start. "I... I just wanted to say that I was really rude yesterday. I've been kind of distracted, what with the whole running away from my parents murderers..." she stops me. "Wait, somebody killed your parents?" I nod. "Cicadas. Several years ago. That's how I knew about this place, because Ekarti and Tiamat took me in as a baby." she nods. "Continue, please." I keep talking. "I wasn't really thinking about it when I let you out. Then, when the other two saw me, I couldn't really let you go without getting the entire tribe into serious trouble, so I pinned you. Then when we came in, I was kind of embarrassed about the whole talking back to important pronghorn thing, so I didn't mean to be well, mean. I didn't meant to treat you like a slave AT ALL. I hate the slave trade. When you asked about the jewelry, you sounded so childish that I automatically thought that you wouldn't be able to handle it. I see now that that was a mistake. If you still want to work with me, you can." she looks pensive. "I'll think about it." I'm about to walk out, when I remember what I made. I turn around, and say "oh, I forgot something. I sort of stayed up all night working on this as an apology, so..." I give her three silver bracelets, one with a star engraved in it, one with a gem, and one with a cloud. She takes them, looks at them, and says "Thank you." I smile and leave.

((Everyone, your savior has arrived! :) ))
Vyjallen twisted the silver bracelet on her wrist. She had only asked Adionna about jewelry to test her position with her, but as she played with the bracelets Adionna had given her as an apology gift, she couldn't help yearning to know how to make something like this. Honestly, Vyjallen didn't really care about staying in this room now. It was quite nice, and reminded her of her old Dynastinae nest, all dark brown colors. She made up her mind. While she was here, which would be a long time, probably forever (a fact she had sadly accepted, unless she could convince the tribe to try to stop the pronghorn's plan, which wasn't likely) she might as well make something of it. "I'll go find Adionna tomorrow," she thought. "I'll tell her I want to make jewelry." After her mind was freed of that indecision, it was able to go back to thoughts she had been trying to avoid: the pronghorn's plan. While she didn't like the Dynastinae any more than the pronghorns, she squirmed at the thought that her entire species could be enslaved. Up until now, the Dynastinae had always sat at the back of her thoughts, a safe place she could go if she was in trouble. But now what? Vyjallen didn't want the beetles to be enslaved AT ALL. She sighed. "I guess I'm not being realistic," she thought as she curled up on the bed. "What's one girl going to do about it? The tribe won't help me."


Shimmerscale: ((I know, you're probably saying whaaa? who's dat? but she does exsist i've just never used her.))
I turn to Blackwing and roll my eyes. Our squadron leader, Oak's-song, means well, but everyone talks about her waving arms and fake smiles behind her back. Blackwing, surprisingly, doesn't laugh like usual, but insted turns his head and makes a "shush" finger. Annoyed, I turn back to Oak's-song. She is passing out papers labeled, non-suspiciously, "the secret plan". It is in our squadron's very detailed secret code, but still. I skim the paper, most of which is taken up by the squad logo, motto, and other accessories. My eyes gravitate to a sentence at the bottom, however, that makes me forget these annoyances. I can barely make out Oak's-song's sloppy scrawl, but I get the idea. I do a little dance in place. Blackwing nudges me. "What?" he whispers. I show him the paper. It says,"Some Crocs are leaving on a journey very soon. Our squad is going to keep tabs on them. We have chosen a select few to stake out and watch them. Those are-," My name and his are both on there. His eyes light up. "Yes!" he whisper-yells. "Finally something! A real mission!"

Arrianonna: ((before I post, this is something that actually needs to be said. MY NAME IS NOT ADIONNA. IT IS ARRIANONNA. those of you whom that concerns know who you are.))
Vyjallen seems to be getting along much better with me now. She actually asked me again if she could learn to make jewelry (using her own voice). She mentioned something about "pronghorn's plan" talking to herself a bit later. I stopped her and said "You have family in the Dynastinae, don't you." It wasn't a question, and we both knew the answer. "You know about the peacock that just arrived? Her sister approached me about Sina a few weeks ago, so I suspect that she doesn't like slavery, and she seems pretty influential, so maybe you could ask her for help?" she smiled, and said "Good idea, thanks." she then runs off, supposedly to talk to the peacock. What was her name, anyway? Ah-quaz? I just hope that she can help. I dislike the dynastinae, but more slaves is NOT something I'm interested in.

((Did I mention the new roleplay that I made? And that you should go look at it hint hint. placevalue made a character already, so you can ask her about how awesome it is hint hint.))

Ah-quaz:
Thank goodness I could get into the tribe, I don't know what would've happened if there was a problem. I gaze at Ah-de, he nods his head slowly. We walk into the tribe, there seems to be quite a few foxes here. How did so any of the same species appear? The only large gatherings of species are already nations. I greet one fox loner. I see the rhino beetle in a closer view, she is very young. Why is she here? I decide that I will ask her, but I hesitate. Ah-de is joking with some of the tribe members, he seems to be getting along with them pretty well. I notice that the fox loner that I greeted is close with this rhino beetle. Is that her slave?
"Hello, i am Ah-quaz. I mean no harm, I'm just here for my council training and I am only here with Ah-de."
((I will have some interesting backstory on Zoozoo-um up in the OOC forum))

Vyjallen:
I tried to explain to the tribe what is going on, and that the Pronghorns won't be any better than the Dynastinae, but they wouldn't listen. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring out at the gradually darkening sky. I sighed. I might as well try telling them again," I thought Then something occurred to me. Arionna! Of course! Maybe the tribe wouldn't listen, but I bet she will. I open the door to my room and walk out into the long hallway, my feet barely skimming the floor as I hover, and then fly along it. I land and slowly make the climb up the hill where Arionna is living for the time being. When I get to the small house, I almost don't notice Sina standing guard. She is wearing a dress almost the exact color of the vibrant green of the forest. "Sina!" I call. She turns her head. "What are you doing up?"
I shiver and realize I am still wearing my pajamas, a thin tanktop and oversized sweatpants. "I need to talk to Arionna. Please!"
She looks hesitant. "Well, she's probably asleep, I'll go get her." She comes out a minute later. "She's around the back."
I walk over there, leaves and sticks crunching under my feet.
She is sitting on a type of patio, watching a torch burn to embers. "Sorry- did I wake you up?"
Her head jerks up. "What? No...what's wrong?"
I sit on the edge of a chair and explain. "The cicada's are probably no more than a hundred miles away!" I say when finished.
"I know," she says. "That's why I came here."
"But we aren't safe here either," I tell her. I fill her in on the pronghorn's plan. "They want the cicadas to come here. They are probably going to lure them here if they don't come on their own."
We fall silent. I can tell Arionna is trying to think of a plan. We listen to the crickets chirping, sending their song into the cool summer air. The moon watches over us like a twinkling eye. Oh Frartigot, where are you? ((the god of the moon according to rhino beetles)) I stand up. "I'd better go-"
My voice cuts off as a scream pierces the air. Sina. "CICADAS!!!!!"

Ah-quaz:
I hear shrieking and strange buzzing fill the air.
"C-Cicadas?" I've only heard of the creatures in school. They overtook the Rhino beetles. Ah-de feels the same confusion and concern as I do. He takes out a bow and arrows, prepared to shoot down any flying creatures attacking. A cicada approaches me, his red eyes watching my every move.
"Ah, I haven't seen another species in 17 years! My name is Nhymet" he bows in respect. Strange, I expected them to be savages considering they brutally took over the rhino beetles.
Soon, Nhymet directs a huge cloud of flying cicadas to attack the tribe. I've only been taught how to fight once, by my sister. I can't fight these creatures. I reach for Ah-de's hand for comfort, he's trained in fighting, he is second in command for the army.
I look over to everyone in the tribe, we must defend this tribe.

Starheart:
I gaze off into the distance towards the forest. Suddenly I hear a long scream coming from the forest. I am too far away to tell what was said, but could tell it was in panic. And someone has to be pretty panicked to scream like that. I hitch my backpack to my back and start running towards where I heard the sound. As I get closer to the forest, a buzzing fills my ears. There is only one species that makes a sound like that. Cicadas. I run faster than I was before. As I run the buzzing grows. When I near the place where the scream was, I pull out a knife. Suddenly, I burst out into a clearing. It is filled with cicadas. I attack the cicada nearest to me. It turns and it bites me. It has transparent wings tucked behind it's back. It is brown and has bright, red eyes. I quickly stab it and move to the next one. While I am battling, I notice several other species in the clearing. And now that I look better, I see that there are houses. This must be a tribe deep into the forest. The cicada I am fighting reaches out his proboscis, but I am used to this move. I flick my knife and slice off his proboscis. I think that this hurts a lot because he clutches his face and sinks to the ground. I swing around and cut off the proboscis of another cicada. I go on like this for what seems like hours. Suddenly I realize that the number of cicadas were lessening. I slayed a few more cicadas and then I knelt down to rest. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and held my knife to the throat of my attacker. Suddenly I realized that it was Vyjallen. "What are you doing here?" I ask her. "Well..."A young fox approached me. "Who are you? Vyjallen, how do you know her?"she says. "My name is Starheart. I've seen Vyjallen when she was Stripeneck's slave." "Oh.." ,she says, " Well, make yourself useful. You can clear away the bodies. Get to work." "Wait," I say, " You have not told me your name." " Oh," she says, "Arrianonna." Then she turns and walks away.

((I am finally in the action...))

Everyone is yelling and screaming. The cicadas! I turn to run as fast as I can, but hit a tree root and stumble. I turn around and a cicada is standing right behind me, a spear in it's hands.
"AHHHH!" I shreak, and skuttle backwards. The cicada raises the spear-
and it goes flying off into the air, harmless. The cicada howls in pain and falls to the ground, revealing Starheart standing behind it, a bloody sword in her hands. She kicks the body to the side and jumps back into the battle. I run into the tribe's main building and search desperately, hoping to find a weapon, knowing that I don't know how to use them even if I did find one.
I stumble into the hall, scanning the doors for a weapons room. I find a closet, I figure that will be as good a place as any to look for a weapon, and throw the door open. It is pitch black inside, going back about 5 feet and filled with shelves. On the shelves are cardboard boxes, I pick one at will and lift it down. Dresses. I try the next one, salt and pepper. I spin around, and in the dark my foot hits a shelf and it goes crashing to the ground, the contents of the boxes spilling out onto the floor. Digging through the pile, I see a glint of metal and lift the object out to see that it is a sword. It's a bit heavy for me but it will manage.
I dash back out into the open air. The battle is starting to die down and what cicadas are still alive are fleeing. I see Arionna struggling with a cicada, while another rushes to aid the first. Arionna's bow lies on the ground a few feet away, out of reach. I run up and dodge a cicada with a knife advancing towards me. I press the weapon into Arionna's hands and run off, a cicada chasing me.
The cicada continues to chase me. I run through the council house of the tribe, my feet slipping on the cool marble. The cicada has almost got me, I make one last dive over a Council table and slip on the ground. I hear the cicada scream and lift my head above the table in confusion. Elias, bloody and battered, is holding off the cicada with a large lance. I scream as I feel a probiscus brush my arm, then realize it is only the table cloth. My srceam reminded the cicada that I was still hiding and it makes a lunge for the table- right into Elias's sword. The cicada falls to the ground, dying. Elias sinks to his knees and falls over. I rush to him and see that he has a long gash on his arm, and is bleeding. I rip of the tablecloth and wince as the fancy dishes smash on the ground. I wrap the cloth around Elias's arm to stop the bleeding and try to drag him away. He is heavy and I myself am exhausted, and his dead weight only allows me to drag him to the corner of the Council house, behind the stage. I peek outside. The battle is no longer raging, and the survivors are regrouping, but too many lie still on the ground. "They must be going to the Dynastinae now," I think hazily, before lying down to rest.

What a brat! I killed all of those Cicadas and does she thank me? NO! Uuuh. Such bad manners. But these bodies do need to be cleaned up. I start moving the heavy, lifeless bodies. I start to put one down near the edge of the clearing when Arrianonna screeches, "NO! Not there!" " Then where?" I say. "Over there," she replies and points to a large near the place I entered the village. I sigh and drag the body I am holding over there. After a while they are all there.


((If you want to know more, tell me what the village is named... I need to use it in the next line."))