CHAPTER 2

"Good work! Keep practicing and you'll master that sequence."

The stage 2 trainee was panting and sweating like a hippo. His Patriarch looked at him with a cocked head and sympathetic eyes. Even though they were the same age, he had more experience in fighting and knew the toll stage 2 fighting took upon the body. His mouth flicked up into a slight smile.

"Go take a break Goj, you need it." Tyler dismissed. Goj huffed out a sigh of relief and thanked him as he jogged to get a drink and a change of clothes. Tyler snickered and shook his head. Grabbing the practice swords and putting them on the rack, he was entrapped by the waist. He tensed before forcing himself to relax. A female face snuggled into the back of his shoulder, not high enough to rest on it. No matter how hard Tyler tried to relax his body, there was always a knot of uneasiness in his gut. The face snuggled deeper into his cloth covered skin. The arms tightened around his waist. A rumble - supposed to be a purr - vibrated over his skin in unappreciative waves.

"Ty. You smell wonderful, all worked up and sweaty." She droned with sickening seduction. To calm his disgust, Tyler thought back to a different place, a different touch, a different voice, a different smile. He had to choose his words carefully, if not to blow his cool and endanger his Band.

"I'm glad you think so." The damsel sighed. He was always like this with her, with her Band. With his people he was carefree and expressive. With hers, he was locked away and shadowed. Her arms fell to her sides. She looked at her feet. A finger grabbed her chin and forced her to look up. Tyler smiled and kissed her forehead lightly.

"Don't be so grumpy." He mumbled against her skin. Her mouth twitched. Guilt furrowed into her bones. She shouldn't be with him. She was a no-settler; a whore. She couldn't join her soul to just one cavat male. She had yes. But then she kept going, sealing the bad slice into her aura. Right now she was stuck, bonded, to a cavat male. She didn't know how it happened, but she hoped her engaged didn't feel it.

"And don't call me Ty. I've told you that before, Jasmina." Tyler scolds. That was a nickname that brought back painful memories and belonged to someone else.

Tyler skirts her and continues towards his tent. A Brother nods his respect before looking over to a food tent a few feet away. Four males, three Alkali and one Brother, are fighting over an eating spot. Tyler makes his way over to the hustle. He jesters his hand to stop and sit. The Alkali go to argue but are stopped with a glare. Tyler draws a line in the dirt, telling them which side each Band sit on. The Brother agrees readily. The other three are more hesitant, but agree otherwise. The Bother Patriarch shakes his head and continues walking.
You'd think after ten years of the Alkali and Brother Bands living together, they would've learnt to live with each other. But each day there was more and more intense fights. When and if the opportunity arises, Tyler was ready to get his Band out of this circumstance. Even though the Alkali were kind enough to help, they still came off with a bad vibe.
When the Brother Band was attacked, the Alkali had been the closet neighbouring Band at the time. When Elder Matriarch Jana, Tyler's mother, asked for sanctuary and protection, she was met with open arms - but at a cost: If they wished for the Band's help, the heir to the Brother Band would be engaged to the Alkali Patriarch's daughter - an arranged marriage as such. Alkali Patriarch Enio knew that it went against all rules and beliefs of the Brothers'. As expected, Jana refused to the agreement, saying she would try her luck moving around the vicinity to find another, more cooperative Band. Enio had scoffed at her, telling to try all she wished until every last one of her Band was in a compound. Jana was just about to reply rudely when Tyler, nine years old at the time, had cut her off agreeing with Patriarch Enio. The Alkali's eyes had widened in surprise to this agreement. Jana, outraged, had asked him why. All she got was, "for the Band", though she knew there was more from the look in his eye. After Enio had gotten his composure back, he readily accepted, sealing the treaty. Since then, the Patriarch's daughter, Jasmina, and Tyler were engaged. Besides the fact that Tyler would turn down Jasmina's attempts to bind themselves, Jasmina's no-settler title and the scuffles between the Bands, everything was smooth sailing.

# # # # # #

Two thuds vibrate through the hard, weathered tent post. Tyler growled, warning the vistior that he wasnt in the mood, and put his arm over his eyes, trying to get some peace. The unwanted visitor, though hearing th ewarning, entered unbidden through the tent. He took in the dull sight of the Patriarch laying defenceless - though there was probably a knife under the pillow - on the cot standing against the back tent.

"Well, what a lovely sight this is." He was rewarded with a grunt. Sighing, he moved to sit on the only stool in the vicinity. There was a silence for five minutes between the two; one waiting to be acknowledged and th eother wishing to be alone. Tyler shifted out of bordem so that his arm was on the pillow and he was looking at his companion.
The visitor was definitely male. He was the same height as Tyler (65ft 7") with a more muscled frame, which strained against the white shirt. His facial fur was a similar brown to a maple tree, streaked with grey strips. His eyes were a light green - not the bright, soul reflecting deep green that Tyler wanted. He sighed and rolled onto his side, showing his back.

"What do you want Hamish?"

"Just checking in on an old friend." They fell into a short silence again as the Brother Patriarch rolled onto his back again and took the time to read Hamish's aura.
The first ring was a thin charcoal grey shadow, representing the Brother Band; and the second was half light green, Hamish's own aura; and half yellow, the aura of the Brother female Elana. A petty little Cavat who stole his heart fourteen years ago, before the joining of the Alkali and Brother Bands.

"How's the wife?" Tyler asked. Hamish's eyes lit up.

"She's good. Grumpy, tired and big. She can't wait to get the baby out in a couple of weeks. She's always yelling at me and finding some way to punish me. And I don't even know why!"

"Maybe it's because you knocked her up?" Hamish glared at his Patriarch, who put his hands up. "Hey don't bring me into this. I'm happy and single."

Hamish growled, "You will be when you finally choose someone."
That brought an ubrupt halt. Awkwardness settled on the pair. Hamish winced, noticing the word choice. Tyler was silent, thinking about the one thing he couldn't have.
Five minutes stretched this time, before it was Hamish who broke it.

"You miss her don't you." He whispered, more a statement than a question. All tyler could do was nod. It was a small and nearly invisible gesture. It hurt to think about her, but that was all he could do. Think. "Do you remember how stubborn she was?" Another nod.

"She would stop at nothing to get what she wanted." Tyler whispers hoarsely. "Always arguing, dealing and threating."

"Not to mention bashing you up!" Chirped Hamish.
Tyler chuckled. Yes, you would swear her sole purpose in life was to annoy him.

"She didn't bash me up that much!" Tyler complained, mumbling, "more dislocate my shoulder."

# # # # # #

Jasmina walked throughout the camp, weaving around goat-skin tents. It took Bands a long time to gather the right amount of skins as goats varied in sizes from 4ft to 20ft. So when the Brother Band joined hers they had to go hunting and send some Brother scouts to obtain more.

Jasmina kept walking trying to find some entertainment. As you grew up in the Alkali Band you had more responsibilities weighed onto you and that meant no more playtime. So when you did get a break, you were left wondering what to do. She continued walking, giving a slight smile to those who acknowledged her. She made it to the Brother Band side of the encampment and went straight to the familiar yet foreign tent of their Patriarch. She didn't return the gestures and calls of welcome from the occupants of the surrounding tents. She rounded the side of the head tent and stopped short when she heard a conversation from inside. The topic not what she wanted it to be.

"...How much do you remember?"

"Everything and anything."

"Do you think she's alive?"

"I don't think, I know."

"You going to go find her? Keep that promise you made?"

"Yeah."

"What do you mean 'yeah'?! It's been ten years Tyler! She's probably given up on you already."

"I know. I'm just waiting for the right time..."

So he had a love before her. Jasmina's heart tweaked. She knew she didn't deserve him, but that didn't stop her from think of him as hers. She tolerated the women in his Band looking at him as she was not yet their Matriarch, but the women from hers had learnt to look away lest they get an earful or worse. But to hear him and another Brother talking about a first love and a promise she had only heard of in passing had her blood boiling more than usual. She didn't know who this girl was but if she ever saw her than that chick was going to go down hard. No one took what was hers.

<A/N: YAY! I updated one of my favourite books! *does random happy dance while listening to 'big daddy weave'* Be happy people!
If y'all have noticed, I've added and/or changed some of the titles of my books to title *slow editing* Just to tell you that, yeah I'm concentrating on all of them and because of that, my active reading, writers block and school (I'm in Yr9 people!) I will updating slowly so please be patient. I'm patient with you so be patient with me.
Thanks kiddies!
Kalani>