The young bounty hunter crossed the room. It was rather crowded and he cared little for paying attention to the latest gossip, which Lin seemed to be the center of. Well, Lin and Naomi. Elisha's nose wrinkled slightly; he knew he would never understand the female mind and its need to speak incessently of all the latest happenings, including the arrival of a new informant for the Resistance.
"You ought to go greet her." Mark motioned to where Jordan was speaking to a small girl with short blonde hair. Or Elisha only assumed she was a girl by her unusually petite frame, but really, it was hard to tell from the fifty meters away that the two boys stood, just watching. "Eh, doesn't really matter one way or another. Looks like she's getting the royal treatment from Lin over there." A slight frown crossed Mark's face.
"Aye, maybe I should," Elisha answered, almost the exact same frown crossing his darker face. "Lin really needs to learn to treat newcomers with respect or there'll be no one left to help us." There was a slight pause and the grasp on his quarterstaff tightened until his knuckles were white. "And right now, we need all the good help we can get. There's no way Ran is going to let Lin go out and spy." Using the wooden stick for a bit of extra support, he half-limped to where Jordan was standing, talking to the new arrival. Mark followed partway in silence, then broke off to go talk to Ran.
As Elisha approached, Jordan turned around and nodded towards the shorter youth. "This is Allison, a new recruit," he held his hand out towards the girl. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go speak to Harcourt and Ran and I'll leave the two of you to get acquainted." Without waiting for Elisha to protest, Jordan turned around and let his long legs carry him effortlessly across the room.
The younger bounty hunter frowned to himself and winced slightly, still annoyed with himself for slipping down the riverbank when he, Naomi, Mark and Lin went out for a short excursion the week before. Another few days of limping around like this and then he knew he'd be back to normal before the end of the week, but the fourteen-year-old couldn't help feeling the hairs on the back of his neck prick up when he saw Lin and Mark sparring and he had to sit on the sidelines, just watching.
"What's your name, Darkie?" The girl looked up at him, meeting his dark hazel eyes with her own light brown ones. "I'm Allison, or that's what everyone calls me." She looked him over and he could feel a piercing stare. "You're not a very good fighter, are you?"
The very tips of Elisha's ears heated up and it felt like they were once again subjected to the hot desert summer afternoon. He had only been that far out of the town a few times, even though his ancestors were originally from the desert tribes to the east. "Why should I give you my name?" After a moment, Elisha met her piercing gaze with his own more subtle one. "You obviously haven't given me yours, at least not your real one."
"Then can I call you Darkie?" When Elisha shrugged, the girl perked up and bounced away, leaving the bounty hunter more confused than ever. By the time he turned around, Mark was standing behind him. The taller bounty hunter had picked up the habit of being able to sneak up quietly behind people; it especially annoyed Lin.
"You know I don't like giving out my name," Elisha's voice dropped down to a whisper. "To know another person's name is to hold power over them and it's not something I need to deal with right now, so don't even think about it."
Sigh. I really don't like how that piece turned out, but whatever. I think it would've been better (especially at the end) if it had been a first person narration to Elisha's POV. And just to let you know, "Darkie" is a rather derogative term used to refer to someone from the desert, but Elisha either doesn't know or doesn't care. Meh, I might as well let you read this...
"You ought to go greet her." Mark motioned to where Jordan was speaking to a small girl with short blonde hair. Or Elisha only assumed she was a girl by her unusually petite frame, but really, it was hard to tell from the fifty meters away that the two boys stood, just watching. "Eh, doesn't really matter one way or another. Looks like she's getting the royal treatment from Lin over there." A slight frown crossed Mark's face.
"Aye, maybe I should," Elisha answered, almost the exact same frown crossing his darker face. "Lin really needs to learn to treat newcomers with respect or there'll be no one left to help us." There was a slight pause and the grasp on his quarterstaff tightened until his knuckles were white. "And right now, we need all the good help we can get. There's no way Ran is going to let Lin go out and spy." Using the wooden stick for a bit of extra support, he half-limped to where Jordan was standing, talking to the new arrival. Mark followed partway in silence, then broke off to go talk to Ran.
As Elisha approached, Jordan turned around and nodded towards the shorter youth. "This is Allison, a new recruit," he held his hand out towards the girl. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go speak to Harcourt and Ran and I'll leave the two of you to get acquainted." Without waiting for Elisha to protest, Jordan turned around and let his long legs carry him effortlessly across the room.
The younger bounty hunter frowned to himself and winced slightly, still annoyed with himself for slipping down the riverbank when he, Naomi, Mark and Lin went out for a short excursion the week before. Another few days of limping around like this and then he knew he'd be back to normal before the end of the week, but the fourteen-year-old couldn't help feeling the hairs on the back of his neck prick up when he saw Lin and Mark sparring and he had to sit on the sidelines, just watching.
"What's your name, Darkie?" The girl looked up at him, meeting his dark hazel eyes with her own light brown ones. "I'm Allison, or that's what everyone calls me." She looked him over and he could feel a piercing stare. "You're not a very good fighter, are you?"
The very tips of Elisha's ears heated up and it felt like they were once again subjected to the hot desert summer afternoon. He had only been that far out of the town a few times, even though his ancestors were originally from the desert tribes to the east. "Why should I give you my name?" After a moment, Elisha met her piercing gaze with his own more subtle one. "You obviously haven't given me yours, at least not your real one."
"Then can I call you Darkie?" When Elisha shrugged, the girl perked up and bounced away, leaving the bounty hunter more confused than ever. By the time he turned around, Mark was standing behind him. The taller bounty hunter had picked up the habit of being able to sneak up quietly behind people; it especially annoyed Lin.
"You know I don't like giving out my name," Elisha's voice dropped down to a whisper. "To know another person's name is to hold power over them and it's not something I need to deal with right now, so don't even think about it."
Sigh. I really don't like how that piece turned out, but whatever. I think it would've been better (especially at the end) if it had been a first person narration to Elisha's POV. And just to let you know, "Darkie" is a rather derogative term used to refer to someone from the desert, but Elisha either doesn't know or doesn't care. Meh, I might as well let you read this...
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