I withdrew afraid that Pops was going to actually kill me now. Shaking I told him, “I– I’m sorry Pops! I thought you’d want to be able to see. I’m so sorry Pops!” I bowed my head expecting the pain any moment.
“This is what you were telling me. The color strands! My god! Your father used to talk about them! I thought
he had lost his mind, I see now! Each strand is a power of a user! My god Toman! You have twice what I do!” Pops said.
“Many of yours are blocked as most mages are.” I told him. “I have never met another with as many open as me. Even the head master doesn’t have as many as you Pops. I am afraid though, opening that one you might discover a few more abilities in the next few days.”
Pops was rubbing his chin as he thought about this. “You have no idea what they might be?” He asked.
“No sorry Pops, I can in a day or two but not right now.” I told him.
“Just how long have you had this ability?” Pops asked.
I was quiet a moment as I thought about it. “I think it started a few years ago. It seems the more I use it the stronger it gets. It is kind of like when I watched the guys fighting the other day. The more I watched the more I could actually do.” I told an opened mouthed pops.
“So the fight was no fluke. You were watching them before you jumped in weren’t you?” Pops asked.
“Of course Pops I told you I would keep out of everyone’s way. You know that as hated as I am I don’t want to give anyone more ammunition to use against me.” I told Pops a little exasperated.
Pops was nodding then was looking at me with a questioning look. “Alright Toman, what else have you been watching?”
I must have had an extremely startled look on my face as Pops started to chuckle. I shook my head, how in the hell was he always able to do that! With a sigh I told him, “I was watching several of the older men making bows today. It was suddenly easy looking so I made one of my own.” I reached out and pulled it to me. Pops nodded his head when I did this with ease.
Pops looked it over and started to nod his head approvingly. Then his head snapped up, “Who else knows?”
Again my mouth dropped open as I stared at Pops. “Atohi walked up after I finished it. He said I should show his father, that I would get a lot of honor from it. I told him no, that I was already considered to be an unusual oddity in the village. I didn’t want to make things worse showing a skill that rivaled one of the older males.”
Pops head was nodding ’til I got to the part about Atohi; I told him I wished I had my magic to do a silence spell. “No, I think you should give him the benefit of the doubt. You can always deny that you could though that might make an enemy of Atohi.”
“I just hope he can keep his mouth shut. I really have enough going against me now without more being added on.” I told Pops a little worried that he was going to have to run interference again for me. “I’m not really sure Pops without my abilities I just can’t read him.”
Pops smiled then said, “You’ll learn Toman, you’ll learn. It shouldn’t take that long if you actually start to listen more and complain less.”
Finishing up for the day I left Pops walking around taking my first actual look around the village. It was at that moment that I realized just how far at the fringe of the village our place was. As I was advancing into the village I was in awe of just how organized these people were. Here I thought they were near savages, damn was I wrong.
I soon noticed a tepee toward the middle of everything somewhat larger than the rest. I had started to head that way curious when several of the warriors stopped me. “So Toman you are trying to get a look at your new bride to be.”
My eyes opened wide when I asked, “You mean that is Tall Bear’s home?”
The men chuckled a bit then nodded, “Many of us have only been made aware that you are unused to our customs. One that you might want to remember young Toman is that you are not allowed to see or be alone with your future bride. At least not without her father there.” The others with him nodded though their eyes were shining with a bit of mischief. “So are you wanting to see?” The man asked.
I thought about it for a moment then something Atohi had said popped into my head. “No, I don’t think I want a jhatakedaar chhadee used on me at the moment.” I told the men.
All of them got huge smiles on their faces then shrugged as they started to move of. “Just remember young Toman, sometimes the pain is well worth what earned it in the first place!”
I looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. The beating they’d give me was nothing compared to what pops would do to me. So continuing on (avoiding Tall bear’s tepee) I nodded to several of the young males that had been there when I defeated Malak. Many walked up to me patting me on the back. It was a few minutes later that I happened to walk past another large tepee. Nodding I was moving past when I heard a voice.
“You are not welcome here outsider!” The voice said. “You should go back to where you came from!” Turning I was staring straight into the eyes of Malak’s father!
“You would like that wouldn’t you? Then your son could bully the rest of the younger boys!” I said between clenched teeth. “I am not here to fight I am only walking. It is you that is making threatening motions toward me!” I spit out completely disgusted that the man approved of his son bullying the weak.
“I have every right to kill you where you stand! The injury you have done to my son, my family and I will not be forgiven!” With that the man drew a large knife advancing toward me.
“So, I see you are an afraid woman!” I said remembering a taunt from the circle fight. “You attack an unarmed opponent, are you that afraid of me? One much younger than you?”
Reaching beside his leg he drew a large sinister looking knife. Tossing it to me he laughed, “there you are now armed; let’s see if you can defeat me as easily as you did my son!” Still laughing he lunged towards me, waiting ’til the last minute I side stepped. The man laughed as he reversed direction and went with me swinging at my throat.
Ducking down I brought both hands flat as hard as I could into his stomach. I was surprised when the man only grunted when I hit him. Smiling bigger he stalked toward me again swinging trying to cut me across the chest. I barely avoided the swipe as it flashed nearby.
Still stalking me, the man laughed louder, “you are good young Toman, though I think you aren’t good enough!” Suddenly the man went high aiming again at my throat, just as suddenly he pivoted swinging low directly toward my stomach! Falling back flat on the ground I brought both my legs up as hard as I could into his solar plexus. I had of course sacrificed my position as he cut my leg.
The man gasp then fell back gagging and vomiting. Getting up I limped to the man drawing back my hand chopping him in the back of the neck. I hadn’t noticed that more than a few of the warriors were watching. That’s when I heard the gasps as the man hit the ground hard unconscious.
“Father!” I heard Malak yell as he can racing out of their tepee. Looking up at me I could see the hatred and anger on his face. “I will kill you!” He said as he took a step towards me.