39 Prelude To Separation

(Lyn Pov)

We finally found out what was being planned for so long. The adults want to see if we have the skills to survive on our own. My father told me this is something most tribes do, a test to see if the oldest children in the tribe are ready to be called adults.

There are eighteen of us here at these new campgrounds. I am not old enough to be tested, but there are eleven people here who are old enough. I don't know how Morgan convinced the adults to get the rest of us who are not old enough for the test to come with them.

All I know is that about a week ago I think, we were told that eleven are old enough to take this test. This group was supposed to split off from the tribe and survive for about half a year on their own. It was supposed to be a year, then the seven of us joined and the test changed.

I think taking care of the seven of us made the test harder and that's why they made the test shorter. I don't know what to think about that. Oh well, I think everything will be fine. I think our group of eighteen probably has the best teamwork in the tribe.

Over the years a couple of families have joined the tribe and some of them have left shortly after joining. But, the eighteen of us have been together for as long as I can remember. We are all close to each other and know each other very well.

That's why I believe things will be fine, at least I hope it will be fine. I know we shouldn't let our guard down, but I think it's okay for me to believe in what the group can do. Even if I did, Moron would constantly remind us that anything that can go wrong.

Normally I would think he needs to relax and he needs to be more hopeful about things. Now it makes me feel a lot safer, knowing he is here with us. He is always paying attention to the things we might miss or not think of. And he always takes care of the problem if there is one.

Looks like we are gathering to talk about something, I think the others will decide what we are going to do. We don't have a plan yet and it would be unwise for us to continue without one. I hope we can agree on something quickly.

-------------(A few minutes later)

"Alright, is everyone here? We need to get things sorted immediately and come up with a plan."(Morgan)

"I think everyone is here. What do you think we should discuss first then? Morg, you're usually the one who would come up with plans? Any ideas?"(Brennus)

"Well, I do have things I think we should address immediately. We definitely need to decide who does what here and a basic chain of command. I bet most of you are thinking about who should be our leader, and I'll leave all of that up to the group's decision.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on the matter? Anything else we should take care of now, or at very least things we should think about?"

"No, I think for the most part you got the things we should take care of at this moment. I guess we should get started, I'll ask the first question. Who does not want to be a leader or any similar role? Raise your hands if you don't."(Dahlia)

I raised my hand and started to look around to see who else raised their hand. It's not surprising that the youngest of us here are raising our hands. So far I see Dahlia, Gerlinde, Khair, Enkh, Battuya, Elbeg, and Battuya raising their hands.

My father told me leaders need to be strong, sharp, compassionate, patient, and resolute. They also need to know how to rely on others. But most of all, they need to be willing to make hard decisions and take risks for the good of the group.

Dahlia is probably the second smartest person here, but she isn't the type of person who can make people follow an order. She can come up with a lot of good ideas, but I don't think she can confront someone and tell them what to do.

She is also too careful and she doesn't like to take risks. Gerlinde is the opposite of Dahlia, she is not afraid to tell us what she is thinking. We can count on her to get any task done and to get others to focus. But the problem is, she doesn't like doing any extra work if she can avoid it.

She will argue against doing any unnecessary work or work she feels she isn't the right person for. So being a leader would be too much work for her and she probably thinks she isn't the right person for the job.

Khair is great at getting people to do things, mainly because she is nicer than Gerlinde about it. She is very caring towards everyone, and she is the second most patient person here. I don't think I have ever seen her angry, she always has a smile on her face.

Most of the time when she asks someone for a favor, they will do it for her without any quarrel. I think she is too nice to be a good leader, she will do everything she can to make everyone happy. There is nothing wrong with that, but sometimes that is not possible.

Enkh will never be a leader, she hates being the center of attention. She is very quiet and very shy. So like Dahlia, I can't see her confronting people and telling them what to do. I think I know why Elbeg and Battuya are raising their hands, but I am not too sure.

I spend so much more time with the other girls, that I just don't know them as well as the other guys would. They spend more time with each other when they are outside of the campgrounds either hunting or patrolling.

I still work and talk with them whenever I can, but out of all the guys I talk to Morgan the most. Mainly because he is the only one that will actually talk back to me and sometimes he doesn't stop talking. Now that I think about it, my dad doesn't talk to me as much as Morgan.

Then again the men of the Lorca tribe are very quiet in general. I think at one point I have seen them all communicate with each other through a series of nods, gestures, expressions, and noises. I wonder how close they must be to be able to do that.

The only times they seem to speak more than usual is whenever Morgan is there and he is trying to get them to talk and laugh. If not they will all try to say as little as possible, I think this is a game they are all secretly playing. That's just a fun little thought of mine.

Why is everyone so quiet, I thought we were having a discussion. What are they all looking at? As I am turning my head, I just see shocked looks on their face. What happened while I was thinking? Oh, I understand their shock now.

The thought that Morgan would raise his hand never crossed my mind. Out of everyone here, he is the one I think would be the best leader. If we need a plan, he will come up with one. If we need to work towards a certain goal, he will get everyone on the same page to work together.

It doesn't matter what we ask him for, as long as we ask, there is a high chance he will do it. If he can't or won't do it, he will at least tell you the reason why. He will tell you he can't after he tried everything he possibly could.

However, that does not make Morgan a person who will do everything to make us happy. The times he won't do anything no matter what we say, they are the most frustrating ones. What I hate most about Morgan is his habit of doing what he believes is best for you.

What annoys me the most about this habit of his is the attitude he takes. He doesn't care if what he does will make us sad, happy, or angry. He doesn't even care how we feel towards him after he does it. As long it is something that can help us either now or in the future, he will do it.

We know this because he told all of us that is what he will do until we can convince him not to. That is another problem entirely, Morgan can be oddly stubborn at times. Despite this flaw, we know he has the resolve to do anything for the good of the group.

Those are all of the things about him that make me feel like he would make a good leader. I thought he would be the one who would take the role. Judging by everyone else's shocked faces, I bet they are having similar thoughts.

He doesn't do anything without a reason, so what is he thinking? Well whatever it is, he will tell us if we confront him about it. I just hope it isn't the reason I think it is because if it is, there is no way we can convince him to do anything.

"I'll be the one to break the silence then. Morg, why did you raise your hand? I'll be honest, I thought you would be the best one for the job. Judging by everyone's silence, I am guessing they thought the same thing. That's why I raised my hand, I thought you would do it." (Colden)

"Well, I have two reasons for raising my hand. The first being my skill set, I am flexible enough to fill in for any role we are missing or do jobs nobody wants to do. I don't care what job I get, I'll make sure it gets done. We are short on hands as it is, and we need to be smart about this."

"Hearing it like that, I guess you do have a point. What's your second reason then?" (Colden)

"It's simple really, it's one of the chief's requests. I have something I need to do, and I need the time to do it. If I'm our leader, I wouldn't have time to do what I was asked to do. With that being said, I'll be back soon."

I was right again, I knew my father must have said something. Morgan will never go against or question his orders. Well at least he gave us another reason for refusing, I can accept his first reason more than the second. What are going to do now?

"Where are you going? We still have to decide who is doing what!" (Blaise)

"Like I said I don't care what job I get, I'm ready to do whatever needs to get done. I'm going out to scout the area around our camp. The last thing we need is an attack when we aren't expecting it."

"Why are you going alone then? Some of us can come wi-" (Blaise)

"All of you need to stay here and decide who is doing what. I want everyone here to say their piece and what they want to do. We will run into fewer problems later if everyone is honest now. I know it will take some time before a decision is made, I want to make sure we are safe.

Out of all of us here, I am by far the hardest to kill. I can hear, see and smell farther than any of you can. I have the best chance at finding anything that is off and most importantly I have magic. I won't be holding back this time, I will use my magic to its fullest power."

"How are you certain your magic will do anything to anyone that does show up. What would you do if your magic did nothing? What would you do if they outnumber you?"

"I already asked all of the adults, from what I learned magic is hard to deal with for most people. Few can actually resist damage from a magical source, the ones who can are most likely trained in magic. The magic I have shown you so far is very harmless and not at all suited for combat.

The magic I would use for combat is already strong enough for the adults to forbid me from using it on people. And before you can say anything else, yes I can control it. If they outnumber me, it still won't be a problem. To attack me, they first have to find me.

I can use a spell to make it hard for them to find me. But that would also make it hard for you guys to find me. Take this bracelet, it will make it easy for you to find me. Don't ask me how it works, just concentrate and you will find me. The bracelet will do the magic for you."

He handed me a simple cloth bracelet that is embroidered with our tribe's signature pattern. Which is a long strip of cloth that is embroidered with a row of triangles. With smaller triangles being sewed onto the inverted triangles the background forms.

I am the one who made this bracelet and I am quite proud of the design. This bracelet has an orangish-brown background and the large triangles that form the row are a pale shade of blue with a small yellow border. The small triangles have a similar design as the bigger triangles.

I gave this bracelet to him last year as a late birthday gift. I have known him my entire life, but I only learned when his birthday is last year. I see him wearing it all the time since then, but I did not know he had enchanted it. I didn't even know he could enchant things.

Well, it makes me happy that he is using my gift and found a use for it. I am surprised at the amount of times I learn something new about Morgan. How much do I know about him? I should make a list of the things I do know about him, and the things I know he can do with magic.

"With that being said and done, I bid you farewell."

What?! He is gone, he just vanished right before our eyes. How did he do that? Well, that is just another thing to add to the list of things he can do. I am wearing the bracelet, so I can sort of tell where he is. He is moving away from us very quickly, I didn't know he was that fast.

"He's gone and we know he is not coming back until he has a reason for him to return. I think we should talk about who does what, like he said. The faster we get this done, the faster you guys can join him out there." (Lyn)

I'm sure we can get this done fast if we all work together. What's the worst that can happen?