Same Coin Different Side

Eventually, the remaining soldiers from the tribe across the river left. Even though their village wasn't in view, judging by the direction in which they were heading, it had to of been a straight shot due North.

I left after making sure there was no possible chance for them to see me, and sprinted back toward the tribe. I needed to make sure that the remaining soldiers didn't do anything rash.

*****

When I made it back to the tribe, I thought I ended up at the wrong place. There was no noise, no people walking around, nothing. Even though it was around noon, nobody was outside of their huts.

Thinking the worst, I ran straight for the Chief's hut and pushed away the 'door'.

"Brother? Why was everyone ordered to stay inside today? Are we going to get attacked?" Rei asked frightened.

Inside the hut were Rei, Shakkar, Ulta, and Ulta's Mother. It looked as if everyone had been crying before I came here.

'Looks like they were already informed about how the battle ended. I don't have time to comfort them though... not yet.'

"Where's Kerr?" I asked.

"*Sniffle* He followed the men to the Elders' hut, why?" Ulta responded in a soft voice.

"No time to explain, but just know I won't allow anyone else to die on this day." I said while getting ready to rush out the 'door'.

"*Sob* Hakkar, please stop Kerr." Ulta's Mother said.

I stopped and paused for a second before responding.

"Don't worry Aunt Vera, I won't allow him to make a mistake I've already made." I said while facing the 'door'.

"Thank you." She whispered under her breath.

After that, I ran at full speed towards the Elders' hut, which was located at the center of the village. Luckily since the village was small, I made it to the Elders' hut in under a minute.

When I pushed past the 'door' and looked at everyone in the room, I could instantly tell what was going on. 30 men were standing around a table listening to the old geezer talk, which could only mean one thing during a war. They were already discussing tactics for the next battle.

"Hakkar! Glad to have you here, how about you join us? Grandfather was just talking about how we could use your abilities in this upcoming battle." Kerr said as he looked over his shoulder.

"Do you think this is a game, Kerr? You do understand you could die, right?" I said with a cold gaze.

"Hahaha, what are you talking about, Hakkar? Of course, I don't think this is a game. I'm just going to get back for what they did to our people." He said as his voice progressively got lower.

The other men in the building didn't know how to react when Kerr and I started getting into it. At first, they thought it was just some children's fight and continued debating, but after a while, most of them started seriously listening to us. Some believed I was in the right, and some believed that Kerr was in the right. It made for a tense situation, one wanted to rush into war right away, and the other would stall for time. The Elders were staying quiet for the time being, but that wouldn't last long.

"Kerr! Look at the men standing around you, do you truly think you'd be safe with them, while they're in that condition? It's only been an hour since they last fought, and now you want to go back out there again with them?!! If you were to follow them, you would die a pointless death... making your Father's death unnecessary... do you truly wish for your Father's sacrifice to be in vain?!!" I yelled at him with an angry scowl on my face.

"Why are you opposing me, Hakkar?!! They killed your Father too... do you not feel any hatred towards them?!! Are you so weak-willed as to forget who raised you?!!" He responded with the same attitude as me.

"So if it's for your selfish revenge, you'd be willing to forfeit your life to the battlefield?!! It seems you've lost yourself in hatred, Kerr!! I'm not allowing you to follow through with this dream of yours, it will only end in disaster!!" I continued to scream at him.

"Disaster, have you not heard?!! Our forces are on the same level now because of my Father's sacrifice. That means if we attack them now when they're not ready, we'll have the upper hand!! You may be smarter than me in everything else, but I know more about war than you. If you don't think we should attack... then just stay here and protect the tribe! We'll win this without you!" Kerr said sternly while turning away from me.

'If I can't get through to you with just words... then it seems I'll have to get physical.'

I walked straight behind Kerr and placed both of my hands on his shoulders, spinning him around till he faced me. He was shocked at my sudden actions, but it didn't end there. I tilted my head backward and slammed it against his, head-butting him right in front of the others.

"LISTEN TO ME!!! Have you ever thought about your family's feelings in all of this?!! How do you suppose your Mother and sister will feel when they hear you're going off to war at the age of 5?!! Do you feel proud of yourself for making them worry about you?!! I've already made the same mistake you're about to make... I won't allow you to go through with this, Kerr." I slowly started to talk softer near the end.

"Why? Why, are you so adamant in stopping me? I can understand where you're coming from, but I can't accept it. Those bastards killed my Father, Hakkar." He said while tearing up.

"You don't think I cant sympathize with you, Kerr? The only thing I could wish for at this moment... would be the strength to kill every last one, with my own hands." I said with a cold gaze.

"I see... so you've been holding back this feeling for even longer than I, and yet you're still blocking my path. Well then... I think I finally understand why you're so adamant about stopping me, but what do we do now though? It's not like the tribe across the river is just going to sit still." Kerr said while sighing.

I was going to start talking, but the old geezer stepped in and handled the situation perfectly.

"That's enough boys, you've had your fun... now remove yourself from the tent. I thought you'd be ready to take up your Father's position, but it seems you'll need more time, Kerr. Hakkar is right, we won't be going to war right away... I only started this meeting to let everyone know of my stance... but it seems the lesson I wanted to teach you would have been pointless if not for you, Hakkar. I thank you." The old geezer said while bowing his head.

"No need Elder, I was just stopping my friend from making a bad decision, that's all." I said while bowing back.

After I said that, the old geezer continued his meeting while letting us stay and watch. As Kerr said, I'm not too bright when it comes to war, so this meeting will help me out, by leaps and bounds.

"Although they interrupted us, both of them brought up good points. The tribe across the river won't sit ideally by, but they too can't attack right away. Just like us, they're recovering from the battle that took place. With that being said though, I'm guessing they still have 70 warriors left." The old geezer said.

"70? If that's true, then we're done for." One of the men said.

"How can that be? Didn't Chief Tyu even the odds?" Another chimed in.

"Enough bickering! I speak the truth, we kept a portion of our tribesmen here so that they could protect the women and children, it's only natural that the enemy did the same. Now let me finish." The old geezer said pulling everyone out of their thoughts.

'The old man is really good at leading people around. I wonder if I'll ever be able to lead people the way he does.'

"All hope is not lost though. We will need to drag this war out for another 3 years, in that time we will not fight outside of our village. We will create traps, and use hit-and-run tactics to stall for time." The old geezer said before getting interrupted by a tribesman.

"Why 3 years? Isn't that too long, won't the enemy learn of our tactics and launch a full-scale attack when we're tired?" He said.

"3 years may seem like a long time but, it's because we will widdle down their forces over that time. I believe that this will be a war of attrition, and if we play it just right… we might win with only a small amount of casualties. This is because the tribe across the river is getting more and more desperate every day... eventually, they'll make a mistake, and we will capitalize on it. Once they completely run out of game to hunt... that will be the moment they slip up." The old geezer said raising everyone's morale.

'The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree it seems. Both Chief Tyu and the old man are good at giving speeches.'

"Hey Hakkar, I just want to say sorry for the way I acted back there. After I was told that my Father died... I wanted nothing else, but to go to war right then and there. I'm just glad you stopped me." Kerr said while looking down at the ground.

"Don't think about it too much, just focus on what your grandfather wants to teach you. Remember Kerr... you're now the next in line for the title of Chief." I said while putting my fist on his chest.

He began to cry and although I didn't want to make a scene, it seems my talk with Kerr really struck a chord. I think he finally realizes that he can't act stupid... he now has to look toward the future, not just a single moment.

After his little episode, he was asked to step outside and I had to follow suit. Luckily the tents weren't exactly soundproof, so we just listened from the outside.

Once we left they continued to talk about subjects involving the tribe across the river, but it was all the same stuff from before. Stall for time, set up traps, and only attack when it's approved. The old geezer drilled these concepts inside of our tribesmen's heads until they couldn't take it anymore.

'I'm just glad the Elder isn't rash like his Grandson. I know his son's death is eating him alive, but he stays true to the tribe, and leads them down the correct path. Just like his son... he knows the true meaning of what a leader should be like.'

As I was thinking of this, one of the tribesmen in the tent, raised a good point that I hadn't even thought of.

"What do we do, for now, Elder? Should we prepare for battle near the river? The tribe across the river might launch an attack any second." He said.

"No, we prepare for the arrival of the Empires Envoy. The tribe across the river will wait to attack after the Envoy passes through both villages. They won't risk angering the Empire, but once the Envoy leaves, I'm sure they'll attack that night. Now get some rest men, you fought well today." The old geezer said while leaving.

'I almost forgot about the Envoy, I guess it gives me something to look forward to. If I had to sit back and watch the tribe fight without me again... I might have gone insane.'

When the old geezer stepped out of the tent, he asked for Kerr to follow him. It would seem Kerr is going to be chewed out big time for what he did... but this will only further his advancement to the title of Chief.

'I just can't wait to start training with Mr. Auger.'