~A few days later~
"Tis' but a scratch, Min'iah, I doubt it will do much harm."
The large male Red had come into camp with a few days prior was being tended to by a smaller female, his wife. Her face was scrunched up in annoyance and fear - her husband had a long gash across his chest, a result from the days hunting. There was a salve already applied to the wound, and she was just beginning to apply a bandage when she replied.
"A scratch?! You call THIS a scratch?! What happened? It was -that boy- wasn't it? Don't lie to me and say it wasn't. We all know a dark cloud follows him."
The large male sighed, shaking his head, "I am unsure what happened. We had the beast, but somehow it escaped the trap and managed to graze me during its mad dash to freedom. -That boy- as you call him, is the reason the creature did not escape entirely. He's the one that brought it down with a well placed shot." Ja'teeh sat still while Min'iah finished wrapping his chest with the bandage, but once she finished, he stood up to prepare Red's portion of the days meal.
"Why do you continue to allow him to hunt with the group? After what happened the first time? Now, this has happened, what happens next time when it kills you, love? The boy is cursed. Send him away, please, before it costs you or another in the tribe their life."
Ja'teeh continued preparing the meal, though his tail had begun to twitch in annoyance. This was not the first, nor last time, Min'iah had pleaded with him to send the boy away. In fact, almost everyone in the tribe had come to him at some point with that request, and he always gave them the same response:
"The boy deserves to live like any other. I will not send him away without at least teaching him how to survive on his own. What if I had sent -you- away, rather than allowing you to remain here and grow? Why does he not get the same chance everyone else here did?"
That response made Min'iah look away in shame. She had known what the response would be - having heard it many times over, but she always thought Ja'teeh was just giving her lip service. "I do not want to see you harmed, Ja'- you know that. Nor do I want to see our son harmed. You've seen how much they play together. I worry the boy's luck will rub off on him."
Ja'teeh paused, before bursting into laughter - it was a jolly laugh, one that would make anyone within earshot suddenly find themselves laughing along without knowing why. "And -you- know our son has enough good luck to outweigh the boy's bad. Let them play. I see no harm in it."
The meal completed, Ja'teeh gave a meaningful look back to Min'iah, signaling that the discussion was over, the decision made, for good or ill. He picked up the food, and began the trek to the small shack outside of the camp - where Red awaited.
"Tis' but a scratch, Min'iah, I doubt it will do much harm."
The large male Red had come into camp with a few days prior was being tended to by a smaller female, his wife. Her face was scrunched up in annoyance and fear - her husband had a long gash across his chest, a result from the days hunting. There was a salve already applied to the wound, and she was just beginning to apply a bandage when she replied.
"A scratch?! You call THIS a scratch?! What happened? It was -that boy- wasn't it? Don't lie to me and say it wasn't. We all know a dark cloud follows him."
The large male sighed, shaking his head, "I am unsure what happened. We had the beast, but somehow it escaped the trap and managed to graze me during its mad dash to freedom. -That boy- as you call him, is the reason the creature did not escape entirely. He's the one that brought it down with a well placed shot." Ja'teeh sat still while Min'iah finished wrapping his chest with the bandage, but once she finished, he stood up to prepare Red's portion of the days meal.
"Why do you continue to allow him to hunt with the group? After what happened the first time? Now, this has happened, what happens next time when it kills you, love? The boy is cursed. Send him away, please, before it costs you or another in the tribe their life."
Ja'teeh continued preparing the meal, though his tail had begun to twitch in annoyance. This was not the first, nor last time, Min'iah had pleaded with him to send the boy away. In fact, almost everyone in the tribe had come to him at some point with that request, and he always gave them the same response:
"The boy deserves to live like any other. I will not send him away without at least teaching him how to survive on his own. What if I had sent -you- away, rather than allowing you to remain here and grow? Why does he not get the same chance everyone else here did?"
That response made Min'iah look away in shame. She had known what the response would be - having heard it many times over, but she always thought Ja'teeh was just giving her lip service. "I do not want to see you harmed, Ja'- you know that. Nor do I want to see our son harmed. You've seen how much they play together. I worry the boy's luck will rub off on him."
Ja'teeh paused, before bursting into laughter - it was a jolly laugh, one that would make anyone within earshot suddenly find themselves laughing along without knowing why. "And -you- know our son has enough good luck to outweigh the boy's bad. Let them play. I see no harm in it."
The meal completed, Ja'teeh gave a meaningful look back to Min'iah, signaling that the discussion was over, the decision made, for good or ill. He picked up the food, and began the trek to the small shack outside of the camp - where Red awaited.
