"Are they winning? Why are you in such a rush when you can barely run the length of a tree before collapsing?"
Sosora stepped down from Nick's porch and stopped Malak with a hand on each shoulder, helping him calm down and catch his breath.
As soon as he did, he started gesturing for her to come with him. She glanced at Nick.
"I'm not going anywhere. That seems urgent, though, so take care of it," He said before heading inside. Sosora nodded and looked at Malak as she held his hand to force him to walk at a normal pace.
"Alright, so what's the deal? You said intruders?"
Malak snapped out of his daze and nodded.
"Yes. A couple from who knows where suddenly appeared at the Seg tribe. They said they're just visiting, but they have weapons!" Malak said.
"The Seg tribe…" Sosora narrowed her eyes. "Are they from the Vorad Kingdom?" She asked, murderous intent rising in her eyes.
Malak shook his head.
"If they were, I wouldn't be in a rush since they wouldn't be alive anymore."
Sosora nodded. That was accurate.
"Where are they from, then?"
"They refuse to say…" Malak's voice died down meekly as if he thought it was his fault.
"How do you know they aren't from Vorad if they aren't saying where they're from?"
"Well…" Malak hadn't been there when the two humans were discovered, but the Seg tribe is close to the Bawin tribe, so he got the information quickly.
Apparently, one of the Bawins had seen them when taking a stroll and charged at them while charging something along the lines of, 'Foul Vorad mulcheaters,' and the couple had responded with 'Where?' while drawing their weapons, ready to join the fight.
Those weren't the words used in the actual situation, but Malak wasn't going to sully Sosora's ears with them.
Sosora nodded after hearing Malak's explanation.
It was also unlikely that the Vorad would send an expedition of only two this deep into the forest for no reason. She did not think for a second that the two humans were 'just visiting,' but they probably didn't have murderous intentions.
She narrowed her eyes and pierced the forest with her gaze.
"The Seg tribe…If you go straight in that direction, where do you end up?" She asked Malak.
Malak tilted his head for a moment while thinking.
There were only three countries directly touching the Tiabe forest. The Vorad Kingdom, the Syttle Kingdom, and the Matarok Ruling. It wasn't the Vorad Kingdom. The Seg had lived close to it in the past, but that hadn't worked out due to the Vorad's poaching, so they moved to the other side of the forest.
"Syttle?" He said, unsure.
"You said that they're picking a fight, right?"
"It's more like they don't want to surrender or ask or questions after trespassing, so…"
"Then, yeah. They're from Syttle. Someone from Matarok would have already started fighting."
"How do you know?" Malak asked curiously. They didn't get visitors from the three countries often, and definitely not frequently enough to make such a confident claim.
"How do you think I got this scar?" She answered, pulling up her shirt to reveal the side of her abdomen. Malak blushed and almost looked away, but his eyes were locked in place. It didn't take long for his blush to fade and a frown to replace it.
"You don't have a scar there?" He said uncertainly. Maybe she had shown the wrong side.
"No, but can you imagine how cool it would have been if I did?" Sosora asked excitedly, dropping her shirt and smiling widely to hide her rosy cheeks.
Malak gave her a blank stare. Sosora's smile slowly lost its luster.
Finally,
"Okay, yeah, it would have been." Malak turned around and continued walking.
Sosora's face lit up again. She tapped Malak's shoulder and skipped instead of walking.
"But since you don't have one, it was just lame."
Sosora stopped skipping and punched his shoulder. The smile didn't leave her face, though.
Malak rubbed his shoulder. It wasn't hard enough to be painful, but it was warm.
Since the two enjoyed themselves, it didn't take long for them to arrive at the border of the Seg tribe's territory. As always, it was noticeable by the sudden extra luster and life in the plants. The flowers seemed to be just a little brighter and more colorful in their territory.
And a little bit away, they could hear the clamor of voices.
"Lily, I really think we should tell them where we're from!"
"Captain! What if they are going to take revenge by attacking the place we're from?"
"I don't care about that!"
"You should!"
"You two don't need to worry. We're not going to attack your home just because you visited our forest. We just want to make sure you aren't lying about anything or haven't done anything."
"Of course, if you want to die without spilling anything, I guess that's an honorable death."
"Lily, I don't want to die!"
"Too bad!"
Sosora tilted her head at the comedy that was playing out between the two humans and the group from the Bawin tribe. It had even gotten to the point where there was a crowd of non-warriors outside the encirclement around the two humans who were standing with their backs against each other and their swords drawn.
The Bawins didn't have any weapons. Instead, their fists were even larger and bulkier, with harder bone-like growths on their knuckles than Malak. They also had rough leather covering their bodies.
It wouldn't be easy for Squawks and Lily to fight their way out. Besides, the Bawins were just the first of many hurdles before they were safe.
Even if they got out of the Bawin encirclement, they would still be chased through the forest—territory that they didn't know but their hunters knew like the backs of their hands.
However, the Bawins were not keen on starting a fight. The two humans looked pretty strong. They might lose several warriors just to take them down. It was a risk they didn't want to take unless absolutely necessary, which it wasn't, since they could wait for reinforcements.
It would be best if it could be solved with conversation, but that might lead to trouble outside the forest. For both sides since they could each expect retribution or revenge.
"It's fine," Sosora's voice cut through the area, grabbing everyone's attention as she called out.
"They're from Syttle."
"What! Did you tell them, Lily?"
"...How?!"