Dania Ch. 07

"Because you're lonely."

Those three words cut like a knife. He, of course, was right. I was lonely and the opportunity to live amongst others was more than tempting. He knew I would go.

"Don't worry, Little One. I am still their leader and they will accept you because I have accepted you. There will be no trouble from them. We will leave at sunrise. You should get to sleep; the next few days are going to be long."

We were up and gone with the rise of the Sun. It took us about a day to get back to the Meh-teh camp. I could feel Roth tense up as we neared the camp. Something was wrong. I climbed into the trees so that I could get a better look. I could see before Roth that they were gone, but somehow he'd known before me.

For some reason or the other, the Meh-teh had packed up and left, leaving no trace that they'd been there. Roth was very quiet now and I could feel how upset he was.

"This is worse than I thought. The only way they would leave is if they feared for their lives. I'm guessing its you they fear. They probably think you killed me, which you nearly did. We have to track them down, and quickly. But until I can find out what is really going on, I need to you to stay up in the trees and not let them see you. Can you do that for me?"

I nodded my head that I could and immediately went back into the trees, prepared to follow him from above. He set out at a pace that I would have never expected to be possible from him. The pace was quick even for me. We traveled well into the night before stopping to rest and then set off again.

Roth's abilities to track were truly a sight to see. Even at a full run, he could pick up on the smallest sign. We never slowed until sunset of the next day. He motioned for me to come down and he told me that we were at the edge of their new camp and that it was imperative that I stay out of sight. They were scared, and a scared animal is dangerous. I climbed back into the trees as Roth walked into the camp. I found a place where I could not be seen and listened closely to what was about to happen.

What little noise came from the camp stopped the instant that Roth was noticed. None was more surprised than Jun. Roth could see that he carried a staff which meant that he'd been elected their new leader. I thought to myself that he would soon fix that.

Roth walked up to Jun and stared him in the eyes and it was Jun who lowered his gaze.

"Roth. . . . you're not. . . you're not . . umm....dead. . . . "