Chapter 2
Lex whooped happily along with the other warriors. It had been a good hunt and raid. They had caught a buffalo, a few smaller animals had been caught, rabbits, some birds, even a few plains deer. Their raid had gone just as well. They had burned a few tepees, stolen some horses, and killed a warrior or two from the Adobe tribe. A good day Lex thought.
His two best friends rode on either side of him. Clark, One Descended from the Heavens, and Lex had been friends since Clark had turned 16 summers and Lex had turned 19 summers. Bruce, The Large Dark One, had been his friend even longer, since they had been babies. Both were mysterious, but each had appeal as friends.
Clark had saved Lex after an Adobe had grabbed his hair and stabbed him in the thigh. That's how the Luthor and the Lang tribes became allies. Clark had taken him back to the Luthors and from then on had been treated like family, their tribes both grateful that their warriors had become friends. After that Lex had begun taking a knife to his hair every morning.
The Wayne and Luthor tribes had been friends before Lex or Bruce were born. They had played together as their fathers, both Chieftains, had talked together and their mothers had watched them with shining eyes as they worked on little things. Bruce's father and mother, as well as Lex's mother had been killed in an attack on the Wayne tribe when they were 16 summers. Lex's father Lionel, As Gruff as a Bear, had survived. Both he and Lex had fought along side Bruce, making sure that no more died. Five people lost their lives that day, and only in the initial surprise attack. After that Bruce had become Chief of his tribe, making him more serious than Lex or Clark.
This was Lex's first time going into the Lang village. He had hunted with the party before, just as Bruce and Clark had hunted with each of the other parties, but Lex usually spilt from the group to head back to his own village with the few warriors he took. Lex was curious to see the treasured Lana that Clark spoke so fondly of.
As they rode into the village, passing the outer tepees, Lex saw a woman bent over the hide racks in a stand of trees nearby. But quickly she was blocked from view. The hunting party was glad to be home, Lex could see it on their faces, in the joy of the whoops and war cries they gave, and in the way many swung from their horses to greet their mates and sweethearts.
Lex looked around with a good natured smile at all the people that were looking at him oddly. The chief stood nearby, the medicine man at his side, who was looking around in confused amusement, and a middle aged woman (who was trying to look half her age and doing a bad job) stood with her hands on a slender dark haired girl's shoulders. Clark sat up on his horses back and raised his hatchet in the air.
"Tribes people. I would introduce you to my friends." Clark called into the crowd.
Just then an elderly woman came along, pulling a young curvy blonde with her. The elderly woman was breathing a little hard, but the girl just smiled and patted her on the back when the older woman came to a stop next to the medicine man, who looked immensely pleased that she had arrived. Must be the medicine woman, Lex concluded. Both the man and woman gave the blonde a smile as she sank into the background slightly. The middle aged woman and the younger girl she held in front of her both scowled. Lex was confused by this but assumed it was for being late.
Clark cleared his throat again, distracted by the interruption. He went in order of their rank as was the rules of tribal introductions.
"Bruce, The Large Dark One, Chief of our allies, the Wayne tribe." Clark reached over giving Bruce a pound on the shoulder in manly affection. "Bruce my friend!" The crowd cheered loudly, some children jumping up and down.
"I give you the prince of our allies, the Luthors, Lex, Strong as a Bow." Lex raised his hand in response to Clark's introduction.
"The man who has helped me unite the Lang and Luthor tribes." Clark continued with a smile towards Lex and gave him a softer pat on the shoulder than the one he had given Bruce, but it looked just as hard to the crowd. Lex was just as strong as Bruce and Clark, but he was more slender, sleeker then the bulky muscle that adorned his friend's frames, and Both Bruce and Clark were always gentle on him, despite Lex's protests that he didn't need them to go soft on him. "Lex, my friend!" He cried setting the crowd ablaze with cheers again.
Both Lex and Bruce had given small formal movements when they were introduced with their titles, but when Clark had introduced them as his friends they both whooped and gave war cries as they were expected.
The introductions went rather quickly after that.
Lex and Bruce were introduced to Chief Henry, Small of the Smalls. (Lex had to stifle a laugh at his name while greeting him respectfully.) Then they met the Medicine Man and Woman, Gabe, One Who Sees into Souls, and Lillian, One Who Heals the People. Gabe had wrinkles around his mouth and eyes showing that he smiled and laughed a lot. Lillian was still slender and had aged well, despite the matronly grey hair, and she smiled like a loving mother.
Then Lex and Bruce met Nell, Troublesome Raven, and her niece and the Chief's daughter Lana, Little Dark Eyed Doe. Lex and Bruce were both put off by Nell, her attitude reeked of power gone to her head, and Lana seemed a bit slow and dimwitted. But she apparently knew how to flutter her lashes like a pro, a juvenile move for both Bruce and Lex, but they managed not to laugh. They did however exchange a look over the small girl's dark head. Clark wasn't the smarted dog in the pack either, so they were perfect for each other.
The crowd had begun to disperse by then, including the Chief and Gabe, and as Lex and Bruce turned away they saw Nell grab the blonde (Lex had forgotten about her in the hurry of trying to remember names) by the arm and give her a harsh slap across the face. Lex and Bruce exchanged another look; Nell had definitely let power go to her head. They both strolled over and heard Nell scolding the girl, while Lillian argued with Nell, who was completely ignoring the older woman in order to yell at the young curvy blonde.
"How dare you come here, you filthy little piece of…" Nell spoke interrupted by Lillian.
"That's enough Nell, I brought her and you know it." Nell was still ignoring the older woman with great disrespect.
"…Supposed to be tanning and stretching the…" Nell continued her tirade at the smaller delicate girl.
"Better let her go Nell or else I'll…" Lillian said her voice drowned out by the sound of Nell slapping the girl again on the face.
"I did Nell, I did… I have three done and drying on the…" The Blonde sputtered trying to wiggle away from the vicious older woman, only to be interrupted.
"You have her doing that in this heat! I swear Nell if you don't start treating her with more…" Lillian said, finally managing to jerk Nell away from the blonde.
Bruce and Lex were close enough now that they were right in the middle of the loud argument.
"I expect FIFTEEN done before you seek your bed this night you little…" Nell yelled even as Lillian dragged the larger woman away.
Lex and Bruce followed all of this with their eyes, turning back to see the sniffling blonde, who had a bright red handprint on one side of her face, be jerked up by Lana.
"You don't belong here.. You ruined everything when you showed up you dirty hal..." Lana raised her hand to slap the girls other cheek and Lex locked a hand around her thin bony wrist. Lana gasped back at him. "What are you doing!" He voice was high pitched and annoying.
"Where I come from no one hits another woman, especially not one in your own tribe." He growled, using his other hand to pry Lana's fingers from the flesh in the blonde's arm.
Bruce nodded silently and sternly at Lana, catching the other girl as she began to crumple to the ground again. Holding her carefully, not touching the places where Nell and Lana had grabbed her arms, bruises already forming, he propped her up on her feet.
Lex and Bruce stood in a protective circle around the blonde, Lex in front of her and Bruce behind. Bruce brushed off her back and shoulders moving to examine her arms, while Lex gently swiped back the soft golden strands away from her face as he carefully looked at her cheek.
"Are you alright?" He asked softly, Bruce grunting slightly as his own addition to the question.
The blonde seemed to stare up at Lex for a moment, she was s good head shorter than he was and was surrounded by over three hundred pounds of muscled male, good reason to be slightly confused. Bruce let his hands brush over the back of her head, before resting heavily on her shoulders holding her in place. Lex held her chin up slightly, both of them looking at the marks, before speaking in the Wayne language.
"She is a pretty little thing... Too small to be knocked around in such a way." Bruce commented in his rough voice.
"Very exotic," Lex touched some of the hair at the nape of her neck as his hand shifted to hold her face up for inspection. "Her hair is soft and the color of sunshine. Her skin is pale, despite how much time she must spend in the sun…" He stroked his thumb along her jaw as his eyes moved to hers. "Eyes like the green of grass near a stream."
Bruce trailed his hand gently down her arm, picking up her hand and holding her wrist tightly, but careful not to hurt her, when her gaze flashed and she tried to pull away. Both Lex and Bruce laughed at the flash of spirit, glad that Nell hadn't beaten her soul down too badly.
"Look at her hands…" Bruce commanded his voice still deep and gruff, as he lifted one up to their view, despite her jerking against him in slight shame.
Her hands were heavily calloused, which bothered both Lex and Bruce, knowing that the poor girl was doing some serious labor.
"Eghh.. Not surprising though, after the way that Nell woman was going on about her needing to do more work." Lex said his thumb moving over her palm, while Bruce touched her fingertips.
Bruce smiled then and the girl gave a small smile in return, she was still confused but she knew they were looking at her scars and calluses. It was embarrassing her and she blushed and tried to tug her hand away unsuccessfully.
Lex and Bruce just grinned at her.
"Lex, I'm thinking that these things can heal…." Bruce trailed off and Lex nodded waiting for him to continue, knowing he would.
"Perhaps when we leave here I should take her home with me…" Bruce said it as a thought, but Lex knew he was really contemplating it.
"Or I should take her with me…" Lex smiled as he spoke the soft challenge, knowing that they would never come to blows over the woman, but they might take each other on in other ways of competition. Without waiting for Bruce to respond Lex switched back to the common language of the area, that all tribes spoke.
"What is your name?" He leaned toward her, his clear blue eyes staring into hers as she blinked up at him and began to speak.