A/N: I'm sorry for not posting this sooner, but I was at camp all week.
The next morning...
Val came down to breakfast, doing her best to behave normally. She avoided Twister's eyes as she sat down with a leftover doughnut and a cup of coffee. Robert sat humming at the head of the table, sharpening a very large tomahawk.
"We should leave soon," Robert said to his daughter.
Val got the message quickly. She and Robert made a pilgrimage to the reservation in Anaheim, where Robert had been raised, at the same time every year. They visited during the Reservation Games, which was a cross between a family reunion and a field day.
Val picked up a bow and arrow, a canteen, and a tomahawk. Robert rose from his chair.
"I'll see you guys later," Val said to no one in particular.
"Bye-bye," Lars called as the door closed.
Twister scowled, scuffing his sneaker across the tile floor. "I bet she's going on another date. Otto, why didn't you tell me she was scared of commitment?"
"She's not scared of commitment," said Reggie. "You've been dating for close to four years."
"It's long distance," Twister said gloomily. "So she found someone else."
"That's not what happened!" Reggie's voice became defensive.
"Girls your age are catty with each other," Lars pointed out. "Maybe she feels safer having guy friends."
"I think she's a cheating tramp half-breed." said Twister.
Otto's jaw dropped. He clenched his hands into fists. He wanted to pound the living daylights out of his "best bro," not caring how much he got beat up in return.
Reggie tried to step between them. "It's a good thing Val didn't hear you say that. Twist, look, I know you're upset, but you can't take it out on Otto. He hasn't even--"
That was all she got out before Otto jumped Twister. The pair crashed to the lineoleum; they rolled about, punching and scratching each other. Lars stood up and calmly pulled them apart, making sure he had a firm grip on each boy.
"You guys need to go cool off," Lars said slowly, making sure he understood.
Otto and Twister began to stomp away.
"Cool off in seperate places!" Lars yelled after them.
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Meanwhile...
Val climbed out of her dad's Jeep. A group of people rushed to greet Robert and his daughter. There were hugs all around, plus a few tears.
Val spent a happy afternoon in the midst of a group of kids who were all different ages. She raced her horse around the wooded trails surrounding the picnic area, shot her bow and arrow, and threw tomahawks at an old tree stump.
Once it started to get dark, Robert lit a bonfire. Most crowded around it to roast marshamllows. Quietly, Val slipped away from the bustle of activity to sit by a small stream.
"I see you are troubled, young one," said the low voice of her dad's old friend Charlie Three Feathers.
"There's a lot going on in my head...and heart," Val explained.
She'd known Charlie so long it didn't feel odd to have him perfectly guess her mood after a mere thirty seconds. He was the reservation's answer to Tito.
"Your courtship is not going the way you planned," said Charlie Three Feathers. "Relationships rarely work the way you expect. I know you will be all right. You have the indestructible spirit of a true warrior. That can only bring good if you use that spirit wisely."