"You should probably get off that ankle," Rithos said breaking the silence enveloping the treehouse. Challenger had joined the group once he heard the arrival of the elevator and was staring at the stranger with a mixture of scientific curiosity and a paternal wariness.
"Veronica! You are hurt!" Ned exclaimed rushing over to the blonde beauty. "What happened?"
"I tripped over a rock," she replied sheepishly as she wrapped herself in the warm blanket Ned provided. It was pride, and pride alone, that prevented her from collapsing into Ned's warm arms. She told herself that she would be strong, and so she would. It was mind over matter after all, and if she told herself she was fine, well then she would be.
"You? Tripped over a rock?" The heiress asked incredulously. With narrowed eyes she paced around the treehouse. Veronica had never been one to trip over a rock, could she have faked the fall in order to gain attention from the Adonis beside her? With a shake of her head Marguerite pushed that idea from her head. Veronica wasn't one to do that either, and if she allowed herself to be carried back to the tree house Marguerite knew she must be in serious pain.
"I was running from a raptor and I couldn't see the rock hidden in the mud. Rithos came just in time. He killed the raptor with a bow and arrow. It was really quite amazing," Veronica said as Ned helped lower her into the couch.
Marguerite, whose eyes hadn't left Veronica, finally managed to make out the impression of coffee beans in the leather satchel clutched in Veronica's hands. "Here, let me take that satchel from you, Veronica," Marguerite said walking towards the jungle native, expertly extracting it from her hands, "You have enough on your mind as it is. I'll just put these in the kitchen for you."
"I should take a look at that ankle," Challenger said finally taking his gaze off Rithos. "Hopefully it isn't broken." He knelt down next to Veronica and cradled her foot in his hands. Taking note of Veronica's quick inhale of breath, he gently prodded the area below and above her ankle.
"You killed a raptor with just a bow and arrow?" Roxton said with begrudging appreciation. "When I was a boy I killed a deer with a bow and arrow from a hundred paces, but that doesn't compare to a raptor. Then again, we never had raptors in England."
"It really isn't that difficult once you get used to it. When you have your life in the balance you learn pretty quickly."
With his arms crossed across his chest, Ned moved closer to inspect Rithos. "So what exactly were you doing when you ran into Veronica?"
"I was checking my traps for food when the rain came. I tried to find some place dry to stay warm, but got turned around in this rain. I haven't seen any other human around here for quite some time. Seeing Veronica chased by that raptor was quite a shock for me!"
"Well, now that we are done with the inquisition let's get you out of those wet clothes," Marguerite purred, slipping her arm into his. "I'm sure you must be freezing. Let's see if we can find something that fits you. She managed to expertly extract him from the group of males and led him down the corridor. "We can borrow one of Roxton's shirts. I'm sure he won't mind a bit."
"Yes, you won't mind, right Roxton?" Ned asked sarcastically.
Roxton rolled his eyes as he looked at Ned, "And to think she accuses me of becoming starry eyed every time I'm around a female." Although he refused to be jealous; the sound of Marguerite's laughter caused him to look anxiously towards the bedrooms.
"I hope she's not lending him that shirt she just mended. I better go make sure he's wearing one of my old ones." Without waiting for acknowledgement he stormed off towards the couple.
"Well, the good news is you didn't break it Veronica," Challenger said lifting himself off the floor and walking to his lab. "However your ankle is pretty swollen. Rithos is right. You shouldn't do any strenuous activities for at least two weeks, if not more." As he spoke, raising his voice so they could hear him, Challenger paced around his lab opening and closing drawers at random. He was inwardly glad they weren't able to see the mess that had become his lab. Where had he put those extra bandages? He made a mental note to clean the lab on the next rainy day, and finally found the bandages in a box titled, "Indigenous Minerals." Scratching his head he edited that mental note to say clean and reorganize the lab as soon as possible.
"Challenger, I'll be fine!" Veronica called, getting up from the couch, ignoring Ned as he began to protest. "I'll be- ow!" She put too much weight on her ankle and collapsed back onto the couch. "Well maybe I should rest for a couple of days."
Large servings of fruits and vegetables were passed around the table as the rain continued to pour outside of the tree house. With no one willing to brave the weather and hunt for meat, Ned was forced to make due with the food they had. He tried to remember everything Summerlee taught him; roasting, boiling, even frying the vegetables in order to make an appetizing dish for their new visitor.
When Rithos helped himself to a second serving Ned finally relaxed. It wasn't that Ned wanted to show Rithos excellent treehouse hospitality, but to make sure that Rithos knew he wasn't the only one with a skill. Anyone could shoot a bow and arrow, but not many people could cook a dinner like this. Yes, Veronica may be grateful to Rithos for saving his life, but she sure as heck wasn't thinking about him now.
"This is really good Ned," Roxton managed to say, swallowing a bite of ginger fried carrots, "I must say that you really outdid yourself today."
"Yes," Rithos intoned, "I don't believe I have had such good food since I left the tribe almost a year ago."
With a smirk Ned leaned confidently against his chair, "Oh, it was nothing. I just threw a couple of things together."
As the rest of the treehouse grew silent and continued their meal, Marguerite pounced on Rithos' last statement. "A tribe you said? Which tribe did you leave a year ago?" She asked as nonchalantly as possible.
"We called ourselves the Lavopi people. We were a nomadic group, using the water to travel along the plateau."
"Why did you decide to leave the Lavopis?" Veronica questioned as she madly tried to recall the name. It didn't sound familiar, and she was pretty sure that it was not mentioned in her parents' journals.
"The Lavopis were disbanding and breaking apart long before I decided to leave. Coastal towns were becoming more violent, accusing us of trespassing on their land, and refusing to buy our goods. When our leader died, a horrible fight for power ensued, and I felt it was time to leave." Rithos said somberly, slowly lowering his fork and leaving it beside his plate. "It seems so long ago, but I know it was just mere months."
"I don't recall hearing the name of that tribe, do you Veronica?" Challenger asked looking at Rithos as he spoke to Veronica.
"I don't think so, but then again there are so many tribes on this plateau that I haven't heard of," Veronica said smiling apologetically at Rithos. She didn't want him to be offended by her lack of recognition. Men were very sensitive, she learned the past three years on the plateau. Things she thought were trivial they considered large blows to their egos.
Roxton considered Rithos carefully, his hand resting on the bridge of his nose before moving down to massage his chin. "You do look familiar though. Have we met before?"
Rithos returned Roxton's steady unrelenting gaze, "I don't think so. I would have remembered meeting such beautiful women." He looked at Marguerite and then at Veronica, a smile forming as he spoke, "Yes, I definitely would not have forgotten them."
Clearly flattered by his statement, Veronica blushed prettily. "What was your tribe like?"
"Well up until a few years ago, we were quite peaceful." Rithos, turned and reached over to the counter where his bag lay. After a quick search he pulled out a thick leather strip beautifully ornamented with the picture of a rose. "And we loved beautiful things."
"That is beautiful," Marguerite said taking the leather from his hands and running her fingers over its length. "What was it used for?"
"We made the straps from the skin of animals we killed for our food, and later buried their bones with them. It was to give thanks to the animal for their sacrifice."
"Why a flower?" Challenger said as Marguerite passed the leather over to him.
"My tribe used flowers for all of our celebrations. Flowers are a reminder of birth, their pollen remaining even after they are plucked from the earth."
"So what exactly were you doing in this part of the plateau?" Ned asked inquisitively, leaning his elbows on the table. While the women had been distracted by Rithos dissertation on the beauty of a flower, his thoughts remained on Rithos sudden appearance near the treehouse.
"Ned!" Marguerite said a bit more sharply then she had intended. "Let's not ruin this beautiful dinner with so many questions. The rain doesn't seem to be letting up, so we will have a long time to get acquainted." She turned, and smiled brightly at Rithos, "Come, let's sit on the couch and you can teach us that game you were talking about before."
"How can I refuse such an offer? Gentleman," Rithos said regally as he rose from the table, "Its been a pleasure. Veronica, do you need any help getting to the couch?"
"Help?"
"Veronica?" Veronica and Marguerite asked at the same time.
"Yes, for your ankle, Veronica. You are, of course, invited to play the game as well." Rithos said pulling out Marguerite's chair.
"Of course she is," Marguerite said with a smile on her face and an edge in her voice, "Veronica loves playing games."
Veronica opened her mouth to returning Marguerite's scathing comment, but quickly closed it and turned to Rithos. Although Challenger's bandage and the herbal medicine Veronica had taken during dinner had dulled the pain, she smiled sweetly at the man now standing beside her.
"It is feeling a little sore. If I could lean on you as we walked I'd be very grateful." She winced as she stood up for the benefit of those around her and allowed Rithos strong arms to support her as they walked slowly to the living area.
The three men left at the dinner table sat in silence as Rithos explained the intricacies of the pebble game a few feet away. "Well," Challenger said breaking the silence and standing up from the table, "I guess we are left to clean up."
"I cooked this dinner! I shouldn't have to clean it also," Ned said angrily pushing his chair away from the table but grabbing a dish nevertheless.
"Well, Ned, the girls are currently embarrassing themselves in front of that "gentleman," Roxton replied sardonically.
"What do they see in him anyway? He seems a bit cagey to me, not answering any of the questions I asked." Ned asked as he continued to violently stack plates together.
"Easy Ned, or you'll be making new plates," Challenger interjected with a laugh, taking possession of the plates in Ned's hands. "You only asked Rithos one question which he did not answer. Besides its best to reserve judgment until after we know him a little better."
"Are you saying you don't find anything peculiar about him at all? He seems to be hiding something from me." Roxton said standing beside the journalist beside him. "I, for one, agree with Ned."
"Is it your head speaking or your jealousy?"
"Jealous?" Roxton sputtered, looking at Ned for help, "I am not jealous!"
"It's a purely normal reaction to have Roxton. When a woman you have feelings for is affectionate towards another, one is bound to become a bit jealous."
"Well I know the difference between jealousy and distrust. There is a thick line between the two." Ned said, silently wondering if Challenger had a point.
"All I am saying is that we should wait it out a bit before we start jumping to conclusions. He did save Veronica's life, and for that we should be grateful. And besides, if he does have something to hide and thinks we suspect him, he will only be more cautious of protecting it."
"You do have a point Challenger," Roxton said carrying plates to the sink. "But, I will be keeping an eye on him just the same."
Ned and Challenger followed suit, successfully clearing the table of all dishes. Challenger patted Ned and Roxton's shoulders as he moved towards the sink. "I'll clean up, you boys did enough today. Maybe you can learn to play that game. The girls seem to be enjoying it."
"Thanks, old man, I appreciate it." Roxton said a split second before he and Ned rushed off to join the ladies.
Challenger watched with a smile as Ned and Roxton planted themselves in between the women and Rithos. Content that the Marguerite and Veronica would be protected for the time being, Challenger turned to face the sink. 'Ned is right,' he thought as he scrubbed a dish, 'Rithos is definitely not one to be trusted.'