It was several hours into the night before van Horn got to rest. Those who weren't wounded in the attack or helping the same had spent much of their time arranging the wagons and carts in a protective circle. Van Horn himself had spent much of his time trying to desperately remember the medic training from his infantry days and using the last of the medikits in his Darter to help as many as he could.

Now he sat down by his vehicle, leaning against the tire that still had an arrow stuck in it from earlier. Only the small fires broke the darkness under the canopy that the caravan members had build near the center of the camp. Shadows cast by the fire flickered back and forth with the flames, making the undersides of the trees appear to be an ever-changing ocean of orangish-green and black.

It was this apparition that van Horn stared up at as he tried to get some sort of control over his emotions. The aftermath of the attack had seen six more people dead, four gatón and two lupar. Many more were injured to one point or another, including Tiana Farkas, who had been just outside the camp when the riders had came. An arrow had hit her shoulder, narrowly missing any bones, but it had deeply embedded itself into her flesh. Van Horn shuddered as the memory of digging into her flesh with his knife so he could take out the arrowhead. Battlefield medicine seldom is.

A snap of a twig came from nearby. Van Horn, tense from the day's event, pushed off from the ground without thinking, rolled into a kneeling position facing the sound and drawing his pistol to aim at the offender. He lowered it, however, when he saw Alexis standing there, mouth agape.

He shook his head as he stood up and holstered the pistol. "Sorry, Alexis, but you startled me."

Alexis' ears and her tail relaxed from the positions they had taken by instinct. She willed herself to relax a bit before answering the human. "I am sorry, Vanhorn. I didn't mean to offend. I simply wanted to know if you wanted some food now, since you seemed to have not eaten all day." She held up the platter of food she was carrying to illustrate.

Van Horn's face split in to a small smile. "Indeed. But I hope you brought enough for those inside, because I won't eat until they get some."

Alexis looked horrified as her ears went back and her tail curled. "You mean that no one else has brought any food?"

Confused, van Horn dropped the grin and shrugged. "I do not know, actually. I've been so busy lately that I only just now had some time to sit and rest. I haven't checked on them inside." He frowned a bit. "Perhaps we had better check."

With that van Horn walked and pressed his hand against the gray panel next to the door. He had reconfigured it to accept simple pressure as a key to open, as opposed to the necessity of his handprint. Out of habit, though, he still pressed his palm flat against the plate and waited as the door opened.

With the usual hiss of hydraulics, the door opened out and up. Standing aside for a moment, van Horn then climbed into the vehicle, moving slowly in his tired state. Once at the top, he turned around and offered his hand to Alexis, who gladly took it, as she needed one hand to hold the food platter, and so needed some help getting herself up into the vehicle.

The front cabin was a mess of empty medikit boxes and some undershirts of van Horn's that he had shredded pieces from to create makeshift field dressings. Sitting alone in one of the side chairs was Tiana Farkas herself. "Hello." She greeted the newcomers.

"Hello," replied van Horn. "We came in to see if anyone here needs some food." He gestured to Alexis, who held the platter up to show off the small pile of meat slices and the mashed potato look-alike.

Tiana gave a little smile, although it was pained. Her shoulder was still wrapped up in torn white cloth that was stained red near the middle, and it apparently still hurt. Still, she tried her best to keep the pain out of her voice. "Actually, yes. Just ten minutes ago Pavlo and a nice young lady came in with some food platters like the one Alexis is carrying. In fact, I believe they're still in the back with the others."

Alexis smiled a bit at that. "Good. Not that I didn't care for the others here, but I brought this for Vanhorn, since he's been so busy."

"Indeed. But I should think there's enough for another if you haven't eaten yet, Mrs. Farkas." Van Horn said with a small grin of his own.

Tiana shook her head. "I don't need anything."

Van Horn's smile died at that. "Have you eaten anything at all?"

Tiana Frowned. "I have not felt like it."

"Feeling like it or not, you must eat to heal." Van Horn's voice carried in it the stern note of a doctor or parent addressing someone who wasn't doing what he or she was supposed to do.

Tiana's ears twitched back, then forward in irritation. "I have not been hurt that bad. I can wait until others have eaten."

"Others have eaten, mother." Pavlo said this as he strode from the back, carrying another wooden platter. Behind him came the young female lupar that had offered her help earlier in the day to carry food to the injured. They both held empty food platters in their arms. Pavlo then spoke again. "I think there is more than enough to go around. Please, eat."

Tiana heard the pleading tone in her son's voice. With a sigh, she nodded her head. "Alright." She turned to van Horn before speaking next. "I still don't think I could eat all of that. I'd be happy if you'd share."

Van Horn's face again split into a grin. "I'd be honored. Just let me get something from the back first. Alexis," he turned to the young gatón. "Please leave the plate down on the counter by Mrs. Farkas. I'll be right back." He turned then and walked towards the rear compartment, passing through the door after squeezing past Pavlo and the other lupar.

Through the door, he passed by the racks of equipment, reaching the empty space at the rear of the vehicle where the injured sat or lay down. Most were asleep with the soporific tendencies of excitement and food combining to send them to sleep.

A few weren't asleep, though. Mikula and Forbasa looked up from where they and sat. They were next to the injured Soru, who was awake again, with Forbasa on the left and Mikula on the right of the young gatón, with the former holding the wounded youth's right hand. The look on the burned face of the young gatón male was enough to make van Horn's heart ache with the need to help. But I cannot. We've already used up all the medicine, and I've run out of the little medical knowledge I was taught.

Forbasa noticed the pained look that crossed van Horn's face. He followed the human's line of sight and realized it was concern over Soru that pained him. He cares so much, even for those who are so very different. Forbasa then remembered that Soru hadn't really met van Horn, since the few times he'd been awake, van Horn had carefully stayed away to keep the shock of his appearance from causing repercussions with Soru's recovery.

However, they needn't have been too concerned. Soru simply took the appearance of the human in stride. "Is this... The one... Who helped?" Came the words, slurred as they were with pain and the fact that part of Soru's muzzle was burned badly.

Forbasa turned back to look into Soru's eyes. "Yes. His name is Vanhorn. He helped treat you."

The wounded gatón looked at van Horn, causing a chill to go down the human's back. "Thank... you." Soru said, then he sighed and closed his eyes.

Van Horn started forward, worried that something was wrong, but Mikula looked up and held out a hand. "It's okay, he just passed out." He said quietly, not wishing to disturb Soru or the other wounded from their sleep.

Van Horn just nodded quietly and crossed over to kneel beside Mikula so he could take a look at Soru's bandages, which only took a second. Satisfied they were still holding up well, van Horn stood up again with a sigh. "I wish I could do more for him, but I've exhausted the limits of my resources."

"You've done a tremendous amount already, Vanhorn. You have saved his life, I am sure of that." Forbasa replied as he softly placed Soru's hand down on the wounded gatón's chest. He then began to stand up, and van Horn reached out a hand to help, which Forbasa gratefully took. "And again, you help." The latter said with a ghost of a grin on his muzzle.

Van Horn shrugged as he released Forbasa's hand. "I still wish I could do more. The thing of it is-" He paused and offered his hand to Mikula, as the latter also decided to stand. However, Mikula just waved him away, preferring to rely on his cane. With a shrug, van Horn continued. "The thing is, I know that these injured could be much better taken care of if only I could get a message to my people." He gave another sigh. "Yet, I cannot get such a message through until they arrive nearby. And I don't know when that'll be."

Forbasa shrugged as he maneuvered around an equipment rack, intending to leave out through the front. "Then we must make do. Such it has always been with my people."

"And mine." Said Mikula to van Horn. "We can hardly blame you for things beyond your control."

Van Horn shook his head as he reached for the rack where he had set some plastic utensils from one of his spent MREs. "I know, but it still pains me to be so damn helpless." Grabbing the utensils, he turned to follow Forbasa out through the door to the front. "I was trained as an M.I. Trooper, and we always prefer to act rather to stand by."

Mikula canted his head slightly, but said nothing. I'm getting so used to Vanhorn saying things that don't make sense that I actually don't feel like asking about them. A slight chuckle escaped the lupar's lips as he followed the other two out through the doorway.

This prompted a quizzical look from the others up front. Mikula smiled embarrassedly, his ears pulling down a bit and his tail curling. "Sorry, jut had a strange thought. Where are Pavlo and Venya?"

"Venya?" Alexis asked quizzically from where she had taken a seat across from Tiana. Although directed at Mikula, it was his mother that answered. "He means Pavlo's friend." She then turned to face the three who had come from the rear compartment. "They left to take care of some errands I wanted them to do for me."

Forbasa nodded. "Indeed. I would like to stay and chat, but I am afraid that I have become rather tired. If you all will excuse me?"

They all murmured assent, although Alexis spoke up. "Would you, ah, like any help shaman?"

Forbasa grinned at his young protégé. "I could use a hand to get down, my dear, but after that I shall be fine." Walking over to the doorway, he began to climb out backwards, with Alexis leaning out to help him to support himself.

After Forbasa left, Alexis turned back to the others. "I think I had better leave anyway. There are not enough seats out here."

Van Horn gave a dismissing wave of his hand. "It's fine, Alexis. I can sit down at the driver's seat, or on the floor, since Pavlo and his friend left one of their platters for me to use. That way me and Mrs. Farkas need not have to lean over the same plate."

They all shared a soft chuckle at that. "Very well, I thank you." Alexis replied and went to sit down at the empty chair near the one Mikula had appropriated.

Tiana smiled a bit, and then turned to van Horn. "Well, since you'll have a different, plate, please take what you need from mine." She pushed the wooden platter over the counter towards van Horn.

"Thank you, madam." Van Horn said with a smile. He grabbed the extra platter and used the plastic spoon in his hand to shovel some of the potato look-alike onto it, then switched to a plastic fork and picked up some of the meat slices. "This certainly smells good," he said as he picked up the plate and walked over to the driver's seat and sat down.

Tiana grinned a bit. "Yes, tauk meat and forjo root are always a good meal to have." She then turned and, despite her shoulder, bent down to the plate, taking up a small portion of the forjo into her mouth with her tongue.

Van Horn shook his head as he used his spoon to get a bit of the same root up to his mouth. "I'll never get used to seeing you all eating that way." He said and then popped the food into his mouth. Hmm, looks like mashed potatoes, but tastes more like a mix between grits and yams.

Mikula chuckled as van Horn took the time to savor the bite. "And I don't think many of us will get used to those little eating tools you use. A knife I can see, but little pitchforks and some cup-shaped thing? Seems silly to me. Uh, no offense."

Van Horn shook his head, but finished chewing and swallowing before he responded. "No offense taken. Just I'm not built with claws and long mouths like yours." He said with a grin.

Alexis and Mikula chuckled, and Tiana spared a second from eating to flash a grin. They then went on eating for a few minutes quietly, with Alexis and Mikula remaining quiet so as to not disturb the two eaters.

Van Horn realized this after devouring half the food on his plate. "You know, you two don't have to stay here. I'm sure me and Mrs. Farkas can take care of ourselves."

Mikula smiled and shook his head. "I'm still injured, so I don't think I can ride anywhere else."

Alexis nodded. "No, you shouldn't." She turned to van Horn. "And I simply wanted to sit around and enjoy some company, and I'm too tired to get up right now." She admitted with her own weak smile, and her tail curling down a bit.

Van Horn grinned in reply. "Well, that's fine then. I just thought you two might be bored listening to me and Mrs. Farkas over there eat."

Tiana looked up at that, and used her good arm to wipe some food from her chin. "I agree, though I wish you'd stop calling me that all the time, Vanhorn. My name is Tiana." A small smirk pulled on the right side of her face.

Van Horn chuckled. "Very well, Tiana. And you, all of you, don't have to call me by my last name all the time either."

Tiana looked up. "Really? I thought that was your only name?"

Mikula smiled. "No, mother, we just call him that for the same reason he keeps calling you 'Mrs. Farkas.' Out of respect."

Van Horn nodded. "Indeed your son is right Mrs.- Tiana. My name is Earl, and you can address me as such."

"Errr-al?" Tiana said unsurely.

Van Horn smiled wide. "No, just a short 'r' sound. Earl."

"Earl. I like this name. 'Tis a strong name." Tiana said with a smile.

Van Horn laughed a bit, then shook his head and bent over to use the plastic knife and fork to try and cut into the meat on his plate. Damn plastic crap. Wish I had my usual flatware from the bunker. After a minute, he got frustrated. "Ahh, screw it." He said in English, and simply picked up the slice of meat in his left hand and sunk his teeth into it, tearing a bite from the cooked muscle and chewed it with a satisfied look on his face.

The natives in the compartment chuckled together. "Looks like you eat like us on occasion, eh?" Mikula asked from his seat.

Van Horn just shrugged and finished chewing and swallowing before replying. "Sometimes. In fact, there are some types of food you can only eat just with your hands." He grinned. "It's kinda fun that way."

They all shared a light chuckle at that, and then van Horn and Tiana went back to eating. It was quiet until they finished. "That was very good." Remarked van Horn as he stood and walked over to set his plate on the counter near where Tiana had left her now-empty plate.

"Indeed it was. Although I hope our food will last long enough until we get to Hercor."

Alexis tilted her head at that. "Hercor? I've not heard of that place. Besides, I thought we were heading for Rewao?"

"We were, until today." Tiana remarked grimly. "When Forbasa was in here earlier, we talked. Hercor is a small lupar town just three days from here. We hope to barter for food supplies that we lost in the attack, and medicine for our wounded."

Mikula frowned. "Is that wise, mother? We have been attacked by the 'Wobbies' before at Kuamket. Would not Hercor be a likely target for them given its closeness to Tanzano and Kuamket?"

Although asked of Tiana, it was van Horn who commented. "Perhaps not. The Wobbies cannot simply flatten every township and city around. That would defeat their purpose here. No, more likely they attacked Kuamket and Tanzano to spread the word that they can do something like that if they feel like it. That way, people are scared into helping them."

Mikula frowned. "That seems like a strange way to operate."

Van Horn shrugged. "It is. It's also why the Wobbies are outcasts from normal society. In any case, so long as we don't make too much of a ruckus at this 'Hercor,' I don't think we should fear a Wobbie attack.

"I am more concerned, however, at the response we might get from the people of Hercor itself. I understand that there is a somewhat strained relationship between the gatón and the lupar, am I right?" Van Horn asked this and looked at the other three, who nodded their heads. "Then in that case, they may react adversely to the gatón in this caravan."

Tiana shook her head. "You are most likely right, but there is little choice. We chose the gatón town of Rewao because gatón, admittedly, are a bit more open minded than my fellow people." She nodded to Alexis, her ears going down a bit in shame. "But that was optimistic. The wagons barely held enough supplies for the trip, and now we've lost much of them. Besides, we can't make good time traveling when the gatón here only have carts and the like. We need more wagons, and although I do not disparage their openness, gatón are not so good at engineering. No offense, Alexis"

Alexis nodded sagely. "None taken. You are correct in every respect." She sighed. "It seems, then, that we must head for Hercor and hope for the best."

Van Horn nodded. "Sometimes, that's all we can do."

It was two days until the caravan left the thickest part of the forest behind and came upon a worn path that led towards the town Hercor. Kanu had heard of the path, as it was one he had traveled once in service to his city's army. Just wide enough to admit the wagons and carts single-file, it made for faster traveling, though it increased the risk of being caught in a bad position for a bandit attack.

However, van Horn had some suggestions that made up for the increased vulnerability. Several volunteers had taken over pure escort duty, walking alongside the caravan, fully equipped for combat. Although it meant less hands to help push along the carts not pulled by pongos, thus making the progress that much slower, it also meant greater protection. Van Horn also had his Darter take up the last position, typically the most dangerous in such organizations.

He was beginning to regret it a bit now, however. The caravan was so slow, he found himself slipping the Darter's transmission into neutral for long periods of time. If this thing hadn't been retrofitted with a fusion engine, I'd be nervous as hell running like this, wasting fuel, van Horn thought to himself.

The trip wasn't totally boring, however. Alexis had made him keep his word about teaching her English, and the lessons he was giving her, although not as concise as a dedicated course in a Republic university, were engaging enough that van Horn found himself contented with the state of affairs. Alexis helped this by being an attentive student.

"I aaaam Alexis. I aaam f- F- From Kuamket." Alexis said haltingly in accented English, to which van Horn chuckled. "Very good." He said.

Her right ear flopped down quizzically. "Then why do you laugh?" She asked in gatonese.

Van Horn gave her a smile as he turned the chair back towards the front; the caravan was moving again after a temporary stop. "I'm sorry, Alexis. I really shouldn't laugh, but hearing you try so hard.... It's like me trying to learn your language that it somehow strikes me as amusing. I am sorry, though, it's rude."

Alexis shook her head. "No, it's alright. I suppose I sound kind of silly."

"Still, it's no reason for me to laugh. Anyway," he glanced at her for a second, and then looked back to the road as he continued. "You did pretty okay there, just used the 'aah' sound a little too much and stuttered. But that's nothing major, just practice."

Alexis nodded at that, and thought quietly for a second, turning herself in the passenger seat to look out through the window. A thought struck her. "Van- Earl, right?"

Van Horn chuckled. "Yes, I said it was okay for you to use my given name. You have a question?"

She nodded. "Yes. What is the name for the clear stuff we are looking out of?"

Van Horn sat for a second before responding. "Well, that's hard to explain... See, originally it was just one material called 'glass.'"

"Ga-lass?" Alexis tried her best to imitate the word. Van Horn shook his head in reply. "No, no 'ah' sound before the 'l' sound. Glass."

"Glass." She said the English word with little distortion coming from her differently shaped mouth. This prompted a smile from van Horn. "Yes. That was the original material, and we used it for centuries. Then we found all sorts of... Different materials, made up by our scientists." He used the English word for it, but he had made sure to teach it to Alexis earlier. "So there are many different names now, although we still just say 'glass' when we don't want to be specific."

Alexis nodded at that. She then decided to try a sentence. "I shee out the glass."

Van Horn turned to her as the caravan slowed enough for him to leave the transmission in neutral. "That was very good! Although you still have that tendency to use the 'sh' sound when you don't need it."

Alexis did the gatón equivalent of a blush - her ears flopped down and her tail curled a bit around her ankle. "It's kind of hard, since gatonese uses that sound a lot."

Van Horn kept his smile on as he turned to follow the now-moving caravan. "Well, as I said, it's all practice and memorization. Although," his smile died, "I should warn you again: English is a very strange language. Even those of us born to it often find new nuances to it every day. You shouldn't let it discourage you."

She nodded at that. "I understand. Lupari is similar in some ways to the few words you've mentioned. Perhaps.... Perhaps that's another one of those connections you spoke of to me and Mikula that one time?"

Van Horns nodded and spoke quietly. "Indeed, it most likely is. I can't say more, you know..."

"I know." Alexis said with a small sigh. Then she got a grin on her face. "Teaser."

Van Horn chuckled. "Indeed. Well, perhaps Hercor will provide answers for the both of us then."

"Perhaps." She said wistfully. "I am still, uneasy, over traveling to a lupar town. My people are not always welcomed in such places."

Van Horn nodded as he slowed the Darter to a stop, since the caravan had slowed to move over a small ridgeline. Look like the trees have been cleared away in some spots. Perhaps we're close? He then had a new thought. "Alexis, is the tension between lupar and gatón just 'is,' or is there a reason for it?"

Alexis was quiet for a minute, then spoke quietly. "I am not sure I should tell you. Oh, not that it's something you shouldn't know," she said this last part hurriedly to avoid hurting van Horn's feelings, "But rather, the Shaman would tell it a lot better than I ever could."

Van Horn shook his head, partly at the slow pace the wagons and carts were making up the ridge, and partly at Alexis' self-depreciation. "My dear, I'm sure you'd do a fine job, and probably much better than you think. Please tell me?" He looked to her at this last.

She gave him a smirk. "Very well." She took a breath and composed her thoughts, than started. "Legend has it that our differences began a long time ago, when both lupar and gatón were living together with the Gods in the city of Basun. The stories say that when the Gods departed, an argument arose as to whether gatón or lupar should rule over the city and its inhabitants.

"It was said that a compromise was chosen in that there would be two kings, one from the gatón, one from the lupar, who would jointly rule Basun. Life went on this way for years, until one of the kings got greedy and decided to try and overthrow the other."

Alexis took a second to catch her breath, and to let van Horn start the Darter moving again as the last of the caravan began its trek uphill. "At this point, the legends diverge. The ones that I've learned say that the lupar king was the one who started the fight, but I rather suspect that the lupar have the gatón king being the instigator."

A chuckle escaped van Horn's lips. "I'd suspect you're right. But I'm interrupting. Please, carry on; You're doing a good job."

Alexis smiled. "Thank you. Now, where was I? Oh, right. So after the inevitable power struggle, both gatón and lupar left the city in droves, never to return. There are other stories, of course, on how we've fought each other. But I believe that the story of how we left Basun is the main focus of our ire for each other."

Van Horn nodded. "You're probably right. Whether or not the stories are true, just having them is an-" His words cut off as the scout car crested the ridge after the caravan. Alexis, too, stared in awe at the image before them.

The ridge led down to ground that was lower than the trail they had just traversed, and it lowered still in a gentle slope that merged onto a large plain. Fingers of the forest they were leaving reached out on either side, neatly framing the spectacle of the Hercor Township and the farms that served it.

It stood on a tall, rocky mesa that rose a good thirty meters above the glistening green plain below. Paths had been cut along the sides to admit wagons and such, and there were buildings along the base of the mesa, indicating the town had grown beyond the top of the rock. The backdrop of the scene was against a series of low-slung mountains reminiscent of the Terran Appalachians, their slopes covered with verdant green forests. A small river cut its way from those mountains across the plain, passing within a kilometer of the town before it cut away to flow north.

"That's... Amazing." Alexis said first. "I've never seen anything like it."

Van Horn simply grinned as he set the transmission into Neutral and put the brake pedal down to keep the Darter from rolling forward too fast down the slope. "I saw pictures from orbit and from a drone we had sent up. Still, it's nothing like seeing it in person. Quite beautiful."

Alexis was too engrossed to pay attention to van Horn's words, but she nodded absentmindedly. Then she shook herself free of the spectacle. "I'll bet Mikula would love to see this. Would it be alright for me to stand and get him?" She had turned face van Horn as she asked this.

He gave her a sideways glance and a grin. "Sure, just make sure to keep a hand on the seats or near the counter in case I need to stop suddenly. Okay?"

"Alright." She said with a nod and got up, careful to follow the counters and steady herself and walked towards the rear of the vehicle.

In the back, Mikula sat uncomfortably, doing his best to hold onto Soru's unconscious form as the floor pitched downward. A small growl escaped his muzzle as he also bumped his injured leg, eliciting pain from the site. At least it's healing nicely, he thought.

Kanu's soft chuckle interrupted that thought. Mikula turned his head to face his brother from where he was braced against an equipment rack. "You find something funny, jyku?" He asked, calling Kanu by the name of a small, rodent-like animal.

Kanu didn't let it affect him, though. "You just looked a bit silly, that's all."

Mikula stuck out his tongue at Kanu, who laughed again. It was then that Alexis walked carefully through the door to the back cabin. "What's so funny?" She asked as she took a look to make sure everyone else was okay, despite the angle. Her heart leapt a bit when she saw Soru sprawled out a bit, but she calmed when she saw that Mikula had him well in hand.

"What's going on, Alexis, is that these two keep hurtling insults to each other. Almost enough to make one wish for the mature company of children." Said one of the wounded gatón, his smile robbing the words of any insult.

"You're one to talk Heg. You've egged them on a couple of times, so I recall." This came from a grinning lupar female that sat in the corner, helping another to keep from rolling forward.

Kanu flashed a grin at her. "Well put, Leyana. In any case, Heg is not too far off the mark. Me and Mikula often have our little tiffs."

"Indeed? Well, I should hope you could hold off for a bit longer. We are approaching Hercor, and it can be seen out through the front." Alexis spoke with a smile spreading across her muzzle. It's amazing at how well we all get along. Especially after retelling that story to Vanhorn.

Kanu looked to her and his smile grew larger. "Indeed. It's a grand spectacle, isn't it? I still remember seeing it for the first time, so wonderful it was."

Mikula looked up at that. "You really think so? Pavlo was right, then"

Kanu looked back to his brother. "And what would he be right about?"

Mikula's smile took on a devilish quality. "I said you have no heart, and he said you do, just that it's black and really small."

Kanu gave what van Horn or any human would recognize as the universal symbol for an unnatural act that usually requires two people. Mikula laughed at it, though Alexis was mortified, and her tail and ears showed it, the former sticking straight out and the latter flopping down.

Kanu noticed that. "Oh, I'm sorry, Alexis. I forget where we are sometimes."

Alexis gave her head a little shake and willed herself to relax. "It's- Alright. You just surprised me, that's all. Anyway, Mikula, did you want to see Hercor? It does look wonderful."

Mikula felt a bit bad over prompting Kanu's faux pas, so he readily agreed. "Yes. But, uh... Who will hold Soru then?"

Leyana spoke then with a bit of a smile on her face. "I can take over, Mikula. I'm not even hurt as bad as you are anymore, thanks to Vanhorn. I certainly can hold him a little while."

Mikula looked to her and nodded his thanks. Without further ado, they managed to shift Soru around so that Leyana was holding him in much the same way Mikula was, her back to the front of the vehicle, cushioning the young gatón.

"Thank you again, Leyana." Mikula said as he maneuvered his way to follow Alexis out of the rear cabin. The female lupar just waved him off, which Kanu and a couple of other wounded mirrored.

Mikula couldn't fathom the way they all did that, or the small smiles they seemed to be trying to hold in check. What's with them? He thought this as he passed through the door into the front cabin. Alexis was waiting for him at one of the seats along the side counters/cabinets. She motioned with her head and tail for Mikula to go ahead in front of her.

Tilting his head quizzically, Mikula nevertheless went forward and carefully reached the passenger seat. "Hello, uh, Earl." He said to van Horn haltingly. Then he looked out the front and his jaw hung open as he took in the sight ahead.

Van Horn's chuckle brought him back around. "Quite the sight, isn't it?"

Mikula shook his head a bit to dispel the hold the vista had had on him. "Very much so. I've not seen anything like it before in my life."

Van Horn's easy smile was only half-visible to Mikula's vantage point, but the sound in his voice was easy to discern, even for the lupar. "It is quite amazing. I've seen pictures of similar habitations in the southwest deserts of Terra's North American continent, but it still doesn't prepare you for seeing something like this in real life."

Mikula found himself speechless, not only at the sight, but again at van Horn's cultural reference, which flew by him entirely. Instead, he simply stared out the front windshield, drinking in the view.

A few minutes passed silently like this. Then Mikula had a thought. "Uh, Earl. You said that you've seen other places like this?"

Van Horn shook his head, but kept his eyes on the road. "I've seen pictures. Very good ones mind you, but they never compare with reality. Who do you ask?"

"Uhm... Well, to tell the truth, I'm still surprised you're here, helping us. I mean, uh," Mikula's ears went down in embarrassment. "No offense intended."

Van Horn just turned to Mikula and raised an eyebrow, then turned back to watch the road. "No offense taken, but what makes you so surprised, if you don't mind my asking?"

Mikula shrugged a bit. "It's just, well... You seem to be so unflappable, and you always mention on how you've seen similar things to what you see here. You say you come from beyond the stars; yet you ride with us, help us, when you could be doing something... Different."

Van Horn smirked a bit. "Like what?" He asked, his easygoing voice relieving the tension in Mikula's shoulders as the latter worried he might have offended the human.

"Well... Whatever it is you do up there. I cannot even begin to imagine the things you must have known, must have seen. They surely must be so much more wonderful than our own world." Mikula finished with a sigh. "And to top it off, you help selflessly, as if we are somehow capable of rewarding someone like you, for we have nothing that you cannot already have."

Van Horn took so long in replying that Mikula and Alexis thought he had been angered. When he spoke, it was with a quiet voice that held no anger, but a sad note. "I can see you point of view, Mikula. But I think you sell yourselves too short.

"I have, indeed, seen things that are beyond your ken. Amazing, wonderfully beautiful things. I have seen mountains, rivers, and valleys like the ones on your word. But that does not make the spectacles of your world any the less impressive, or wonderful. Every world is unique, special, and yours is no less so.

Van Horn took a breath, and then continued. "As to helping you, well, my people have always believed in offering help to those who need it. It is, in fact, a very human trait to risk our lives to help those in dire need."

The other two in the cabin sat quietly, absorbing this information. It was Alexis who spoke first. "So, you're helping us because your people believe that it's good to help?"

Van Horn nodded silently, and Alexis shook her head. "Amazing. I just never thought that anyone with your kind of power would... Care. Uhh, I mean..." Now she looked embarrassed, thinking she had said the wrong thing.

Again, van Horn surprised them with his calmness. "I understand. People with power do not always care. It's a constant problem wherever there are people." He sighed. "It's been the source of great strife in my people's history. It is, in fact, one of the reasons my people are so determined to be helpful whenever possible, so as to counteract this negative influence."

Again, a silence came over the trio in the front cabin. It lasted this time, as Mikula and Alexis sat quietly in thought over van Horn's words. However, the silence broke after some time, when the caravan slowed to a complete stop. From their vantage point higher on the slope, they could see that there was some sort of commotion at the head of the caravan.

Mikula squinted as he peered ahead. "More bandits?" He asked with a growl.

Van Horn frowned, as he set the brake on the Darter. "Perhaps. Let us see, shall we?" He turned to the console to his left and typed several commands into the scout car's Sensor/HUS interface computer. In a few seconds, the Active Probe in the Darter's nose came to life, sending out its electronic fingers.

At the same time, the holographic HUD for the car came on-line, displaying an overlay that was set to magnetic resonance scanning. Field lines splayed out across the windshield, showing the various pieces of Iron-containing materials.

Mikula sat back in shock, and Alexis let out a gasp. "What is this?" Asked the former.

Van Horn took a second of studying the display before replying. "It's the machinery in my vehicle. In this mode, it can see magnetic metals such as Iron, Nickel, and Cobalt. Uh..." He realized he had slipped in a lot of English words. "That is, it can detect certain metals, like the kind you make swords out of. I'm using it to see if there's any other pieces of metal out there that would indicate bandits."

Mikula gave the human a dark look. "And this didn't warn us of the last attack?"

The challenge in Mikula's voice was obvious, which made van Horn bristle. His voice became low and icy cold in response. "Well, do you go walking around with your sword out all the time? Do you always have an arrow notched and pulled back, ready to let fly? Ever, single, second, of the day?"

The anger in van Horn's voice hit Mikula like a physical slap. Somehow, it was worse having it come this way, than when he wasn't expecting it. "I... No, I do not."

Van Horn nodded, and his voice came up a bit higher, but still had irritation in it. "Yes. You don't always have a tool ready all the time. And I figured, since I was assured that the path we were taking was safe, that I didn't need to leave the sensors on all the time." With a quick snap of his left hand, van Horn flipped the probe from magnetic resonance to visilight. "In any case, there is another group of Iron-containing weapons ahead. Let's look at them." Another command brought up a small box-shaped outline on the HUD, which van Horn manipulated using a small joystick on the sensor controls' console. With a fluid motion, he brought it to rest on the leading part of the caravan, where the new arrivals - and the caravan's leaders - were.

A quick command had the image of the group suddenly expand within the box-shaped window, enlarging the view of the group to five times its normal appearance. Mikula an Alexis sat quietly, amazed at the display and a bit shocked by van Horn's anger. Before either could think of something to say, the human brought the box to focus more centrally on where the leader of the new arrivals was approaching the lead wagon slowly. A quick button-press later and the view zoomed in further, reaching fifty-times magnification and bringing enough detail into the picture for Alexis to realize what was going on.

"That's the shaman from the northern tribes!" She said, recognizing the white fur color of the leader of the new group, as well as the thick clothes they wore. "Amazing! They must have been coming from Hercor."

Van Horn looked up, traces of his anger gone. "Indeed? Then perhaps they shall have good news." They all became silent then, as they watched the scene from afar. There they saw Forbasa slowly get off the wagon in front, with Tiana joining him soon after. They saw the look of consternation on the northern shaman's face, and then saw her relax as Forbasa talked.

The scene then took a dramatic turn, as the guide from Kuamket came forward and began to speak to Forbasa. "Can you not get sound with this?" Asked Mikula, somewhat trepid.

Van Horn shook he head a bit. "No. Sound doesn't carry as well as light." That was all that was said then, as they saw the disturbed looks on the shaman and her consorts from the north. But what really tore at the heartstrings was the utter shock and despair on the guide's face as he sunk to the ground. "Shaman Forbasa must've told them about the attack."

"Yes," said Alexis. "But there's more; that is Waso. His family... Did not make it." She couldn't help but choke a bit at the statement, prompting Mikula to turn towards her, eyes questioning. A shake of her head and an upheld hand motioned him to remain seated. "No, I'm fine. It's just so sad."

Van Horn hadn't turned around, not trusting his feelings to remain under control should he see the young gatón close to tears. Instead, he focused in on the motions of Forbasa's hands, and the sudden turns of the northern tribes gatón to peer towards the Darter. "Looks like we're going to have company." He observed as Forbasa began to walk up towards where the scout car now rested, the northern shaman and her consort following.

Felina Jukas, chief shaman of the northern tribes, walked with greater and greater trepidation as she approached the large metal object that sat behind the last wagon in a train that reached halfway up the ridge trail. Her escort nervously fingered their bows, although they had been forbidden to make them ready from her colleague, shaman Forbasa. He has his reasons, I'm sure, she thought to herself. But I have to wonder if the strain is getting to him? All this talk about Humans and the Old Stories... Even with the stories coming from the Lupar cities, it's hard to swallow.

And yet, here was a physical manifestation of those stories, both old and new. At first, when she had seen it from a distance, the object seemed to be a mirage of some kind. Now, up close, it was intimidating, to say the least.

They approached from the front, of course. The polarized windshield prevented them from seeing in, so they were surprised when the door hissed open. Jukas and her group leapt back, their fur rising on their necks and backs and their tails curling into an alerted stance.

Forbasa, however, simply kept walking forward. He's crazy! Though Jukas. And yet... Nothing bad has happened... Cautiously, she began walking forward, her consort following only after a few seconds' hesitation.

Jukas had just about reached Forbasa at where the door opened when the figure she had only imagined walked from her mind and into her reality. Her jaw dropped open and her tail dropped limp in surprise and shock as the tall, furless being walked down to stand near Forbasa. Her shock only deepened as he began to speak. In gatonese no less!

"Shaman Forbasa. We saw the arrival of these folk here and your approach up the way. Alexis said that this would be the shaman representative from the northern tribes?"

Forbasa nodded in partial response to van Horn's words. "Indeed she is." Forbasa turned to indicate Jukas. "May I present Felina Jukas, shaman of the town of Tranoth. Felina, this is Doctor Earl Vanhorn."

Jukas just stood speechless. It took van Horn's approach to stir her out of her shock. Walking up, he extended his right hand in his preferred greeting. "It is a pleasure to meet you, madam shaman."

Jukas stared at the offered limb, and realized it must be a form of greeting. Slowly, she brought up her own right hand and stuck it out towards the human, but didn't advance to clasp his hand. Van Horn, though, flashed a grin and finished the maneuver, clasping with Jukas long enough for a quick couple of pumps, and then releasing her to pull his hand back by his side.

Jukas, slightly startled by the contact, still just stood for a second, and looked at her hand. She could still feel the warmth, so unusual for a being lacking fur, and the relative softness of his hand that nevertheless had strength behind his grip.

A small cough startled Jukas out of her reverie. "Felina, are you alright?" Forbasa asked with genuine concern.

She shook her head. "I'm- I'm fine, Revalo. Just fine. It's- it's just overwhelming to meet a- a human." She stuttered a bit in her nervousness.

Forbasa and van Horn both gave her smiles. The former than turned to the latter. "Well, then. I take it that the reason we've stopped, then, is to consult with madam Jukas here, shaman Forbasa?" Asked van Horn.

Forbasa nodded. "In a way, yes. Actually, we stopped to greet each other, more or less. I wanted to show her... Well... You."

Van Horn's smile stayed on. "Yes, I understand. Well, are we still heading towards Hercor?"

The mention of the town she had just left brought Jukas into the conversation again. "I am not so sure that that is a good idea. We have just come from Hercor, and the lupar there are not exactly the friendliest sort. They have taken the stories of the metal giants as warnings to not deal with outsiders, and so turned us away."

Van Horn's smile died at the mention of 'metal giants,' which gave rise to Jukas' curiosity. He seems disturbed over their mention. Is Forbasa right, and these giants are related to the old stories... Then what? How can we defeat Gods

Forbasa's words again brought her back to the present. "We have little choice but to attempt to deal with the lupar of Hercor. I've told you of the attack we suffered a few days ago. We are low on supplies, and need help for our wounded. Hopefully... Hopefully the presence of lupar in our caravan shall help us negotiate."

Jukas nodded. "Perhaps this is so." They feel silent for a moment, which Jukas interrupted with a spontaneous decision. "Revalo. Would you mind if we went along with you back to Hercor? I should think we should really discuss some things."

Forbasa nodded. "Indeed, I should like that. And I am sure Mrs. Farkas or her lupar would have no trouble at all."

"Indeed, I believe you're right." Came a new voice. Jukas was less shocked to see a lupar step out of the metal vehicle than she was to see the human, but it was still surprising. She noticed that this one looked a lot like the 'Tiana Farkas' she had met at the lead wagon, and that he limped on a cane due to his bandaged leg. Following him was a female gatón, who unlike the lupar, gave Jukas a slight bow after she stepped on to the ground.

Forbasa smiled at the appearance of the lupar and the young woman. "Ahh, Mikula. I am glad to hear that you think your mother would not object. I am also glad to see you walking today. Is the leg better?"

Mikula nodded his head in a small bow. "Indeed it is, Shaman. I thank you for your concern. I had come out here to ask about our delay, but I hear that there is good reason." He gave another bow of his head. "Pardon my intrusion."

"It's alright, Mikula. In fact, I was just about to ask Vanhorn here if we could intrude upon his wagon so that I could discuss matters with him, shaman Jukas, and you, now that I think of it." Forbasa said the last few words with bit of surprise in it.

Mikula looked startled. "Me?"

Forbasa nodded. "Yes, for reasons that I've just realized. Your mother, of course, needs to stay up front if we wish to reach Hercor by nightfall and still be able to converse. You know her well, as you've just proven, so you may provide insight into her thinking that will speed our discussions with her when w reach a point where all of us may converse."

Mikula stood for a second, and then nodded. "You speak truth, shaman."

"Then I take it that madam Jukas and yourself will ride with us, shaman Forbasa?" Van Horn asked pleasantly.

"Indeed, if it is not too much trouble, or if Shaman Jukas has not any objections."

Jukas shook her head. "I think I'm insane for saying this, but... I'll gladly ride with you in this monstrosity, Forbasa."

Van Horn smiled a bit. "Then let's get ready to go."