Under the Burning Sun:
The Beginning of the End

~ Chapter Six ~

Age 714, Monsoon Season

Two small groups of saiyans stood facing each other in the pelting rain along the banks of the mighty river. Vegeta had joined his father, Chieftain Tarve, as he discussed the terms of the Vegetabyl Great-tribe's possible asylum in Aposyl territory with the leader of said great-tribe, Chiefta Maize. Joining them were Tarve's two remaining councilors, Alaria and Kailan. Joining them were all three of Maize's councilors and her son Zorn. And last, but not least, was Aleguu. Vegeta wasn't sure exactly why his father had allowed his sister to tag along. Thus far, the girl had been quiet, as she had promised, but Vegeta suspected that it was only a matter of time before his sister's powerful curiosity of the female chiefta broke her silence.

And speaking of Maize, Vegeta thought it was strange that a female had acquired the leadership of an entire tribe. Prior to their meeting, he had learned from Alaria and Kailan that Maize had been her father's only child when he had been the chieftain. When her father, Oryza, had died nearly twenty cycles ago, he had left the leadership of the tribe not to Maize but to her mate Zorgum. It was well known that Maize was not pleased with this decision; often times she tried to push her influence upon her great-tribe through Zorgum's chieftainship, but time and time again she had been met with the heavy resistance of her mate's councilors.

After a short term of only six cycles, Zorgum unexpectedly passed away, plummeting to his death when he slipped from a branch high up in a moonberry tree. The story said that he had smacked his head on another branch during his fall which had snapped his neck. He was dead before he had even struck the ground.

Although their son Zorn should have inherited the role of chieftain upon his father's death, the boy was, at the time, only eight cycles old. Maize seized the opportunity and named herself chiefta despite the traditional laws that the position should be passed from father to son. Zorgum's councilors attempted to depose her, accusing her of trying to usurp her own son, but the giant woman proved to be quite formidable. By the rite of culpaiyis a' takar, or trial by combat, she defended her claim and her honor by defeating each of her mate's councilors and she proved to her people that she was the rightful ruler of the Aposyl Great-tribe.

As the story was being told to Vegeta, Aleguu naturally had been listening in. After hearing the tale, she had grown quite fascinated by the idea of a strong and independent woman who had won the respect and leadership of her entire great-tribe. And now, from behind Tarve's legs, she peered at the enormous chiefta with eyes full of awe and wonder.

Vegeta didn't see what Aleguu found so alluring about Maize. Sure, the chiefta was very tall and muscular, much more so than Kailan was. And she looked very stern and battle-hardened. She stood proudly and had an air of superiority about her. She was a woman who looked as though she demanded immediate and unquestioned respect, but was hard-pressed to find the value or worth in those who were strangers to her and her people. Other than that, Vegeta thought that she looked no different than any other female he had ever met.

"I sympathize with your plight, Tarve," Maize's voice, emotionless and unyielding, carried loudly over the heavy onslaught of the monsoon rains. "But this is a burden that I cannot possibly place upon my people."

Vegeta felt the sense of disappointment and urgency that his father was experiencing. Tarve replied, "I assure you, my people will not place a burden upon your great-tribe. They are very hard workers; they will earn their keep. We offer you our labor, our skills, and the added protection of our warriors."

Maize scoffed; an offensive guffaw passed through her lips. "And what makes you think that my own warriors are so inept that we must rely upon your warriors for protection, warriors who so quickly abandoned their ancestral homes without so much as a fight?"

Tarve's tail started to bristle at the insult, but he wrapped the appendage tighter around his waist so as not to display his irritation. Vegeta, not yet a man grown and thus able to get away with impropriety, didn't attempt to suppress his own tail's movements as it snapped to and fro with displeasure. He could feel Aleguu's sudden shift from awe to fear as she absorbed the increasing hostility between the two chiefs. Vegeta noted that his father's councilors were just as affronted. Kailan, the war-adviser and top ranking warrior of their tribe, was very visibly offended. It took much of his will-power to restrain his objections to the accusation. Alaria was doing much better than Kailan at disguising her annoyance, but her irritation remained visible in her eyes.

Tarve rebutted as politely as he could, but his words still came out almost in a growl. "I do not doubt the abilities of your army. But this new enemy of ours is unlike any creature any saiyan has ever had to contend with in the entire history of our people. It would be foolish to turn down our alliance."

Maize, however, didn't want to hear his plea. "Do not presume to lecture me about foolish matters. Allow me to tell you what I see as foolishness. It would be foolish to take in several thousand additional mouths to feed. It would be foolish to try to house almost an entire great-tribe when space is already scarce. It would be foolish to rely upon an army that has not proven itself against an alleged enemy, an enemy that I have yet to see with my own eyes. It would be foolish to believe that an army that would so quickly evacuate their own lands would not also abandon lands that are not native to them.

"Do not tell me that I know nothing of foolhardiness. I know plenty about it. And right now, the biggest fool here is you, Tarve, if you for a moment believe that I would be so foolish as to take your people under my protection."

With the chiefta's emphasized refusal and seeing that he had absolutely no chance to gain her assistance, Tarve threw all his cordiality away. "No, Maize. You are the fool if you think you can stand alone against the demons. When they come – and they will come – I will pray to d'Mele gu Saiya to place you and your people under her protection. You will most certainly need it."

Before the chiefta could rebut, Tarve whirled around and stomped away, turning his back to the abrasive woman as if she were beneath him; a deliberate sign of disrespect. Although Maize had largely ignored Vegeta, the boy's glare lingered on her for a few additional moments, long enough to see her teeth grind in agitation. Then he, too, turned his back upon her. He attempted to collect a timid Aleguu, but the girl's demeanor had suddenly shifted.

Aleguu darted around her brother and glared defiantly at Maize. "You are not a very nice lady!" she scolded and then ran off after her father.

Vegeta was momentarily stunned that his sister would act so disrespectfully towards another tribe's chiefta. But then again, Aleguu was well known for expressing her opinions. Initially, Maize appeared to be a bit taken aback by the girl's outburst, but was quick to dismiss what she clearly took to be a poorly disciplined child's rude behavior. Vegeta turned back towards the direction his family was headed. Kailan and Alaria took up the rear of their party, both were bristling with anger.

Vegeta glanced back one final time to see Maize and her companions board the barge that would take them back across the wide river to their village. This was the same river that, many miles upstream, served as the southern boundary of Vegetabyl territory. The traveling saiyans had followed the great river as it flowed east and, eventually, south towards the southern ocean. Typically, any messengers or traders heading into Aposyl lands would have crossed the great river a little ways east of the Vegetabyl village. But the waters near their home were still running too swiftly to cross, especially for the young children and the elderly of the tribe. They knew that the Aposyl had developed the means to cross the river using barges and rafts where the current was slower, and that was how Tarve had planned to cross the great river, had their request for shelter been approved.

Despite the fact that this was the same river that flowed along the southern border of the Vegetabyl village, here it looked very different than it did back home. It was many times wider than Vegeta was used to. Its current was far gentler too. And instead of flowing from west to east as it did in his homeland, here it flowed from north to south. The fact that the only geological constant that he had to hold on to during this journey was not so constant at all served to remind the boy that they had traveled so very far into lands that were strange and foreign to him.

"The nerve of that insufferable wench!" Alaria cursed once they were out of Maize's earshot. Vegeta was surprised by the outburst; the peace-maker didn't usually speak ill of anyone. "If she were not the leader of her great-tribe, I would have snapped her tail in half right then and there!"

"You would not have had the chance," Kailan grumbled, "as I would have plucked the damn thing right out of her backside!"

Tarve was quietly seething as the group walked the short distance back towards the large camp that their great-tribe had set up the prior evening. Vegeta had never felt his father be so irate before. The chieftain was so filled with rage that he couldn't prevent it from seeping through the bonds he shared with his children. This anger, though not directed at his children, made Vegeta wary and Aleguu outright mollified. The twelve-cycles-old boy could feel his sister valiantly trying not to grow upset by their father's sour mood.

Vegeta wondered what would happen next, now that asylum with the Aposyl was impossible. His father had been relying on the hope that their southern neighbors would graciously take them in. Their territory was protected to the west by the same mountain range that served as the western boundary of Vegetabyl lands. But the southern end of the mountain range was much taller and much more treacherous than it was further north. As a matter of fact, the mountains were almost impassable by foot. Tarve suspected that it was unlikely that the demons would be able to fly over them either.

In addition to the protection that the mountain range offered, the lands in Aposyl territory were just as fertile as they were in Vegetabyl lands. These fertility land, plus the more tropical climate, was the reason why the Aposyl Great-tribe was known for the vast varieties of fruits they grew. Every parcel of land was devoted to fruit cultivation and the creation of fruit based products. Their diyando were even built among the same trees that bore the fruit! Indeed, the Aposyl village was at the epicenter of one of the richest soil locations in the known world. If the Vegetabyl people were going to find a suitable place to sow their crops, the best place would be in Aposyl territory.

Relations between the Vegetabyl and Aposyl Great-tribes had remained neutral for many decades; but there was no ill reason between the two tribes that would warrant turning away the Vegetabyl people. Vegeta knew that his father had been relying on the fact that the two tribes had been growing more amicable towards one another over the past several cycles. Tarve had, on a few occasions, suggested that a solid alliance with the Aposyl people could be formed in the near future if things continued moving in a positive direction. But knowing that the relationship between their two tribes was still very fragile, Tarve had sent a party of three messengers to inform the Aposyl Great-tribe of his tribe's eminent arrival so as not to alarm them with their sudden presence and thereby place that fragile relationship on shaky grounds.

Maize's outright refusal to lend assistance had come as a bitter surprise.

The heavy rains continued to pelt down upon the small group as they entered their camp. Vegeta felt as if he were already soaked to the bone and desperately wanted to get into a dry set of clothes. They were already halfway into the monsoon season and the rains were at their worst. Everything was drenched. There was not a dry spot to be found. The ground sloshed with every step they took. Even the trees were so wet that they seemed to weep as rainwater dripped from their leaves. The only thing that could have made the weather more miserable than it already was if the temperature here was as cool as it was sure to be back in their homeland in the foothills. But down here in the flatlands of Aposyl territory, the temperature was much more moderate. Still, the unrelenting rain didn't make matters any easier.

As they crossed through the temporary camp, many of their fellow tribesmen looked in their direction with questioning expressions. One look at Tarve's face was enough to keep their questions silent. They could see that the meeting with the Aposyl chiefta had not gone well. Tarve's trek through the camp didn't hesitate or waver until he reached the smoldering fire that was futilely trying to keep the clan and profession representatives dry as they waited for their chieftain's return. Of the seventeen family clans, fifteen had decided to evacuate their homeland. The other two had adamantly remained behind. In addition to the fifteen clan representatives and the eight profession masters waiting for Tarve's return, a representative of the Steridyl and Bafalyl refugees were also present.

"What did Chiefta Maize have to say?" Feralo bravely and calmly asked. Feralo, an expert weapons smith, was the representative of the Moringas clan.

"Her refusal could not have been more clear," Tarve growled.

"She could not be reasoned with," Kailan added. "I have never before met a woman more stubborn."

"So we have come all this way, traveled for almost five fortnights, only to be turned away?" snapped Viola, the master healer.

Viola had been one of the few who had objected to the exodus, but her family clan, the Oxiladis, had overwhelmingly decided to evacuate. As the master healer, her sworn duty was to aid the sick and the injured; she could not in good conscious stay behind when she knew that her skills were going to be needed as her people and her family traveled into foreign lands. Her only solace had been the promise that their great-tribe would be settled by the start of the summer season. That optimistic outlook now looked very bleak.

Viola continued her diatribe. "We cannot continue much farther like this. I am running precariously low on healing supplies. My stock of medicinal herbs were low before we set off on this debacle, due to all trade with the Karofyl having been destroyed. In addition to all the typical scrapes and bruises, I have had to deal with a growing number of illnesses. Are you aware that because of this constant wet weather, one out of every ten of us has developed some degree of foot-rot? I have had to amputate more toes over the past few fortnights than I have had to do in all my cycles as a healer."

"Oh, stuff your tail in it, Viola," snapped the healer's cousin Deppei, the spokesman for the Oxiladis Clan. "I would much rather lose a few toes than to lose the lives of my cubs."

Several of the other clan leaders mumbled and nodded their agreement. Viola grew quiet, though she was still visibly irritated.

"Viola has a point," Nori calmly said. She was the elderly woman who oversaw food stores. "Coming out of this recent winter, our food supply was already greatly diminished. We have had to cut rations back several times during our travels. If we do not restock soon, we will be faced with the need to consume our planting seeds."

"Nori is correct," the master farmer Linjo added. "If we do not plant soon, we will not be able to plant any crops at all this cycle. As it stands, any harvest we reap this cycle will be many times smaller since we have delayed the growing season by several fortnights already. We cannot place the full burden of replenishing our food stores on the hunters. We must find a place to begin planting as soon as possible."

Kadavo, representing the hunters, nodded his agreement. "We will do our best to keep the clans fed. We may need to recruit additional hunters to keep up with demand. But it will not be possible for us to continue to provide for everyone if the period of doing so becomes too extensive."

As the representatives voiced their concerns, Tarve listened to them with a pensive look on his face. Vegeta sensed that his father's anger towards Maize was subsiding and was being replaced with the compulsion to solve the great-tribe's problems. The twelve-cycles-old boy sent a gentle inquiry through the bond with his father, eager to know in which direction his father's plans were heading. Vegeta was met with his sire pushing back with only a touch more force. "Do not disturb me right now," was the message Tarve impressed upon his son before the link was severed.

Vegeta felt a little dejected; during the brief mental contact with his father, the boy could sense that the chieftain was mentally conferring with his two councilors. He believed that, as the next chieftain, he ought to be privy to the private conversation. How was he to learn to be a good leader when he wasn't included in important matters such as this? When he was being excluded, such as he was at the moment, it was no wonder that he tended to shirk his responsibilities.

As the boy waited for his father and his councilors to finish their mental conversation, his mind wandered to other, less significant, matters. Not too far away from the group of representatives, Aleguu was socializing with Bardock and Turles. He couldn't hear what they were talking about, but his sister's laughter rang clearly across the camp. Vegeta was easily distracted as he watched Aleguu encourage Turles to take his first steps. When the toddler successfully took five steps, the nine-cycles-old girl scooped him up and excitedly praised him.

Vegeta couldn't help but notice that, for once, the normally sullen Bardock had a smile on his face as he watched the girl interact with Turles. Leave it to Aleguu to get someone to open up, the flame-haired boy mused. Not that that had been particularly easy to do with Bardock. Over the past several fortnights, Vegeta had relished in the fact that Aleguu had found someone else to relentlessly pester and torment. He no longer had his little sister constantly under his feet. That wasn't to say that she no longer found an interest in following her brother around; she just didn't do it as often as she once did now that Bardock was their ward-kin.

Initially, Bardock was more annoyed with Aleguu's constant prattle than Vegeta had ever been. The flame-haired boy had found it particularly amusing, having known the same experience since the time Aleguu had been able to walk and talk. But Bardock's annoyance had slowly waned. Now it seemed as if he enjoyed Aleguu's company. Even if that enjoyment was the smallest fraction.

Tarve's voice cut across the din of conversation amongst the representatives, pulling Vegeta from his thoughts. "We have an alternate option that we have considered," the chieftain explained. "Although my councilors and I had placed our hope upon the Aposyl Great-tribe, we were prepared for the slight possibility that we would not be granted refuge with them. Our contingency plan is to continue east and implore the Malpifyl Great-tribe."

"But that is on the other side of the dry lands!" cried Viola, again stirring dissent. "Have you any idea how vast that trek will be? It is too dangerous! We do not have the resources to make such a treacherous journey. We should cut our losses and return to our homeland. We will have a much better chance of survival if we build our defenses where we are safest and most secure."

"That is just it, Viola," admonished Alaria. "Our homeland is no longer safe or secure. You know this to be true. Our best chances right now are with the Malpifyl people."

"I still say that the journey is too dangerous," Viola insisted. "So very few of us are familiar with the climate of the dry lands."

"That is why it is imperative that we leave quickly. Tomorrow morning would be best," Tarve explained. "The trek will not be as perilous while we are still in the midst of the monsoon rains. Even the dry lands are not so dry during this season. If we delay, we will not have time to cross the expanse before the hot, arid sun of summer bears down upon us."

Linjo inquired, "Have you any estimation how long it will take us to cross the dry lands?"

Kailan answered, "My most experienced scout Nikau has told me that the dry lands can typically be crossed in just over a fortnight. But with a party as large as ours... expect the task to exceed that time by double."

"Three to four fortnights then," Linjo considered. "That does not give us much time for planting. And that is only if the Malpifyl accept us."

"Indeed!" Viola interjected once again. "What will we do should the Malpifyl reject us as the Aposyl have done? What option will we be left with then?"

Tarve met Viola's challenging stare. Vegeta could not believe that the healer was behaving so dishonorably. It was one thing to share one's concern with the chieftain. But to be openly hostile and abrasive was an entirely different matter. Tarve's withering glare cooled Viola's abrasiveness. Cowed, the master healer averted her eyes, soundlessly submitting to the chieftain. The atmosphere had grown very uncomfortable and awkward; all of the representatives had grown silent.

After a moment, Tarve broke the tension by answering Viola's last question. "If we are denied asylum with the Malpifyl, we may have to face the fact that we might have to evacuate into the wastelands."

This tidbit of information elicited shocked reactions from most of the representatives.

"The wastelands!?"

"Do you not know how brutal the wastelands are?"

"We cannot survive there!"

"The wastelands are where criminals and the tribeless are banished!"

"You want us to become wastelanders like them!?"

"ENOUGH!" Tarve barked loud enough that even the saiyans who were outside of their discussion momentarily halted their tasks and snapped their attention towards the meeting. The objections halted and the chieftain said in a calmer voice, "I understand your concerns. I share them as well. I am merely informing you of the possibility that the wastelands may be our final option. Let us hope that it does not come to that."

They broke camp before the sun rose the following morning.

The days rolled by, one after another. Shortly after the first fortnight, they crossed into the dry lands. They were still at the tail end of the monsoon season, however, and they still experienced a healthy amount of rain, even in the dry lands. But that was soon to end.

Everyday, there was a considerable difference in the amount of rain that fell until, eventually, the most they got was a brief shower in the middle of each afternoon. Initially, the escape from the drenching monsoon rains was a relief. Most relished in the feeling of being dry again. That, too, was soon to end.

As the monsoon season waned and the summer season began to bear down on them, the temperatures rose much higher than they had ever known before. While the afternoon shower everyday was a welcome relief, traveling by day became too unbearable. A fortnight and a half into the summer season, they altered their travel habits so that they rested by day and moved onward at night. They were able to cover more ground this way, but finding sleep during the hot hours under the sun was difficult, to say the least.

Food and water was a growing concern. The dry lands were not completely void of vegetation and animal life, but it was scarce. There was not enough in the natural environment to support the nutritional needs of so many saiyans. They stripped the few trees of all their leaves. They plucked as much of the dry, yellow grasses as they could. They dug into the hard soil, pulling up roots and tubers. Insects and grubs became a main staple, as much as the thought had once disgusted them. The hunters scavenged further and further from the great-tribe in search of wild game. More often than not, they came back with mere morsels; an abysmally insufficient amount of food.

Survival became a balancing act. The healers and the food storers often times worked together to save the lives of those who were growing dangerously weak. Those who were closest to death were taken under their combined care and fed just enough for a few days to regain their strength to move on. When those who were frailest had recovered, another batch of sick and dying would be rushed to their attention. It was a rotating door of the ill with no one truly recovering to one hundred percent. There was no relief from helping the sick and dying. And they were not always successful.

When the third fortnight rolled around, anticipation, anxiety, and dissent were at their peaks. The tribe knew that any day now, they would stumble out of the dry lands and find the last oasis before the wastelands that marked the village of the Malpifyl Great-tribe. Every day that passed by and they did not find it caused tensions to rise. The tribe didn't collectively challenge Tarve's decision to cross the dry lands, but several came to him in private to address their concerns with him. The chieftain gave each one who came to him the same option, stay with the tribe and increase their chances of survival, or leave to fend for themselves.

Despite the threat of abandoning the trek, none were willing to take the risk on their own.

On the dawn of the forth fortnight during their journey through the dry lands, the great-tribe began to wonder if they'd ever find the Malpifyl village. Nikau, their best scout, promised them that they were close; they would arrive within a day or two. However, he had confided with Tarve that he had not made the journey in two cycles and many of the landmarks that he relied upon had changed since then. But he had promised that he would lead them to their destination no matter what obstacles challenged him.

On this dawn, like every other before it, the tribe was preparing to settle down for the day. They were camped out beneath a small cluster of thin trees. The saiyans stretched their portable diyando – long swatches of cloth or leather – between branches, readying themselves for an uncomfortable sleep after a long night of walking. Others had lined up on the ground, one next to another, to claim pieces of earth that would provide the most shade when the sun rose high in the sky. Sleeping on the ground was something that was foreign to them, but now so far into their journey, they had grown accustomed to the unusual practice.

While most of her tribe was getting ready to rest, Aleguu was too restless to do the same. She knew that if she didn't claim a place beneath one of the few trees now, she'd have no luck finding a scrap of shade later when it was hottest, but she didn't care at that moment. She slipped past the crowding saiyans, dodging around some, stepping over others, as she left the massive throng of her tribesmen.

Aleguu wasn't the only one who opted to wander around, however. There were several others who were foraging for anything edible. The nine-cycles-old girl passed by these saiyans as well. At the fringes of the temporary camp, she saw the hunters break off into groups and head out into the dry lands in search of food. They had only a few hours to hunt before they would have to return, with game or not, in order to avoid the hottest hours of the day. She observed which directions they headed – noting that Nappa was again among the hunters – and then picked a direction that they had omitted. And she set off.

Of course, Aleguu only got so far before company found her. Wordlessly, Bardock came up from behind her, as he had grown accustomed to doing over the past two fortnights. With him, he had a knife and a small digging tool. Aleguu was equipped with only her bone dagger. Turles, as always during these little excursions, was absent. Aleguu knew without asking that Bardock had entrusted the care of his little brother with one of the women of the Vegetus Clan, likely Kordata.

The duo had taken to searching for their own food over the past two fortnights. Driven by her hunger pains, Aleguu had begun to track down food sources to satisfy her belly. Soon after the girl had begun going out on her own, Bardock had discovered her little trysts. He had decided to accompany her in order to feed his bother. Aleguu agreed to let him join her even though she knew it would be more difficult to find enough food to feed three instead of just one. But Bardock had proven helpful; he was a skilled digger from his days as an apprentice miner in the salt flats of his home land.

With her uncanny knack for tracking and the mining skills he provided, they were able to find more food than if she had continued to go alone. They were often able to bring back enough edible substances – root vegetation or burrowing insects and lizards – to offer tidbits to some of the more malnourished children. Of course, Aleguu and Bardock never revealed how they were able to obtain extra morsels of food. To do so would draw too much attention and too much demand would be placed on their shoulders. So they pretended that they were giving away parts of their own rations, secretly slipping them to those who needed the extra calories most.

As they walked, Aleguu kept her eyes glued to the ground, ever watchful for any sign of wildlife, no matter how minute. Conversation was light, but not nonexistent, as the younger cub concentrated on her task. Every so often, she would grow silent, sometimes halting in mid-sentence, as something caught her eye. When this happened, Bardock would grow still and quiet as well while he waited for her verdict. He did so now as Aleguu suddenly paused, squatting down to closer inspect something of interest on the ground. The girl needn't tell him to be silent; the comprehension of their mannerisms had come naturally to them as their partnership had grown over the past two fortnights. He had learned how to read her body language, and she had learned to read his.

Emphasizing their understanding of each other was the growing bond between the two of them. As Aleguu inspected a strange, but subtle, marking on the ground, she reflected upon the connection she had begun to form with the eleven-cycles-old boy. It was not yet very strong, but it was definitely there; sometimes she could pick up on his mood or thoughts and vice versa. She likened this bond to the one she shared with Nappa, many of her cousins, and a few of her friends from the other family clans. Knowing that Bardock was forming this link with her brought her great joy. It meant that Bardock was finally allowing himself to be assimilated into her pack.

But sometimes Aleguu suspected that the growing bond went a little further than the pack bond she believed they were forming. Because the link they shared allowed them to work in tandem with one another, to function together as a single unit towards the same goal, she was led to believe that they just might be forming the bond of duty. She couldn't be certain if this was what was actually happening, however, since she had never before formed such a bond. But if the descriptions she had gotten from Nappa were accurate, then what she was experiencing with Bardock appeared to be nearly identical. She didn't think that there was anything wrong with forming this type of bond with her foraging companion; but it was certainly unusual to begin developing one at such an early age and her without having yet chosen a profession to pursue.

Speaking of which, it seemed that Bardock had picked up on her thoughts because, as he watched her follow the tracks in the ground, he asked, "I still do no see why you do not want to be a hunter. You are very skilled at tracking game."

Aleguu didn't immediately answer. She followed the tracks only a few feet before they ended, worn away by wind and rain and weather. They were old markings. Whatever had made them was likely long gone by now. So she allowed her concentration to wane and she rose to her feet and answered the boy's question.

"I told you already. My mother was a hunter. She died while on the hunt."

"That does not mean that you will die, too, if you become a hunter like she was."

The nine-cycles-old girl began walking again as she elaborated. "When I become a woman-grown, I want to have lots and lots of cubs. I know my maa would have had many more babies had she not died."

"That is acceptable, but you will still need to choose a profession. You have to contribute to your great-tribe-"

"Our great-tribe," she interrupted. "You are part of our great-tribe now, Bardock. Stop calling it mine."

The boy rolled his eyes. "Fine. Our great-tribe. As I was saying... you will have to contribute in some way other than producing more mouths to feed."

Aleguu was thoughtful for a few moments. Then she said, "I want to travel. I want to visit each of the different great-tribes."

"And do what? Do you want to be a warrior scout? A messenger, perhaps? Or do you want to be a tradeswoman?"

"Ehhhh... not any of those, really. Maybe something that is a little bit of all three. I want to be something like a peace-maker, but different. Alaria settles disputes between the family clans in our own great-tribe and sits on my faa's council. I want to go to the other great-tribes and form friendships with the other chieftains."

Bardock grinned. "I do not think that there is any profession or position that serves only that purpose."

"Then I will be the first!" she proclaimed.

"And when during your travels will you find time to have all those cubs you want? Do you think that you will be able to find a mate if you are moving around so much?"

Aleguu pouted. "If I cannot find a mate who will have me, then I will find cubs who are without parents and I will be their maa. They will travel with me."

The eleven-cycles-old boy chuckled. "I can only imagine that."

There was a pause in the conversation. Eventually, Aleguu broke the silence by asking, "What about you? You were learning to be a salt miner. What will you do now? Will you learn to be a warrior instead like your father and brothers?"

Bardock's mood immediately soured at the mention of his family. Aleguu felt him withdraw from her through that forming bond between them, and she began to regret having asked the question. But she squashed those feelings. He had pestered her about what she wanted to do when she grew up; she had the right to do the same back to him. Eventually, the spiky-haired boy answered her.

"I might have to. My father and brothers taught me a little about combat before they went off to battle. I do not know any other skill. I am almost a man grown; I should already be well into a profession. It is almost too late for me to start over."

"That is dumb. I am only two cycles younger than you are and I have not yet apprenticed any profession."

"That is not true. You have already proven that you are a talented tracker. That could be applied in many ways. You have also spent most of your childhood tending the crops of your tribe's lands. If nothing else, you could become a farmer."

"Yea, but I do not want to do that," she rebutted.

"But you could still fall back on that possibility if you never become a traveling representative of your great-tribe."

Aleguu grimaced at the thought, but was silent.

Bardock added, "And besides, you are the chieftain's daughter. I believe that you will most likely become an adviser to your brother."

The conversation came to another sudden halt when Aleguu's attention was drawn to a miniscule detail in the tall, dry grasses. Bardock watched her work, trying to decipher what it was she was seeing, but with no luck. She inspected the stalks of grass, handling them so gingerly that she was barely even touching them. She changed direction from where they had been heading and delved further into the brush. Then she knelt down, gently running her hands over the discrepancies of the caked earth. The girl pulled a few blades of grass from their stems and brought them to her nose. Finally, she rose to her feet, dusted off her hands and turned to face her companion.

"This is a game trail. Made by a large, mammalian animal. Perhaps two or more. Very recent. It leads towards that ridge over there." She pointed to a series of short hills whose peaks were crested abruptly by large boulders, obscuring their view of what lie beyond.

"Do you think it is something we can capture?" asked the boy.

Aleguu shook her head. "I am not sure exactly what animal passed through here. It is not a scent I know. I think with this one, we should contact a hunter."

"But they will know that we have been sneaking off every morning."

The voice of a preteen male interrupted their conversation. "Father already knows that you have been sneaking off."

Alarmed, Aleguu and Bardock spun around to face the intruder. Relief relaxed their faces when they discovered to whom the voice belonged. Aleguu cursed herself. She hadn't felt her brother's approach, not even through their kinship bond. She admitted, irritably, that he had become quite adept at hiding his thoughts and feelings from leaking to her through their link. Unfortunately, she had not become so skilled at hiding hers from him. Otherwise, he would not have likely been able to find her out here in the wilds.

The girl scowled. "Vegeta! What are you doing out here?"

The flame-haired boy closed the distance between himself and the foraging duo. "That is the question I should be asking you. Father has known that you two have been wandering off each day."

Aleguu's eyes widened. "He does?"

Vegeta nodded. "He has known for a few days now, but he has been too busy dealing with critical issues to afford time to figure out why you have been traipsing off every day."

"So he sent you," Bardock surmised.

"Yes," the twelve-cycles-old male replied, eyeing the slightly younger boy. "And I certainly hope that she is not out here because of your influence."

Aleguu stepped between the two boys. "I would be out here with or without him, Vegeta!"

The flame-haired boy locked eyes with his sister. He relented, "You are right. I know you too well to know that you most certainly would wander off on your own if such a thought fancied you. So... if you are the bad influence, then why have you dragged Bardock all the way out here with you?"

"She did not drag me out here," the spiky-haired boy protested. "I came out here to help her search for food."

"Yea! We go out every morning to look for food. Everyone else does, too."

"Everyone else stays close to camp," Vegeta admonished. "Only the hunters go out so far, and they go out in large groups. It is too dangerous for the two of you to attempt to hunt anything on your own."

"We do not usually hunt," corrected Bardock. "Aleguu searches for evidence of edible plants and small, burrowing animals. I help her dig them up."

"But look what we found!" the girl gestured towards the hilly embankment of rock and grass.

Vegeta followed where his sister indicated. "I do not see anything."

"Right there!" she insisted. "It is a game trail. Leading over that hill there."

The flame-haired boy, though he still couldn't see what the girl was pointing out, did not doubt her. If she was correct, and the nearly invisible trail did indeed lead to game, then she could have very well found a way to feed the great-tribe, at the very least for another day.

"Have you confirmed that there is something over there yet?" he asked.

Aleguu's expression fell a little bit. "No. Not yet."

Bardock added, "We felt that it was important to call upon a hunter before we followed the trail any further."

Vegeta thought a moment. "We should have a look first. No point in wasting the hunters' time or getting anyone's hopes up if the trail goes cold."

The younger two cubs nodded in agreement, deferring to the eldest one's recommendation. The boys followed the girl as she led them slowly along the trail. When they reached the nearest hill, they began a steady incline. The hill wasn't very large, but it was quite steep. The ground soon became very rocky; they had to weave between the large boulders as they made their way towards the hilltop. Twice, Aleguu lost the trail among the rocks, but was able to relocate it quickly.

The girl was the first to reach the top. When she did, she stopped in her tracks and stared in awe at the sight before her. When Bardock and Vegeta met up with her, they, too, marveled by what they saw. Down below them was a vast valley, lush in vegetation and filled with a large herd of ishelk. Though they had heard descriptions of the tamed beasts before – four-legged animals covered in soft, black fur with two pair of large, expansive antlers – there was no doubt that that was what they were seeing. Beyond the vegetation and herd, a pair of twin lakes stretched into the horizon. Their surfaces sparkled with pinpricks of reflected sunlight. And between these two lakes lay a small forest oasis, from which dozens of saiyans were coming and going. Wisps of smoke gently flowed from within the trees and into the sky, indicating several cooking fires were already going so early in the morning.

Relief washed over all three children all at once. They couldn't believe that by some miracle, they had stumbled upon their salvation. At long last, they had found the village of the Malpifyl Great-tribe.

Story Notes:
Maize – a.k.a. corn.
Oryza – from oryza sativa, or asian rice.
Zorgum – from sorghum, a grass species cultivated for its grain.
culpaiyis a' takar - to fight an accusation in a trial by combat. Derived from the spanish words culpar (to accuse, to blame) and atacar (to attack).
Moringas – from moringaceae, a family of flowering plants in tropical and subtropical climates that range in size from small plants to large trees.
Viola – from oxalis violacea, a plant native to North America, used as an herb with a sour taste.
Oxiladis – from oxalidaceae, a small plant family of herbaceous plants and trees.
Deppei – from deppei oxalis, a bulbous plant from Mexico, having a lemony flavor.
Linjo – from melinjo, a plant native to Indonesia and popular in Indonesian cuisine.
ishelk – from Irish elk, an extinct species of deer that was the largest of its kind and once resided across Europe and Asia.