No POV

After making their way through the cave and closing the path behind them the horses broke into a gallop and they rushed towards the tribe. While they were getting closer and closer to the area Stevie Rae's curiosity on the said tribe was coming back. It seemed that this tribe is important to Rephiam and Amaro. Was it their tribe before they became Ravens? She was trying to be nice and not ask questions about it, but seeing as she is going to be forced to stay with them she saw that she has the right to know, and she will tell them that if they refuse to answer her question. First she had to word the question in her head. Many different ways to word it popped up in her head but none of them sounded right. She then just decided to pick the one that sounded okay. "So is the tribe we going to Rephiam and Amaro's tribe?"

She expected Hothlepoya or Chogan to answer, since they usually answer her questions, but she was surprised when Amaro spoke up. "In a way, our mother used to live in the tribe so I suppose that it is ours. We both did not stay long in it though. Our father pulled us out the moment we were able to ride a horse and for Indians it is a long time. We were raised on the back of horses, everything we do we have to rely on horses to help us. He took us out and dropped us in the middle of nowhere, of course not at the same time, but with a span of a year we went through the initiation and after that we could never return home, not with Kalona leading us."

"After he left," Rephiam picked up, "and I took command I decided to go back and try to reconnect with our family, especially with our mother." Stevie Rae saw both Rephiam and Amaro's hands tighten into fists. "But that bustard killed her. He rushed out before us and butchered her to pieces. By the time we got there the others were so mad at us that they pushed us out, refusing to believe that we had nothing to do with the death of our mother."

Stevie Rae couldn't believe her ears. Their father killed their mother, and for what reason? For what she understands he left them, it wasn't that Rephiam kicked his own father out. It made her wonder about the stability of their old tribe. "What makes you think that they'd allow me to stay?"

"We are going to have to convince them we had no part in it." Rephiam answered.

"Other than that," Amaro said, "we have no idea if they will even allow us to get close to the village. If anything they might fight us off, just like in Raymer."

Stevie Rae sighed heavily and she heard Rephiam sigh as well. "All we can do is hope that they would listen to me, the first son of the shaman's only daughter."

The small Indian village was in sight not an hour later. There was a problem though and Rephiam could see it off in the horizon. Out of sight from the village they stood behind the hill on the low land that lay behind it. Rephiam stopped his horse and the others stopped around him, confused on why he just stopped. Stevie Rae behind him asked him something but he wasn't paying attention. He turned his horse towards the shapes and moved his horse closer. Hoping that it wasn't actually them he edged the horse closer and he could see that they copied his movements. Then the worse was confirmed. "Kain." He nearly growled out. As if he heard them he and his little band of followers rushed forward and stopped just before them. It was just a band of outlaws, the typically robbers. It was their leader that made them different. He pulled out his black horse, head low so his hat covered his eyes.

"Hello son." His head went up and Rephiam's anger boiled.

"Father." Rephiam said through clinched teeth. "Why are you here?"

Kain, or Kalona as he was once called, smirked at his son. "Isn't it obvious? I had a little help. Thanks Wylie. You were a big help with Zeina and all."

Rephiam looked behind towards Wylie. The kid shook his head. "No. I… It started like that but I-I don't want that wrong. I'm sorry Rephiam."

Rephiam looked back at Kalona with a small smile on his face. "Thanks Wylie, you saved us months of looking for him. Now what do you want father?"

Kalona chuckled and smiled back at his first son. "I want you in your place Rephiam. I want my tribe back."

"You can't have it back!" Reid yelled. "You killed your raven, you left us!"

Kalona scoffed. "I started the tribe; it is mines and always will be mine." He looked back at Rephiam. "Now, renounce your leadership and I'll take command again."

"You will never have this tribe father."

"Fine. Then let's do this the hard way." Kalona smiled and his eyes dashed to Stevie Rae. She gasped softly and Rephiam reacted.

"Distract him! I am dropping her off!" Rephiam kicked his horse and Shadow neighed as he galloped towards the village.

Kalona growled and kicked his horse but was stopped when Amaro jumped in his path. "Hello father."

While Shadow's Wing galloped the sounds of guns and yells sounded behind them. Shadow jumped over the hill and before they disappeared behind the hill Stevie Rae looked back and saw a glimpse of the battle. Before Rephiam the village came into view and he kicked his horse again, urging him to go faster. "Rephiam!" Stevie Rae screamed. He ignored her and rushed into the tribe stopping before his grandfather's tent. Rephiam started to talk in Cherokee and she couldn't understand a word. An old shaman walked out of the tent and started to angrily talk back, again in Cherokee. The conversation roar on, both their voices getting louder. Stevie Rae could tell the beginning of the conversation was on Rephiam and Amaro's mother and the fight that was going on since Rephiam kept on pointing to the hill they had just gone over. Then at some point during the heated argument it went on to her and the argument seemed to have died down. The conversation softened and became less rushed and more pleading from Rephiam. After a brief moment of silence the shaman nodded his head once and Rephiam turned towards Stevie Rae.

"Get off."

"No!" She screamed at him. "I'm not leaving you!"

"Get off." Rephiam repeated again this time much angrier.

"No!" She repeated and without warning he pushed her off the horse and she fell onto the floor. She groaned as she sat up. A pair of wrinkled hands took her shoulders. Rephiam repeated something else in Cherokee. She recuperated quickly. "Rephiam don't leave me!" She pleaded.

"You are going to stay here with them. He will find you an escort back to Boulder and you are going to stay there, you are not going to run away again. Do not try and find the Black Ravens or myself and just stay where you belong."

"No Rephiam! Please don't! You sound as if you're not coming back at all." He turned his horse away and started leading his horse out. "He's not coming back alive." She whispered in realization. "No! Rephiam!" His horse broke out into a gallop and within moments he disappeared out of her sights. "NO! Rephiam!" She tried running after him but the shaman held her back and muttered things in Cherokee.

Shadow's Wing jumped over the hill again and Rephiam readied his bow and arrow. He shot it at an outlaw who has his gun pointed at Wylie. He let the arrow fly and it hit the outlaw in the head. Wylie stood and Rephiam glared down at the boy. "Rephiam, Hotah, he betrayed us."

"Like you did?" Rephiam challenged.

"I'm on your side!" Wylie yelled. "Hotah moved onto his side!" He jabbed a finger towards Kalona who was still battling Amaro. "He said that it was time he followed a better leader, the true leader."

Rephiam scoffed and got off the horse. He took off his arrows from his horse's back and slapped its hindquarters sending the horse a safe distance away from the fight. He then looked at Wylie. Without another word he moved towards his father. "Amaro!" He yelled out. "Move away! He is mine." Amaro launched his last arrow before switching off with Rephiam. "Hold it Amaro." Rephiam said as his brother passed by. He handed him his bow and arrows and patted Amaro's shoulder a few times. Amaro sighed and nodded before rushing off into battle again. "Father!"

"Well look here." Kalona said as he threw his gun away. "Looks like you want to do this differently."

"It ends now. You have ruined too many lives to ever continue breathing again."

"Is that a threat?" Kalona laughed out. "Tell me Rephiam, were you planning on killing me before or did you change your mind because I saw your little girl behind you?" Rephiam remained silent. "Oh? No answer? Tell me son, which one is it?"

Rephiam softly scoffed. "A bit of both. I was planning on killing you before but now I have an even greater reason why because you saw her."

Kalona laughed. "This is the great leader of the Black Ravens? A man, no a boy, who falls in love with a girl?" He scoffed and pulled a sword from one of his dead followers and throws it towards his son. Rephiam catches the blade and looks back at his father who pulls out his sword from his side. "I did teach you how to fight with a sword correct?"

"Correct. You only taught me."

"Then en garde." The two launched at each other and blocked each other's attacks. Rephiam found his reactions to be late from years with no practice. He repeatedly either got scratched by the blade or in fact stabbed. Compared to his performance with his father he saw no chance to succeed. Maybe inflict irreversible damage, maybe. The clinking of the blades started to sound like music, like deadly music, like the kind they play before a person is hanged. Rephiam was glad that he fought against his selfish pleads to allow Stevie Rae to stay with him; he doesn't want her to see him lose. Rephiam grunted as he shoved the sword into Kalona's right leg. His father screamed and his leg bent down. Rephiam thought that maybe he'd have a chance now but then a pain came from his lower torso. Upon looking down he saw the sword's blade into his side. Kalona pulled it out, slowly, causing the most pain he can inflict onto his son. Rephiam crumpled down on the floor before his father; he clutched his side and glared at his father. Kalona chuckled evilly and stood. "My son, my first son." He chuckled some more. "My weak, pathetic son. Now look what I have to do now." He raised the sword up and pointed the blade towards Rephiam's heart. "Goodbye my son."

Meanwhile Stevie Rae had managed to break free from the shaman. She ran out as fast as she could towards the hill. She would not accept the fact that Rephiam will die. She can't. She knows that if anything she can be the chance Rephiam has to survive. She came over the hill and looked back. The shaman was nowhere in sight and it seemed like no one was following her. Either no one cared about a girl that was traveling with the Black Ravens, or the battle is just over the hill and no one wants to risk being near it or a combination of both. Stevie Rae shrugged it off and dropped to the ground. She then crawled to the top and stared at the sight below her. There were so many dead bodies. She realized that most of the enemy's men were dead, all except Kalona and one other. The sound of a gunshot was heard and the last of Kalona's followers fell to the ground. Stevie Rae looked over to Rephiam who stabbed his father in the leg. Stevie Rae smiled at the possible but it soon turned into a gasped look when his father's sword was shoved deep into Rephiam. She thought about the knife Rephiam had given her. She shook her head quickly. She would never be able to get close enough to do anything with it and if she threw it she could well miss and hit Rephiam instead. She reacted then and she ran down the hill and went to the nearest dead body. Grabbing a gun off the body she opened the gun and saw only one bullet left. She didn't know why the others weren't reacting the same way. She closed the gun and rushed forward. When she got near she heard Kalona say 'Goodbye by son'. Stevie Rae aimed nervously and fired. The shot echoed in her ears and she dropped the gun. She thought the worse. She accidentally hit Rephiam, she killed him. She looked over and to her amazement Kalona fell to the ground, clutching his stomach. Rephiam stood and pointed his sword straight down at Kalona's throat. She went closer but was stopped by Rephiam's growls. "You are dead Kalona. You will not torture anyone else."

"Come on Rephiam. You don't expect me to believe that you haven't done anything wrong." Kalona sneered.

"I admit I have done wrong, but there is nothing I regret."

"There is something. I see it in your eyes."

"Yes there is." Rephiam said after a short while. "Being your son." He was about to kill him when Amaro came in.

"Stop Rephiam!" Amaro caught his brother's arm and held it. "Do not kill him. True he deserves death but there is a greater punishment and you know it." Both brothers were breathing deeply and were even shaking from the tension. "Besides, you do not want to kill him before Stevie Rae."

Rephiam looked over to her. He looked at her scared, shocked and utterly mortified facial expression. He sighed shakily and looked down at his father. "Tie him up." He said after a moment. "Tie him up to Hotah. They will both be severely punished." The others quickly reacted and tied the two up. Stevie Rae didn't quite understand why Hotah was being tied up. Was it for nearly raping her? Rephiam had punished him already for that. Rephiam grabbed Kalona's sword before he was tied and dropped both swords away from him. He went over to Stevie Rae, still clutching his side. "I told you to stay with the shaman." He said when he reached her.

Stevie Rae shook her head and felt tears coming to her eyes. "I couldn't let you die." He was about to say something, most likely scold her but he was cut off when she wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him, the tears unrolling on his shoulder. He sighed and he too wrapped his arms around her. After a few silent moments of holding each other Rephiam pulled away and started walking over to his tribe. Stevie Rae followed and on their way to Chogan they passed by the two, tied up betrayers of the Black Raven tribe.

"Chogan." Rephiam called when he reached him. The others were around Chogan and two bodies, the ravens dotting the ground around them Stevie Rae gasped softly at the sight of the two. "Chogan are they…?"

Chogan sighed sadly and looked over the mangled bodies of Hothlepoya and Wylie. "Yes. They have left this earth and passed on."

Stevie Rae sobbed and went beside Chogan and kneeled before him. "I'm sorry for the loss of your son."

"He had betrayed us, at first." Chogan said softly. "And despite the short we had, he will have been my son." Tears fell from the healer's eyes and Stevie Rae placed a hand on his arm.

Rephiam closed his eyes and listened as Chogan and Stevie Rae cried. Soon new sounds came in and Rephiam reopened his eyes to see Reid sobbing. Hothlepoya was his best friend and Wylie and he had become close as well. Rephiam looked over to Amaro who held his head high and did not look shaken at first but upon looking closely Rephiam saw shakes pass through the body of his brother. He sighed and spoke softly. "Let us remember these two. The greatest hunter we will ever see and the youngling who had his life taken early. Keep them in spirit and in mind as we live our lives. Live for them."

"Live for them." The remaining Black Ravens muttered. Even Hotah, who had considered himself no longer a Raven, muttered those words.

Within the next hour the bodies of the outlaws were collected and piled up, removed of their weapons and were burned. Their horses were stripped from their gear and were set free. Chogan patched up the wounds first. Reid got hit with a few bullets, as did Amaro. He cleaned out all the wounds and bandaged them up, Stevie Rae helped as well. For the dead Ravens their horses and birds were set free as well as the traitors. The traitors' animals left immediately while the others stayed a bit longer. The first one to go was Zacard, the horse who did not fully bond with his master. The other three stayed for the burial of Hothlepoya. "Rephiam, is it alright to take Wylie home to be buried there?" Chogan had asked.

"Yes." Rephiam replied. "Chogan, if you ever want to come back with us, you know where to go." Rephiam added. Chogan nodded his head once and the two took each other's forearms.

"Thank you Rephiam."

"So long brother."

Chogan took off after the burial, Wylie's dead body spread across his horse's back and Wylie's bird following close behind Chogan's bird. The remaining stayed behind just a bit longer. Stevie Rae had questions like where did the animals go after they were freed? She guessed they went back to The Valley. What if they were captured? She also guessed that they would be killed or tamed by their captors to serve them. She stayed quiet though, seeing as the solemn air around them affected the four. "What now?" Reid asked.

They looked towards Rephiam who stood and walked over to his horse. "We take those two away and then we drop of Stevie Rae in Boulder." She was going to retaliate, say she didn't want to go back just yet but once again, she didn't want to bother. They rode on nonstop towards Raymer and dropped the two off and ran before the towns' folk saw them. Within the next moments the two traitors were hanged next to Takoda. The next stop was Boulder which they ran straight towards there. They didn't stop for anything. Night fell and it was deep into the night when they finally reached the outskirts of Boulder. The others stayed behind while Rephiam took Stevie Rae closer to the town. Rephiam took the horse and stopped just half a mile to the town. Rephiam got off and helped Stevie Rae get down. His hands lingered on her waist much longer than he had intended. "Here you are." He said softly.

She looked down and closed her eyes. "I don't want to leave you." She admitted. She looked back up at him.

"You have to. Trust me. You do not want to spend your life with me."

"What if I do? What if I don't care what happens to me?"

"But I care Stevie Rae." His hand went back and grasped the back of her neck softly, right where her jaw and neck meets. "I do not want you to throw your life away. I cannot offer you anything you would want."

"I don't want anything big and fancy Rephiam. All I want is you." The two looked into each other's eyes, the longing they experience towards each other not at one bit masked. "I love you."

"I know."

"And you love me."

"I do."

"Then, let me go. Let me stay with you."

"I… I cannot."

"Rephiam…"

"I am sorry Stevie Rae. But I love you too much to hand you this life." He leaned in, closed his eyes, and softly pressed his lips against hers. She closed her eyes and kissed him back, her arms snaking around his neck. They kissed softly, slowly and passionately like this kiss was to last them a lifetime. It felt like a lifetime. Their kiss, but all too soon they broke apart and muttering one last apology Rephiam got on his horse and left behind the only thing he really loved. Stevie Rae stood brokenly as she watched him disappear into the night all too quickly. She felt her knees wobble but she refused to fall. Gathering the strength she had left she walked through the almost unfamiliar town towards home.