"My name is Rodney…." The red headed one spoke up. "Rodney? That's a cool name!" Glitch spoke up. "Guess it is," Rodney spoke up, looking away. Glitch turned to the blonde. "What's your name?" he asked. The blonde turned to face Rodney, who gave her a empathetic look. She turned to face forward again. "Julia," she replied.
"Julia and Rodney…" Glitch said with a smile. Julia stopped and pushed through some thicket. A small cave entrance came into the clearing. There were a bunch of small footsteps heard, and then a small boy appeared at the opening. He must have been about five years old. He had curly brown hair and green eyes. "Mommy!" he yelled, running down the hill and hugging Julia. "Aiden, what did we tell you about just running out?" Julia asked, her face seeming oddly soft.
"Sorry mom… hi mommy!" he said, hugging Rodney. The group looked at each other confused as Rodney picked Aiden up and kissed his cheek. "Don't think what I think you are thinking. Because its not what you are thinking," Julia said with an agitated look. "I'm sorry but…who is his real mom?" Jeb spoke up for the first time since the encounter.
"We don't know. We rescued him from a burning village. He was the only survivor we could find. So we took him to live with us," Rodney said, smiling at Aiden. She disappeared into the cave with Aiden. Julia stood outside the cave, and ushered the others inside. Cain was the last one in, and he stopped to give Julia a suspicious stare. There was something wrong with this picture.
Julia returned his look, and then Cain stepped into the cave. It actually looked roomy. There was two caves leading to what Cain guessed to be bedrooms and there was a small campfire in the center with a rocking chair and a basket in the room they were sitting in. There were also rugs and child's toys scattered all over. "Aiden, sweetie, next time make sure you put all your toys in the basket, okay?" Rodney asked. "Okay mommy," Aiden said with a small smile.
"Where did you get all of this stuff from?" Jeb asked, turning to Rodney. "From the remains of all the villages we've been to," Rodney answered, sitting on the floor. Julia stood with her back to the stone wall, her arms folded. "Villages?" Cain asked, turning to face Rodney. "Yes," Rodney answered. Rodney looked up at Julia, who gave her a hesitant look. "What?" DG asked.
"So, why don't you tell us why you guys were in the abandoned village?" Julia cut in, still giving Rodney an awkward look. "We were told by the Queen that there was a settlement nearby that was destroyed. We were told to see if there were any survivors. The Queen often traded with…that…village," Cain said, looking around the cave.
"You seem nervous," Rodney said, giving him a questioning look. "We took care of the survivors. Tell your…Queen…" Julia paused to look at Rodney "That the people are safe,"
"Do you know what happened?" Azkadellia asked. "Long Coats and Baguns," Rodney spoke up. "What are Baguns?" Jeb asked. "Baguns are forest dwellers. They feed on the lives of children. Baguns don't bother Long Coats as long as they get the children of whatever village the Long Coats plan on destroying," Julia explained. "The Long Coats aren't children, so why would they negotiate with these Baguns?" DG asked.
"Just because they only feed on the lives of Children does not mean they won't kill anyone else," Julia continued. "Have you ever met the Baguns?" Glitch asked. "Yes, actually. Quite a few times…" Rodney said with a slight nod. A faint buzzing sound was heard as the group watched Aiden make one of his toy planes fly and then crash into one of his bad guy toys.
"So you saved him from the Baguns?" Jeb asked. "Rodney killed it, and I ran with the kid…" Julia said, smiling over at Aiden. "For a second there, I thought he was your child…" Cain said, turning to face the two girls. Julia and Rodney exchanged looks. "No…" Julia said, faintly. She looked up at Cain and reached in her pocket, and then pulled out his gun.
She looked at it for a moment, and then handed it out to him, looking away. He took it and slid it into its holster. "Thanks," he said, feeling confused. "Whatever. Come on Aiden, time for bed…" Julia said, walking over to him. The small boy took her hand as she led him down the one chamber. "Not a very people person is she?" DG asked, looking at Rodney.
"She's just really cautious around strangers that's all…" Rodney said, looking at the ground. "Why?" Azkadellia asked. Rodney gave Azkadellia a look. "It doesn't matter 'why'. Wouldn't you be cautious to find a bunch of strangers just wandering around the ruins of a burnt down village?" Rodney questioned. Azkadellia looked down at the ground. "My point exactly," Rodney said, rolling her eyes.
"What do you think of strangers?" Glitch asked. Rodney set her eyes on him. "I do admit, its nice to have someone new in the old cave. But, I do have to agree with Julia. Finding strangers in a burnt down village is odd…." Rodney said with a sigh. "We already told you why we were in the village," Cain said, staring Rodney down. "Several times if I'm not mistaken. I don't care what you were doing, its just weird that you were there within two hours of the attack…" Rodney said, not looking at Cain.