11 Conflict 2
Balan wildly wiped the tears off his face as he ran. His eyes were radiating with defiance. He might not be able to win this game, he thought. But that didn't mean he was going to make it easy on the scout.
When he reached the bottom of the valley, he slowed down and simply walked. Tristan shouted something from the top of the hill, but he stubbornly chose to ignore it. If the scout was going to force him to move faster, he would have to come down, Balan decided.
Moments later an arrow landed just behind his feet. He jumped. Refusing to look back towards the scout, he continued walking. A second arrow landed right beside his left boot. Balan was beginning to feel a little worried. Surely Tristan was not going to … ?
He wasn't entirely certain, though.
Muttering curses under his breath, he broke into a trot. An arrow whistling past his ear made it clear that Tristan didn't think he was moving fast enough. He increased his pace and started running.
When he reached the target, he turned around and looked at Tristan across the valley. Since the scout was never going to accept this arrow anyway, he took his time to catch his breath. He ducked when he saw Tristan grab his bow and seconds later two more arrows thudded into the target. Punishment for his dallying, he realized. He winced. How was he going to get out of this?
His eyes were drawn to a large oak tree, two hundred feet behind the target.
Tristan rolled his eyes. The boy was going to regret this.
Suddenly his frown deepened. Within seconds he had another arrow on his bow. The boy jumped when the arrow hit the ground beside his feet, but it did not have the desired effect. The boy kept running further away.
Tristan immediately lunged for his quiver and was about to run down the hill, when he noticed that the boy was slowing down. He stopped to see what would happen.
Suddenly he realized what the boy was up to.
As he expected, the boy disappeared behind the tree. Now safely out of reach of Tristan's arrows.
"Clever move," he thought. He licked his lips and paused for a moment to contemplate his next action.
Balan couldn't suppress a smile. If Tristan wanted to get to him now, the scout had no choice but to come over to the tree himself.
Tristan, on his side of the valley, realized the same thing. He did not like to admit defeat and he glared across the valley towards the huge oak tree. There was no other way for it though.
He put aside his pride and made his way down the hill.
Behind the tree, Balan was aware that his peace would be very short-lived. He peeked around the mighty trunk and saw that Tristan had left the hill top.
Now he was really going to get it, he knew that much. He also knew that he wasn't going to win this time, either. But at least he would have made clear to the scout that he wasn't going to obey like a dog.
Nervous about what was coming, he decided to enjoy his moment of freedom for as long as it lasted. He sat down and stared at the branches above him. Birds twittered happily, unaware of the woes of the young boy below their perch.
Sooner than he liked, he heard Tristan's footsteps approach through the grass behind the tree. Balan held his breath. Seconds later a shadow fell on him and Tristan's boots appeared beside his own.