Dragon Exiles: Part Four

Written by: Caesara

Karla shifted to a lighter branch, not even bothering to see if it was thick enough to support her weight. Of course, that was a bad idea. The branch, once again, cracked under her. This caused her to fall from the tree with a loud thump, as the branch she had been sitting on fell on her head. Again. Scowling, Karla groaned and rubbed where the branch had hit her. Twice in one day, what a record. At least no one was around to see her be hit; it was embarassing enough to have to experience it.

Hearing a clatter, the boy turned about, prepared to flee if an enemy drew near. You never knew what sort were walking the forests these days... robbers and bandits, likely as not!

His eyes were quite stunned to find not a vicious villain prepared to strike, but a girl of about his age beneath a tree... with a branch on her head?

"D'you need some help?" he offered after a moment of uneasy silence.

Realizing that she wasn't alone any longer, Karla looked up to see a boy underneath another tree. She blushed quickly, having come to another realization: he had seen the branch fall on her head. Karla mumbled a "no thanks" and pushed the branch off of her. Her head still hurt, though. Karla grabbed the pack, wondering if Nonel had put anything numbing in her provisions. After a moment of searching, she sighed. He hadn't. She'd have to live out her headache.

Shanie blinked at the girl in confusion. He knew something had to hurt - after all, branches weren't exactly meant to be applied to the head after a fall - but the girl seemed uneasy to talk about it...a fact which completely slipped past his mental barriers. The boy continued to peer at the girl as though examining her.

"Wha'cha mean? Surely that hurt, taking a branch to the brain. I say, I would want a touch of help, were I you," he commented sagely, speaking as though he was quite wise in the ways of being hit on the head with branches. The expression of "oh yes, I get that all the time," was clearly etched across his face, though there was a layer of doubt hidden beneath it. He didn't know this girl...for all he knew, she could be the bait of the robbers and bandits that were supposed to be around here!

Karla scowled at him. "I said I didn't want any help. Are you deaf or something? Of course it hurt! For your information I have a headache now, seeing as that was the second time that's happened today."

Karla rolled her eyes and closed her pack while setting it back down. Never again would she attempt to sit in a maple tree - especially one that young. Glancing at the boy, Karla began to wonder exactly where he was from and what he was doing here. Was he an exile, like her, or just some dope wandering around, lost?

Shawnie blanched at the harsh glare and coughed to hide his reaction to her words.

"Twice?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "You've been out here an awful long time today then, if you've been hit twice. Takes either talent or time, and I don't suppose y'spend a lot of your time being hit with trees to gain talent, so you must have been here a while. What're you doing out here?"

Karla snorted. "Yes, twice, smart alec." She sniffed, scowling again. "I got hit by one earlier this morning, if you must know." Karla completely ignored his sarcasm, not really caring what he thought of her. "You don't need to know why I'm out here, and it's not as if you care, anyway."

Slightly irritated that this girl was rebuking all of his efforts to help, Shawnie came about as close to a smart retort as he could. "Yeah, well, maybe I don't. I've better business to do than talk to someone stupid enough to get hit on the head twice!" he replied, biting his words off as he spoke them to give them a bit of a harsh tone.

Karla raised an eyebrow at him. "You really excel at insults, now don't you? You must practice for hours on end to achieve that much sarcasm and skill." She toned her voice with as much dripping snideness as she could get into it. This guy must have come from a place where people were actually nice all the time to be so bad at retorts.

Shawnie gave her a blank look, as though he didn't quite understand what she was talking about. Couldn't he take a hint?

"No, actually, it just comes naturally," he admitted, proud that she thought he had taken time to practice his skill at deceit and anger. In his homeland, only those with guile and strength could get to the top, so most were raised without the added benefit of having much arguing skill.

Karla snickered, then burst out laughing. He really didn't get it! Oh, this was amusing. She almost doubled over in laughter, which was hard to do in her current sitting position. Karla hadn't seen a guy lacking in this much sense for quite a while.

Shawnie sent a glare in the girl's direction. If it was possible to scowl daggers at someone, this boy was coming rather close. Of course, most bandits would already be throwing the daggers, but he was above the ones he feared. Glaring would suit for the moment.

"What in the name of all you hold holy, are you laughing at?" he asked in exasperation.

After a moment, Karla managed to calm her laughter to short spells of occasional giggles. "If you haven't figured it out already, you! It really is entertaining watching your pitiful attempts at sarcasm."

The boy's ears burned in embarrassment. Being sent from home had been bad enough, but now this? Couldn't one even get peace of mind out in the relaxing woods?

"Me? Pitiful? Why, you must be toying with me! You just complimented my skills but a moment ago, so I shall humble you and say that your retrot wasn't too shabby, though work would help," he instructed, thinking he had shamed her and insulted her pride...though where the laughing tied in he would never know.

His words set Karla off yet again. This boy really didn't get it. "Yes, you, pitiful! You think you're honestly being sarcastic and I'm really honestly complimenting you, but I just insulted you about five times and you didn't notice. Do you even have the slightest sense of sarcasm?" Karla burst into another fit of giggles.

"As a matter of fact, I do!" he added in his best attempt at sarcasm. If she heard his attempt at making the words drip with irony, he would be proven right, and if she didn't, the words by themselves would be enough to suffice.

Karla giggled, "You really just don't get it. Your naiveté amuses me. Reality check! You aren't being sarcastic, you're being stupid." Karla picked up an acorn from the ground and threw it at his forehead. Maybe it would knock some sense into him.

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