Apocalypsis 01 - Kahayatle

What’s up?”
    “Well, I hear we have a meal to put on tonight.”
    “Yeah.   Sorry about the short notice.”
    He smiled.   “Not a problem.   We started preparing last night as soon as you guys got back.   Sounds like you made quite an impression over there.”
    I noticed Coli didn’t look quite as cranky as usual today for some reason.   I wondered if it had anything to do with our activities of last night or whether it was Kowi’s reaction to it.   She was almost pretty when she wasn’t scowling.   It was probably best not to comment on it, though, or it would probably disappear like a puff of smoke.  
    “Yeah, I guess you could say that.   I’m not so sure Trip appreciated it when he woke up.”
    “Trip will be fine,” said Coli, a slight smile on her face.   “He needed to be taken down a peg or two, anyway.”
    “I doubt he’ll agree with that,” I said.
    “Don’t worry about him.   He’s a good sport, deep down,” said Kowi.
    “Very deep,” clarified Coli.
    “Good,” I said, “because I’m not interested in fighting him again.   Once was enough for me.”
    “Yeah, he’s tough.   He’s gotten the best of every single one of us at one time or another.   That’s part of the problem we’ve had, which is what I came to talk to you about,” said Kowi.
    “Okaaaay … why don’t we all have a seat?”   I gestured to the living room part of our quarters rather than the area with the mattresses.
    Bodo and Peter came out of the other room and grabbed their food off the shelves, joining us to sit in a circle on the floor.
    I reached over and snagged my share of food, pulling it into pieces with my fingers and putting it in my mouth while Kowi talked.   Buster begged for his share and Peter made sure he got it.
    “When our parents, grandparents, and little sisters and brothers died, we were all living together - us, the Creek and the few Hitchitis and Oconees that are still around.   The whole Seminole Nation just kind of crumbled into its original pieces, but we were still kind of together.   After a few months, though, we had some disagreements about who was going to be in charge and how we were going to do things - plus who was going to have access to certain hunting grounds.   So eventually we split into two groups: the Miccosukee who absorbed most of the Hitchitis, and the Creek who took the Oconees.   Trip took the role of chief over there, since he’s the strongest and has the most aggressive personality.   I took the role here.”
    “Kowi was voted on by us.   He didn’t take the role by force like Trip did,” said Coli.
    Kowi continued as if she hadn’t spoken.   “Trip and I were friends in high school.   We hung out and played sports together.   He’s changed since then, yeah … we all have.   But deep down he’s a good guy.   He always played fair on the field, and I think he’ll play fair with us now.”
    “He fought kindt of dirty last night,” said Bodo.
    “No, I don’t consider what he did dirty,” I said.   “It was an anything-goes fight.   We both knew that.”
    “Yeah, but you didn’t bring any weapons.   He did,” said Peter.
    Coli blew a snort of air out.   “She is a weapon.”
    I nodded at the unexpected words of respect coming from the person I had considered the least likely to ever give any.  
    She sniffed and looked away.
    “It doesn’t matter now,” said Kowi.   “It’s over, and everyone knows you won.   You hold all the cards here, so I just wanted to let you know what I think and what I’d like to see happen.”
    I held up my hand, shaking my head.   “Save it.   We’ll all talk about at the meeting.”
    “But don’t you want to hear what he has to say now?” asked Peter.
    “Yes.   But I don’t want what he thinks to taint my opinions over in his favor.   I want this to be fair for everyone, not just the Miccosukee.   If the Creek think I’m playing favorites, they’re going to get bitter.   And you guys can’t afford to have bitter comrades watching your backs.”
    Kowi nodded once and stood.   “Fair enough.   We’ll see you at the ceremonial hut around four, then.”
    Coli followed him out, looking back once at me and hesitating as if she were going to say something, but then leaving quietly a second later.  
    “I’d like to go take a shower,” said Peter, “but no way in heck am I going alone this time.”
    “I’ll go with you,” I said.   “I have to wash the