Apocalypsis 02 - Warpaint

were beyond that.”
    Kowi cuffed him in the shoulder. “He’s just pissed you kicked his ass in front of everyone.”
    Trip scowled at him but said nothing.
    “Don’t let it bother you,” I said with a totally straight face. “No one’s managed to beat me since I was twelve. You have a lot of company.”
    Trip smiled in spite of himself. “Seriously?”
    “Yeah. Seriously.”
    “How long have you been doing this? The fighting stuff?” asked Kowi.
    “Since I was three.”
    “No way.”
    “Yeah way. My dad was an instructor. He was kind of obsessed with it, especially after my mom left.”
    Trip nodded, saying nothing.
    I decided a change of subject was in order. “You guys ready to start? And what exactly are we doing here, anyway? I’m kind of clueless, actually.”
    Kowi waved around to everyone, motioning for them to sit. “You ready, Trip?”
    Trip nodded, scanning the crowd.
    Kowi looked at me. “Just stay here. It’ll be easier to just explain as we go, if that’s okay with you.”
    “Sure.” What am I going to say? No? Sorry, Chief, but it’s my way or the highway? I tried not to be frustrated with my place on the totem pole, which was much lower than I cared for. It made me feel out of control of my life and therefore, my safety, so it put my nerves a little on edge.
    “Thanks for coming,” said Kowi to the group. “Trip and I have agreed to get all of us together to discuss uniting the tribes into one nation.”
    “I agreed to this in principle only,” clarified Trip. “I know we’re stronger as one. But we still need to figure out who’s in charge and how it will work with sharing hunting grounds and other stuff. If I’m not happy with it, I won’t agree.”
    “I thought we already talked about a combined ruling council,” said Coli from the perimeter, her voice clearly expressing how annoyed she was with Trip.
    “We did,” said Kowi, “and as far as we’re concerned, it’s still the option we agree to go with.”
    “I’m fine with it, too. But we need the person to act as the tie breaker for decisions that are stuck, and we need to figure out the specifics of who does and gets what.”
    “Let’s figure out one thing at a time,” said Kowi. “First, the issue of tiebreaker. We nominate Bryn.” He looked at me as if waiting for me to say something.
    “Uh. Are you sure?” I asked. I actually thought Peter would be a better choice than me. Or even Bodo. They were less emotional than I am and always seemed to be talking sense when I was going off, following my first instinct. “Why not Peter? I think he’d make more sense.”
    “You’re welcome to consult with him, but I prefer you,” said Kowi.
    I looked over at Peter and he just shrugged his shoulders.
    “I agree to this,” said Trip, “but only if she has plans to stay here for a long time. There’s no use giving her that kind of power if she’s just going to be here for a little while and leave.” He was staring at me intently, a challenge in his eyes.
    Trip was really putting me on the spot. I looked over at Peter and he nodded his head, encouraging me to accept. But I wasn’t sure what to say. Can I promise I’ll never want to leave? Do I even know what it would mean to actually live here? So far it had been more like a camping trip than a lifestyle.
    Kowi must have sensed my reticence because he chimed in with, “I don’t agree that she needs to commit to the tribes forever. I think it would be good to get some sort of commitment from her, though.” Kowi looked at me and then Trip. “Would you agree to six months at least?”
    Trip shook his head. “No. But one year? Yeah.”
    So it’s a one-year commitment or I can see my ass out of the swamp. I looked over at Peter again and his eyes were begging me. Bodo wasn’t there, but I had to assume he’d want to stay, too. He was always talking about doodling on the house to make it nicer; I was going to take that to mean he wanted to make it more homey - as in a place he’d want to put down roots. Buster licked my ankle, which felt a lot like moral support, and that’s the final sign I needed to agree.
    “Fine. I can commit to a year. I guess we’ll look at this again when we get to that point and decide what works for us then.”
    Kowi nodded his head.
    Trip just stared at me as if he were trying to read my mind.
    It made me uncomfortable, but I stared back without flinching or glancing away. Obvious and purposeful strength was