Apocalypsis 02 - Warpaint

Trip. “I’ve been out-voted.”
    Kowi punched him lightly in the arm. “Don’t worry about it, man. I got your back now.”
    Trip tried not to smile, but I saw the corner of his mouth twitch. He reached over and punched Kowi back. “You’d better.”
    Kowi winced. “Oh, shit, that hurt.” He massaged his muscle.
    “Have you gone soft on me, dude, or what?”
    “Hell no. I went to the Nokosi school of krav … whatever the heck it is. I’m sore as shit.”
    “It’ll be worse tomorrow,” I said, trying not to smile.
    Trip lifted his chin at me once and said, “How do we get in on these lessons, anyway?”
    “Talk to my manager,” I said, sticking my thumb out at Peter.
    “Yeah. I meant to talk to you about that,” said Peter to Trip, completely forgetting his shyness in favor of organizing my life. “I’m going to need names and so on so I can get the schedule together. Who do I talk to about …”
    I missed the rest of it, walking away with Kowi, back towards the crowd on the other side of the tree. Trip stayed behind with Peter.
    “Good work, Nokosi. You solved a big problem for us today. Again.”
    I smiled shyly. “I didn’t do it for you guys. I did it for my friends.”
    “Whatever your motivations, thank you.” He put his hand on my shoulder and stared into my eyes.
    I saw golden flecks mixed into the brown of his irises. They reminded me of sparks that came out of a campfire. I was momentarily speechless, but my problem was solved by the agony of my toes being crushed beneath a moccasined foot.
    “Hello, Kowi. How did everything go?” asked Coli, giving him a beaming smile. It transformed her face, making her incredibly beautiful.
    Kowi’s hand slipped off my shoulder, and he stared at Coli for a second before answering. “Uh, it went well. You can let everyone know the tribes are together now.”
    She stood on tiptoes and kissed him right on the mouth before turning and making the announcement to a mostly jubilant crowd.
    Kowi smiled absently, watching her go. “I guess she doesn’t like me talking to you.”
    “I guess she doesn’t,” I said, smiling. “At least she’s not obvious about it.”
    He looked at me and we both started laughing, the uncomfortable feeling between us evaporating. When Coli looked back at us, Kowi winked at her, making her smile ramp up to level ten in a split second.
    I’m pretty sure he had been as stunned by his girl’s beauty as I was; apparently she was never without that scowl, even around him. Now we both knew - next to her, when she was smiling, I was about as pretty as tree bark. I had a feeling I wouldn’t have to worry about fighting off his advances at least, regardless of my boyfriend-less situation.
    ***
    Now that the voting was over, the hard work had to be done. Everyone was sitting again, waiting to hear what the tribes’ next steps would be.
    “So, we’ve voted. We’re going to get our tribes together and start working on combining forces. That means food, clothing, maybe shelter, I don’t know …” Kowi looked over at Trip and received a shrug in return.
    “Trip and I discussed it and we think you guys should get together, those of you doing the same kind of work, and talk about how you could work as mixed teams. You guys are better at knowing how this stuff could work for you than we are. Come see me or Trip if you have questions or disagreements on how it should be done.”
    I leaned over and whispered to Peter. “Seems like it could work, right?”
    “Maybe. If everyone cooperates.” He looked meaningfully over at a couple Creeks who were sitting with their arms folded, definitely looking defensive with their posture.
    “Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise,” I murmured.
    “I warned Trip,” said Peter softly.
    “Oh yeah? What’d you say?”
    “I told him he’d have to monitor the groups or he’d have little rebellions going on all over the place.”
    “What’d he say?”
    “He said he didn’t need me to tell him how to manage his people.”
    “He’s an idiot.”
    “Agreed. But I like the fact that he seems to be allergic to shirts.”
    “Holy wowza, I know, right?” I admired Trip’s totally solid form from across the hut.
    Peter gave me the cutest smile ever in response.
    I put my arm around him and squeezed. “That’s the bright side of Trip’s personality, for sure.” I thought about it for a second and added, “I’m glad he’s not gay. I don’t think I could handle you dating a mean guy