The Yanabruh

[Quio]

The trade went smoothly and before he knew it they had nine children-- he counted them carefully. The two littler kids still seemed really scared, despite the adults all having left. "What's the matter?" he asked them, but they only stared at him, clearly frightened, and shook their heads. "Just-- just stay by me," he said doubtfully, but if anything they seemed more scared when he went next to them. Quiome pulled up short.

Vluharqih he somewhat selfishly wanted to keep free to help lead the group, now that he saw how the bossy girl had failed as their leader. Plus, Vlu's suggestions of scouting were brilliant. So instead he turned to Vahvah, who was only a little bit bigger than the two scared kids, but who seemed nice enough. "Um, Vahvah?" he asked, and the girl looked over at him, somewhat eagerly. Behind her, the bossy one crossed her arms and listened in and pouted. "Will you stay with these two? Try to make them feel better?"

"Um, sure," she said, blushing momentarily pink with excitement at having been given a job, and Quiome left her to it. He thought she would do her part well.

Vluharqih he decided to stay next to, though he noticed that the bossy girl kept following him --or maybe it was Vlu she was following-- and sulking just in earshot. He tried not to let it bother him, but he didn't want the group to start fighting because of her. What if she decided to become a problem?

But it hadn't happened yet, so he just shrugged and looked to Vluharqih. "I think the scouting idea was very smart," he said, "And we already have someone to look for." He indicated the three newest members, the ones they had saved, who were also the ones who had volunteered as scouts. They were getting ready to leave.

"Wait a moment," Quiome asked, and they looked up at him, seeming pretty willing to do whatever he and Vluharqih said. "There's three of you. So one of you lost a partner, right? Who was it?"

"Actually two of us did," one of the others said in a sheepish voice, a quiet, willowy-looking older girl. She hugged her long arms close to her. "I did, and Ekaboh," she said, and poked a finger at another of the three, this one a boy who seemed to have a permanent bluish tinge, deep in his chest. He stepped up. "Yeah," he said. "I lost my partner too, a girl named Ziobri."

"Don't worry, we'll find them," Quiome rushed to assure the two.

"But," he asked after a moment of thought, "If neither of you are partners," he said, pointing between the two, "Then what about you? That means you must be missing your partner too?"

The last of the three children, a girl with hair that flowed like water around her head, said quietly, "I didn't lose my partner. My partner was taken."

"Taken?" Quiome asked, his heartstone sinking.

She nodded her head. "We were split up right away. She didn't want to play the game right. She didn't want to play with me, she wanted to find her friend instead." This she spoke with a tinge of anger. "And so she went off by herself, but of course I followed her-- even if she didn't want to be my partner I was still hers. I had to make sure she was okay. But before I could figure out what to do with her, she got caught. So I sneaked and I followed them back to where the adults had their base. I couldn't hear what the adults were saying, but I could tell she was talking to them. And then," she took a deep breath, and Quiome could not tell if she was angry or just upset, "She gave up!"

"What!" the bossy girl burst out from behind them.

"Yes, she gave up! They took her and she went and sat by the city wall and didn't try to get away or anything. So I ran away after that. Then, later, when we three got together and then got caught," she said, indicating the other two with her, "I asked the grownups about her and they said she had lost the game." She shook her head. "So I guess we'll just have to win with only nineteen of the twenty."

"Is that even possible?" Quiome asked, at a loss, but the girl just shook her head again.

"I don't know. I-I'm sorry."

"Hey," he said. "It wasn't your fault."

"I-I know," the girl said. "It was her fault. B-But I still wish I could've done something!"

"Just do what you can now," Quiome told her. He turned towards the others.

"You guys know anything about where you last saw your partners, then?"

"My partner was my little brother, Balqah," the willowy girl said, looking down as if ashamed. "I lost him pretty near to the adult camp. He might have climbed a tree to hide, he likes doing that, but I don't know really." She looked over at the blue-tinged boy. "I think Ekaboh's partner was right around here someplace, though."

"Yeah," Ekaboh nodded. "I lost Ziobri when the adults caught me, but I was the last of the three of us to be caught, and we only walked a little bit before we found you guys, so maybe she's not all that far away?"

"What direction?" Quiome asked.

"That way." The other boy pointed.

Quiome looked to Vluharqih. "Then probably that's the way we should go first, right? You guys ready to start scouting?"

"Yes." Ekaboh and the two girls all nodded their heads.

"Then go out," Quiome said, "And be careful. If you see anything, kids or adults, come back and let us know, okay?"

"You got it," they said, and slipped off together out into the woods.

When they were gone, Quiome puffed out a breath and turned towards his own partner. "What do we do now?" he asked, somewhat worried. "They said one of the kids gave up already. Do you think without her we can still win?"

Something Vlu had said earlier resurfaced in his memory then, and he asked also, a little more hopefully, "And what did you mean, before, when you said we need to figure out a way to beat the rules? Did you have an idea?"

Their group was pretty big so he thought they were doing good, but if someone had a plan, now was a good time to speak up.

"Speaking in Rakahi"
"Speaking speaking in Common"
"Speaking in Ulehi"

[Vluharqih]

CREDIT

The two kids seemed happy to stick near Vahvah. Vlu, for one, was glad that Quiome had stepped up. She didn’t know how to handle younger kids, being an only child and all, and breathed a sigh of relief when he delegated the task. It would keep them free to actually figure out what to do.

Vlu stayed in step next to Quiome as they turned back to their ragtag group, the odd bossy girl still hovering around them like a vulture. Vlu nodded, a smile creeping across her face at his praise, a barely noticeable red tinge flowing from her asterism.

She stayed quiet as Quiome sorted out the newest arrivals. He seemed to have more control of the situation than anyone else did, and she was sure her butting her head into it wouldn’t help anyone.

She followed the conversation carefully, trying to think of a way to turn this to their advantage, The fact that the girl had given up was just pathetic. That’s not how these games worked. Besides! This was actually kind of fun.

She waited until Quiome had finished talking to the kids, nodding at his idea. They needed to find the others as quickly as they could, because her idea would only work if they were all together. It made sense to find those closest to them first.

She turned spoke to him in a stage whisper so everyone could hear. She wanted them to take heart, as she had caught sight of several slumped shoulders when the girl had told her story. "Of course we can win with nineteen. The point of the game is to survive however we can. I think… I think it’s supposed to be like the real world. Like we’re being hunted. Like they know what we are.” She supressed a shiver, continuing after a brief pause. "In real life we wouldn’t give up, and we shouldn’t now either.”

She turned to slyly look over her shoulder at their group, trying to see the reaction her little speech had caused. Some of them were caught up in their own, quiet discussions, though Vahvah and the bossy girl had heard. Well, so much for that.

Rolling her eyes at herself, she looked back to Quiome. "Well... I don’t know if it will work. If it doesn’t, we’ll all lose. It might be better kept until the end. Except then we can’t do it…Oh I don’t know.”

She stamped her foot, frustrated. Vlu cast her eyes on the ground, taking several deep breaths. "Okay. Here’s the idea. We can split us up into two groups- those of use who can sneak and think they can make it to the gate by themselves, and those of use who can’t.”

She looked pointedly at the bossy girl and Quiome. "Then we slowly get caught.”

This was the part that would be hard to sell. They had to appear to lose in order to win. A murmur had set up when she said those words and quickly grew to drown her out.

"I know, I know. But-but just listen!” She hissed, realizing how exposed they were. "The non-sneaky group splits up into smaller groups. Once a group gets caught it tells about the location of another group. Then they get sent to the wall.”

She smiled, excited about how this could work. She could see it in her mind, clear as crystal. The adults, sure that the children had given up their comrades, would send them to the wall. Once their, they had to wait until all of the non-sneaking groups were caught.

"The last group to get caught has an important job. They have to say that we’ve started arming ourselves. That you’re scared, and that we broke the rules. However you need to say it. That should get them to send out most of them to go find us. Once they’ve left, Quiome is going to lead the rest of you to the gate. With that many of you, you can tackle the adults around you and make a run for it. They’ll have some adults on the gates, but with all of us, we can overpower them.”

She paused again, waiting for an argument, but there was none. Silence stretched, and even the bossy girl looked thoughtful.

"Then those of us who can sneak come around the other side, helping with those at the gate. Even fi the other girl doesn’t want to play, we can just carry her. We have to win.”

Vlu looked around at the faces, waiting for them to respond to her idea. She knew it was reckless, dumb and could fail very easily, but it was unexpected. They needed surprise on their side.

[Quio]

OOC: Sorry for taking a couple days to reply. My family is American, we had an early Thanksgiving this year. ^_^'

Vluharqih's plan was...

"Risky," the bossy girl said, though for once it seemed she liked the idea.

"Brilliant!" Quiome announced, and with him on Vlu's side, and even the bossy girl willing to play to these new rules, it looked like the rest of the group would fall in line. Everywhere Quiome looked he saw nodding heads. Except...

Except for the two littlest ones, the ones Vahvah was watching after. They were trembling they were so scared. One had even turned a shade of sickly-looking green. They looked about ready to bolt into the forest.

"Don't be scared," Quiome tried to tell them, stepping near, but one of them, a little boy, shrieked out, "Don't get near me!" The other, a girl, was little better. She was cowering with her arms wrapped over her head as if afraid someone might hit her.

"I-- I don't know what the matter is," Quiome admitted, at a loss, and Vahvah shrugged her shoulders as the little girl clung to her, nearly in tears.

"I don't know," Vahvah said, "They just-- when Vluharqih was saying the plan, they just got quieter and quieter. But they wouldn't say why."

"Why?" Quiome demanded, turning towards them, and then realized that maybe a hard tone wouldn't work. He stooped down to their size to look at them in their empty faces. "What's wrong?" he asked softly instead. "You know it's just a game, right? You don't have to be scared. But if you're too scared, I mean, we could send you back to your parents for help--"

"No!" the girl shrieked, clinging ever more tightly to Vahvah's arm as if trying to hide behind it. "Don't send us back!"

"Why not?" Quiome asked again, and then, thinking, "Back? What do you mean back?"

"We didn't mean to," the little boy cried out. "We were just so scared!"

"What did you do?" the bossy girl asked, stomping over, but Quiome pushed her aside --"Hey!"-- and stepped up close. Saying softly, "You can tell us."

"We joined the adult team," the little boy whispered. "We're spies."

For the first few moments after that bombshell, it looked like the kids' group might actually implode; some kids saying they needed to tie up the two little spies and get their information, others saying the group needed to split up right now and get out of here, who knew if adults were coming already? What if they had already been told where the group was? Eventually, though, Quiome, with some help, got the rest of the group settled. By this time the scouts had returned with one of the lost partners they had been looking for-- Ziobri. "What's happened?" one of them, the blue boy Ekaboh, asked.

"We've got spies!" Vahvah said excitedly, clapping the little spy girl on the back. The little girl hiccuped like any moment she was going to cry.

"What we need to know," Quiome said carefully, "Is what the adults told you to do. You joined their side?"

"W-We didn't want to but we didn't know the answers to the questions and they all just seemed so mean! They kept asking us again and again and they wouldn't believe us! It was awful."

"So what orders did they give you?"

"They said to find the rest of the kids. If we got grabbed by any adults we had to tell them a secret word, Sanuleuda, and they would let us go free. A-And when we found you guys we were just supposed to stay with you!"

"U-Until," the little girl added, trembling, "You got into a big group and got close to the gates. Then we were supposed to start screaming out."

" 'Here they are! Here they are!' " the little boy said, ashamed. "Just like that."

"You were going to rat us all out!" the bossy girl shrieked at them, and Quiome had to tell the scouts to hold her back she was so angry.

"W-We didn't mean to," they both whispered again. "We were scared. A-And they were grownups."

"Well, you're with our group now," Quiome said, "And you ratted on them, so you can't go back to them now." He looked over at Vluharqih. "I think... the plan can still go on. Just these two have to be in the groups that are caught, and they have to promise not to scream out or tell the adults anything. Right?" He gave the two a hard look.

"R-Right, we promise," they said, seeming relieved. The boy's sickly shade turned a bit healthier. "We didn't really like the adults' side, we wanted to be on the kids side!"

"Okay," Quiome said, though he figured someone would have to keep an eye on them. In fact, "I'll watch them," he said. "Or at least one of them. We'll split up into small groups, like Vluharqih said, and one will go with Vahvah and one will go with me, just to make sure they don't go back to the adult side."

"Everyone else, who are the sneaky kids and who are the caught kids?"

The group shuffled around. Hands showed who was sneaky. Obviously the three scouts wanted to sneak, and so did Ziobri, Ekaboh's partner. The bossy one wasn't allowed to be on the sneaky side, she was just so loud. And Quiome didn't know if she really could be trusted either to do as the plan said.

"Okay, looks like it's split," he said. "So... so do we need to find the rest of the kids first?"

"We'll just tell them as we find them," Ekaboh said confidently. Ziobri held his hand tightly, glad to be back with the kids. "The sneaky group, on their way, can pick up any kids they see. And the caught groups can pick up any kids they see. Anyone who's already caught will be at the wall and can join us and wait for the last group. We should still win!"

The group, uncertain before due to the presence of the spies, now seemed to resolidify and gave out a hushed cheer.

"I think we're ready then," Quiome said. "Caught kids, everyone break up. Okay, you are group 1," pointing the bossy girl. "2 will be Vahvah and the spy-girl," the little one had never stopped clinging to Vahvah's side. "And 3 will be me and the spy-boy." Looking less sick-green now, the little boy grabbed Quiome's hand like he would never let go. "Now we scatter. Group 3 will stay right here; we'll be the last group. Everyone else start making your way slowly through the forest. Make sure to look for any other lost kids and tell them the plan before you're caught."

"Sneaky kids..." He turned to Vluharqih and the rest. The three scouts, plus Ziobri. Speaking more to Vlu, though, than the other four, he said, "Good luck."

"Speaking in Rakahi"
"Speaking speaking in Common"
"Speaking in Ulehi"

[Vluharqih]

CREDIT

OOC: I'm not much better apparently...

Vlu couldn't help but gasp as the two rescued kids confessed their spying. She stood back, happy to let Quiome handle it. His reaction worked far better than her angry shouting, and he somehow convinced the kids to work with them. The codeword, Sanuleuda, would be very helpful if anyone was caught, though if too many of them used it, the adults would figure it out.

The bossy girl shrieked at them, and Vlu leapt forward with the others to restrain her. Clamping a hand over a mouth was much harder in Uleuda, especially when all the features weren't there. Eventually she managed to muffle the noises, and turned her attention to Quio again.

When they all divided up, Vlu nodded at Quio. She was glad he took over- things were easier when they both worked together, and he seemed far more at ease with other kids than she did. Her muscles were constantly tense and jittery, and she felt off. "Yeah, I'll take these four. Good luck to you too. We'll see you at the gate."

With that they left, Vlu leading the way. They were silent as they went through the forest, Vlu smiling as she watched them pick their way through. They were at least as good as her, if not better, and they might just be able to win with a team like this.

They circled far out, as far away from the city as they could get. Twice, they had to turn around and backtrack as they caught sight or sound of adults ahead, and Vlu nearly had a heart attack as they caught sight of a Nulliem. Luckily, none of them seemed to noticed as she redirected them, though she didn't breathe until they were far away from it.

After a break or so, they reached their destination. The gate stood in front of them, adults spread throughout the edge of the forest. Together they slowly backed up to a safe distance as Vlu turned to the rest.

"Okay. Now we have to watch and wait. I want us spread out in case any of us get caught, and we should be close enough to see when Quio and the rest are in place."

She turned to Ekaboh, somehow still holding hands with Ziobri. "What do you guys think?"

They looked at each other first, turning to nod at Vlu. "Yeah, that sounds good to us. We're sticking together though," Ekaboh said.

"But we'll be safe, don't worry. And if we do get caught, we just join the others on the wall," Ziobri finished.

The other girls nodded as well, and Vlu carefully directed each of them to a section along the wall. The two girls would be in the centre, with Vlu at one end and the other two at the opposite end. Vlu took off first, creeping up to a spot she could watch some of the adults and keep an eye on the gate. She settled down, thankful for once that she hadn't managed to meditate and make some of her form more obvious. It meant she didn't have much in the way of colour, and could blend in a bit easier.

Less than a dozen paces to her left, two figures burst out, sprinting towards the gate. Instantly five adults appeared, giving chase. Vlu made note of where they came from and hoped that the other scouts would've done the same. They were run down, tackled by the adults and led off to the side. From her position Vlu could just make out the end of the growing line of captives, and she cursed quietly. Three more adults patrolled the line, their heads swivelling as they scanned the forest and the growing row of captives.

Vlu crept carefully from her hiding space towards the others, gathering them up before the adults had returned.

"Change of plans. We have to knock the adults out," whispered Vlu.

The other three rocked backwards as if buffeted by the news, at a loss for words. Finally, the girl with the flowing hair squeaked out a question. "What?"

"There's more adults over by the line. We need these ones out of the fight totally so we can help Quio. Unless you guys have a better idea?"

"Um..." Silence held for a moment, until Ziobri spoke up. "Yeah! I have one. What if one of us led them away?"

She shifted awkwardly as the others nodded in agreement. Vlu frowned as she thought it through, finally nodding. "It would work, but who would be fast enough? There's no way I can outrun them." A tinge of pride coloured Ziobri, and she looked over a Ekaboh.

"Me."

It was a bad choice any way she looked at it. Either Ziobri was as fast as she claimed, in which case they wouldn't be able to get her back in time to win, or she wasn't and all they'd accomplish would be to get her caught. But the group seemed to agree with her idea, so Vlu sighed. "Okay, fine. Do it when you see Quiome get caught. The rest of us should move over there to help them all escape."

She turned to Ziobri. "Good luck. We'll try to wait as long as we can, so try to make it back if you can. Who knows, maybe we can all make it." Vlu was happy not playing the hero- she was going to be the one to survive.

The group split up again, hiding themselves among the trunks as they waited for Quio to appear.

[Quio]

He watched them leave, and then pointed for the caught groups to split up and start heading slowly in different directions. Quiome and his little spy-boy were to stay put, being the last group, so they found a place to hide --in a hollow in a tree-- and hunkered in to wait.

And wait and wait and wait.

He didn't know how much time passed before they heard a crashing through the forest. The spy-boy was terrified, turning that sickly shade of green again, and so Quiome told him to "Stay put," and slunk out of the tree's camouflage, looking to see...

...that it was only another couple of the kids, having found their way this far into the forest. Raising a hand to get their attention Quiome beckoned them over. Then led them back to the hiding place with the spy-boy to give introductions and clue them into the plan.

They seemed reluctant, but after some convincing, "I swear to you that it will work!" the two, a boy and girl, agreed.

Then it was back to waiting. They quietly whispered to one another, sharing stories to pass the time and calm their nerves. Turns out the boy had been caught before, but unlike some had not given into the adult's questioning. He was much older than the spy-boy, perhaps even as old as the bossy girl had been. He shrugged.

"It would have been boring if it wasn't so exciting to be caught," he said smoothly. "They just asked the same questions over and over. Sometimes they would pretend to be mad but trust me, I know when adults are actually mad and these ones were just acting. They were just trying to scare us. If you didn't answer their questions, then they would just take you back into the forest and let you go after a while. And of course send someone right after you as if you catch you again. Make you run." A pause, and Quiome could almost sense the other boy rolling his eyes.

"Doesn't sound so bad," Quiome said doubtfully, but he didn't know if he would like an adult to be angry at him, pretending or not. It didn't seem to bother the older boy though. The spy-boy watched the older one speak with open adoration, seeming impressed by his nonchalance. The girl was bored, picking at the crystals on the back of her hand.

"Do you think they're going to find us soon?" she asked impatiently, and all three of the boys shrugged their shoulders. The girl sighed and went back to examining her hand.

---

It was long enough later that the little spy-boy had rested his head on Quiome's shoulder as if he might fall asleep. Quiome had to keep poking him. "Still here?" he asked, which made him wonder-- what if all the kids had left the Uleuda so the adults wouldn't catch them? Would they win if they did that?

He didn't think so. There were rules and adults were very particular about rules. If the kids had done that they all probably would've just gotten in trouble.

Still, it was something to maybe ask Vlu about, later.

He went back to his waiting.

---

After that they didn't have much longer to wait. One moment they were drowsily speaking to one another, trying to keep occupied, and the next there was an adult head poking into the little hollow of the tree. The spy-boy, who had been on the verge of sleep again, screamed. That woke the rest of them up. They all scrambled away from the adult's beckoning hand.

"Okay kids," the man said, pleasantly enough, "You've been caught. Time to go to questioning."

"No! We can't come out!" Quiome struggled away as the man reached in as if to grab him by the arm, and the panic in his voice was enough to give the adult pause.

"You don't have to be scared, kid--"

"We can't go with you or the others will see us," Quiome said, trying to rein in his tone. The other kids looked at him anxiously.

"Others?"

"The other kids. The bad ones."

The man leaned back on his heels where he was crouching. "Okay, what are you on about, kid?"

"We told them not to do it--" the girl piped up from where she was sitting, and the man turned his face to look at her.

"Do what?"

"They're crazy," Quiome said, "They said we had to do anything we could to win. Even--" He paused. Vluharqih had said to say the kids had gotten weapons. But he thought he had one better.

"Even catch a nulliem," he whispered out, and the spy-boy next to him gasped before clamping a hand over his own mouth. The other kids looked genuinely afraid. The man suddenly did too.

"They wanted to catch one, th-they thought they could use it against the adults. We were so scared, we told them not to do it, but--" Quiome said, but he needn't continue. That was all the adult needed to hear.

"Let's go," the man ordered, and the kids filed out of the tree hollow. The man began to run, nearly sprinting back towards camp, his crystal shining a brilliant white, asterism flashing, and Quiome and the others linked hands, struggling to keep up with him.

---

"They what? " the lead woman shrieked when the man gave the adult camp the news.

There was a scramble. Adults panicking. Forming into search groups. Over at the wall, the children were shuffling and whispering. "We have to find them," the woman said, turning to Quiome's group, "Do you know where they are?"

"We can't tell you, we'll die before we answer your questions!" the older boy declared, perhaps a bit too grandly, and the woman grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Now," she said, and he gulped, struggling to break free of her grip. "Now!"

"Th-they're deep in the w-woods," the spy-boy peeped out, and all the adults nearby turned towards him.

"Where!" the woman said, "We need specifics!"

"Close to the Empty," the girl whispered, and then most of the adults had scattered.

"We'll do a perimeter of the treeline--" Quiome heard the lead woman shouting as they raced off into the trees, and then they were gone.

"Uh, over by the wall," the one or two adults left told them, very distracted, and Quiome and the three others made their way to the rest of the kids.

"Great job!" someone whispered, and the children tittered with excitement, but the adults, worried as they were, stared out into the forest and didn't seem to notice.

"Now, everyone, quiet as you can be!" Quiome said, and the others fell into an excited hush. "Head count," he orderd, and three or four different children stood to do a count of everyone there.

"That's sixteen!" one of the children --it was Vahvah-- squeaked out in her excitement, and Quiome said, "Now we just wait for the other four, and we're home free. Everyone, at the ready!"

"Speaking in Rakahi"
"Speaking speaking in Common"
"Speaking in Ulehi"

[Vluharqih]

CREDIT

A loud crash was heard, Ziobri bursting from the trees. She played her part perfectly- sprinting straight for the gate, then skidding to a halt as she caught sight of the adults. They shouted at each other as she turned around, and all of them took off after her.

"Now!" Vlu hissed, and the remaining kids slunk out of the trees, watching carefully to make sure the adults had all followed Ziobri. She ran straight for Quio, recognizing him despite the faceless mob of kids.

"We have to go, now. Ziobri's going to try to make it back, but we can't wait for her." She looked around at the rest of the kids, quickly running towards the gate as the rest of the children followed her in a mass. Rushing through, cheers broke out among the kids, laughter soon following as they sat down. Within a bit, the kids were all telling stories of their bravery and cunning, trying to outdo one another, but Vlu stood anxiously by the gate, watching the forest edge.

Bits ticked by, and she felt more and more sure Ziobri had been caught. A burst of movement caught her attention, and her head whipped around to see the girl tear out of the forest. Close behind were the adults, and she could hear their cries of rage as they realized they had been tricked. Other kids began to crowd around as they heard Vlu gasp, and they loudly cheered for Ziobri.

Closer and closer the adults seemed to get to her, and Vlu's heart leapt into her throat. Was she going to make it?

"Run Ziobri!" She screamed, and she watched the little girl push with all her strength. A misplaced foot was all it took to end her hopes- Ziobri tumbling to the ground in a heap as the adults gathered around her.

There was silence as the kids realized what had happened, before a murmur went up. The bossy girl pushed her way to the front, looking back at the nineteen kids arrayed behind her.

Without saying a word, she turned back around and charged out of the gate.

Everyone was frozen, the adults not noticing the charging kid, and the kids astounded at her bravery. She had almost reached the adults by the time the next kid joined her. Like a wave, the remaining kids rushed forwards at once, letting out fear as they screamed their defiance.

The nearest adult jerked around at the noise, his eyes widening as he saw the kids charging. He had enough time to warn the other four before they were on them. The adults tried to fight back, but they were helpless against the tide of children. They swarmed over the adults like flies, holding onto their legs as they toppled them, one after another.

A shout went up from the forest, and twenty-five pairs of eyes looked up to see a group of returning adults. Without command, all the children scampered up, darting back towards the gates as the adults struggled to their feet. Vlu was one of the last to get up, and forced herself to sprint after the rest of the children. Gasping, she stumbled through the gate less than a dozen paces ahead of the adult. She spun around, a shaky laugh escaping her as she realized all the kids had made it.

Somehow, against all odds, they had done it.

She turned to find Quio, giving him a brilliant smile as she said, "We did it!"

[Quio]

It ended in a rush unlike any other. Quiome didn't know if he had ever had so much fun.

Ziobri was fast but not fast enough. Not compared to adult legs. She fell, and it was over, and then it wasn't. The bossy girl, astounding him, stepped forward. She turned back to look at them. Maybe she didn't say anything, but for a moment her empty face seemed to look at Vluharqih, and suddenly Quiome knew what she was going to do.

Then she was running, sprinting towards the adults, and the rest of the children screamed and charged.

Quiome was quick on his feet. He always had been. He was one of the first to snatch at one of the adults' legs, quickly buried under the pile of other little bodies. It didn't hurt. He was laughing, his crystal sparkling golden.

From the ground he saw Ekaboh snatch Ziobri up into a tight hug, and then they --and the rest of the children-- were peeling away, running back towards the gates, and Quiome was once more up on his feet, sprinting with them. He passed through the archways and spun around. "Vlu!" he yelled, and then she had passed through, and they all had made it.

The edge of the forest was full of the sound of the children's laughter and celebrations; some were dancing with one another, some laughing and jumping around. Vluharqih turned towards Quiome and without thinking he flashed her back a smile --more a brightening of the golden light in his heart-- and gave her a hug. Other children were doing the same, babbling as they did-- the air was full of noise, little voices speaking over one another in an excited rush, and the sound of their hands as they gave one another high-fives, a noise that was almost like the ringing of a bell.

Quiome realized then that this was what it felt like. To be around other people, not just his mom at home. He was still glowing.

It lasted until the adults came back.

They must have sent messages that all the kids were here and accounted for. They came back in a group, and then the gathering of children was a wash of adults bursting forward, taking their kids up in their arms and giving them a big hug. Quiome's mother was there; he was suddenly wrapped in her embrace. He felt her kiss his forehead. "Don't ever scare us like that again!" she said, but she was laughing with him, and most of the adults seemed in a good mood.

Most.

The lead woman was standing a short distance away. Sparking. Not like Quiome had been when they'd won-- instead, her crystal flashed with flickers of bright lightning. Angry, he realized, as the rest of the people --adults and kids alike-- fell into a quiet, looking over at her.

"You broke the rules," was all she said. Her voice was very stiff.

And surprising even himself, Quiome stepped forward.

"Miss," he said, polite as he ever was to an adult, but his voice was certain all the same. He could feel his mother's hand on his shoulder. "We could have all left," he said. "We could have left the Uleuda and quit the game and been gone."

She was staring at him, the lightning flickering brighter.

He struggled to keep his tone respectful, but firm. "But we didn't. We didn't break the rules. We used your rules against you. You said we had to get out of the forest. You didn't say we had to do it the way you wanted us to. You're just sore because we tricked you. But it was a brilliant plan," he said, and smiled once again, a gleam of golden light, over at Vluharqih.

"Yeah," someone agreed beside him; it was Vahvah again.

"Yeah!" the rest of the kids chimed in. Standing united.

And the adults, all but the lead woman, stood with them.

Eventually she had to nod her head, still tightly, and congratulate them all.

---

It was some time later. All of the those gathered had stayed to chat. Most of the kids, off the high of winning the game, wanted to come back and play again. At least the lead woman seemed pleased with that. As she chatted with adults and kids alike, she seemed to lose her temper and become appreciative of what the kids had accomplished. At the same time, she seemed to be collecting information on what had happened during the game. Making note of some of the children's names.

Before the first families began to leave, she clapped her hands, that bright ringing sound to get everyone's attention, and announced, "The Sanuleuda is open to all of those here willing to pursue it. Same time in seven days. Same place. I hope to see you then."

Most of those gathered nodded their heads in agreement. The kids bouncing in excitement. People began to leave.

Quiome and his mother had wandered over to Vluharqih and her parents, and while the adults exchanged pleasantries Quiome shuffled forward. Once more shy. "Maybe I'll see you at school?" he asked, sort of hopeful, and then said, "Or maybe next meeting?"

He liked Vlu. She was smart and brave and she was a good leader. He hoped, next time, they would find each other again.

"Speaking in Rakahi"
"Speaking speaking in Common"
"Speaking in Ulehi"

[Jade]

Oh my goodness!! Oh my goodness!! What a great story and a wonderful ending, you both literally had me on the edge of my seat and when Ziobri fell I was like 'NOOOO! GET UP! GET UP!!' I'm seriously just so floored how enjoyable this story was. The dynamic you both showed in your writing, the plans, the partnership, the character development. It was all so nicely executed without seeming forced. I'm especially taken to the bossy girl. I thought she was going to be an annoying antagonist but instead, she defended her own in the end which I am both pleasantly surprised about and glad for. Most stories do no see character building like this in only two pages, therefore, I applaud you both. This was a fantastic read.

Now, onto some notes.

while reading, I saw both of you staggering in and out of details, being that you would write how the children couldn't see each others faces, then say things like,'he grinned at her' or 'she smiled at her'. The consistency was lacking here, but not so much to take away from the story. I suggest maybe trying to replace with hand gestures? Or more details regarding the asterism light.

NPCs --- This isn't really an issue so much as an explanation. I do this frequently in my threads with my characters because I find NPC use only adds to the flavor and enjoyment of the story (which I've found here as well). However, NPCs detract from knowledge your PCs could earn. I do not discourage the use of NPCs in your stories, however, I encourage you both to think about whether your PC might take the initiative to do or say something rather than an NPC. Otherwise, these were the only things I found note-worthy. Great job you both!

Quio

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5
Knowledge:

Uleuda: The Living and the Dead Reside Here
Sanuleuda: A Home For Yludih In The False World
Yanabruh: A Test of Survival
Endurance: Running For Long Period of Time In Uleuda
Hunting: Call Out And Scare Away Animals
Stealth: Better To Hide Than Call Out
Tactics: Prisoner Means Leverage
Vluharqih: Daring, Even As A Child
Tactics: Teamwork Is Best
Negotiation: Using A Prisoner To Get What You Want
Vluharqih: When In Doubt, Defer To Her
Vluharqih: Trusted Partner
Leadership: Compassion Breeds Loyalty

Fame: +1 (Executing A Successful Plan), +10 (Successfully Completing The Test)
Devotion: No
Magic: No
Loot: No
Injuries: No

Vluharqih

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5
Knowledge:

Uleuda: Lessons Are Important
Uleuda: Safe and Secure
Sanuleuda: A Home For Yludih In The False World
Yanabruh: A Test of Survival
Yanabruh Test: You Caught An Adult!
Tactics: Go Where You're Least Likely To Be Found
Quiome: Lived In A Forest With His Mother
Quiome: An Elegant Runner
Running: A Loud Runner
Stealth: Staying Low And Taking Cover Behind Large Objects
Tactics: Change The Rules In Your Favor
Tactics: Teamwork Is Best
Tactics: Setting Up A Perimeter.
Quiome: Trusted Partner
Leadership: Bravery Breeds Loyalty

Fame: +3 (Creating A Successful Plan), +10 (Successfully Completing The Test), -1 (Hurting An Adult)
Devotion: No
Magic: No
Loot: No
Injuries: Minor Concussion: Lasting headache for the next 8 trials.