I can't pretend that you don't bleed too

Gavroche had left the safety of the pack, after a raid, to track down the attackers. As if Haydée didn’t have enough on her plate, she now has to leave Ethne in order to track down two errant kids when all she really wishes is to sleep. Following the winged boy’s scent onto the dark sands of this beach, the young Leader arrives just in time to see the large woman barrel toward him in an attempt to fight the tiny boy. Pulling to a stop, she watches as he zig-zags away, avoiding the larger wolf and what would have certainly been a further complication.

He races toward her in his bid for freedom, she does not spare him a glance as she tightly says, “Go home Gav.” The kid had a good heart but he placed himself in the line of fire when it should have been her seeking out the Raiders to make amends for the maim her mother had caused, alone. Anger simmers underneath her controlled exterior as she moves forward, placing herself before the angry woman and the small crowd of Raiders.

The summer warmth does not stop the cold fingers of dread from curling around her stomach and tickling her spine but she cannot stop, not now. Eyes lock with those of the irate woman as Hay’s features remain calm and she says, “I am Haydée Kedieo, Leader of Ethne. If you seek blood for what happened on the battlefield, then I offer you mine. However, I remind you all that you started this and that child was the one sought to harm first. If you are willing to talk, we can discuss this otherwise, take your pound of flesh and be done with it.”

Head held high, the young Leader stands there, as if in front of a firing squad, ready to be maimed in retaliation for what had happened on their lands.


"Haydée Kedieo"