Someone Else's Kingdom, BOOK II - Scene XXI

"We can't leave the half-tails," noted Box, later that day, sipping tea safely under the homely willow tree. The light forest rain outside not penetrating the warm interior circle of the vining branches, far from the smoky skies of earlier.

"We have a choice, it's time to move on. It's a losing battle, and we're not helping."

As Julen said this he didn't feel good about saying it, but he knew for certain it was the right thing to do.

"We should stay to help them," pressed Box, "Once Woods is a big place, there's still plenty of forest left."

"We can't fight," intoned Goola, with a sense of exhaustion, "We can't even shoot an arrow properly, we're fools in thinking we can. It's went too far."

"So, we started off heading to Aunt Ellever's house to avoid the Pox, and now we're heading to the Pox-riddled islands we were avoiding, are we?"

"There is no Pox," reminded Julen, not missing a beat.

"I know there's no Pox," snapped back Box with celerity, annoyed by Julen's stupidity and the helplessness of the situation. She took another gulp of tea. It reminded her of the warmth and goodwill that the half-tails had shown her since they'd arrived.

"I don't see why we can't just go back to the farm," lamented the weary Goola.

"You're forgetting about Liofia," perked up Julen again, "She can never go back to the Eastern Kingdom."

At this moment Liofia entered the secluded domicile, looking even more tired than Goola. Brushing the heavy branches of the weeping willow aside, like long waves of her own knotted hair, as she entered.

"It's decided - we're heading out to the coast with Eartaria tomorrow," announced Julen. The response from Liofia neither pleased nor displeased. "We'll find a boat and head out to Brynnyfirdia. I guess we'll end up staying there. The half-tails that are coming with us - Allacat and Celalah. They'll bring back the black powder - perhaps that will change things here more than we can."