The words Brynn spoke made the entire group sigh. He didn't need to hear anyone else speak to know how bad of an idea this was.
He was curious, sure, but was he so curious as to wander into the forest?
"That's the stupidest thing you've ever said!"
Orin clenched his fists as he yelled at her, the hood of his cloak whipping off, his light brown hair neatly running down, covering half his face, but from the look on his face. He was upset.
Brynn took a step back, caught off guard.
"Oh, come on, Orin. Are you really going to sit around doing nothing? Do you really trust the elders that much?"
"They know more than we do," Orin argued. "And if even the hunters are worried, we should leave it to them!"
Elara nodded, folding her arms. "Orin's right, you can't just 'go see for yourself'. If something is happening, it's none of our business."
Brynn let out a sharp "hah". Taking a step back.
"None of our business? We live here too! You're just scared."
Elara narrowed her eyes.
"I am smart," she corrected. "And that's more than I can say about you."
Brynn straightened her back and squared her shoulders, taking a step closer.
"Oh, yes, I forgot the mighty Elara. Always acting like you are better than me. Something is happening to our home, and you want to ignore it, well I actually care."
Elara smirked. "Care?"
She questioned dramatically. "You don't care, all you "care" about is turning everything into stupid little games, because you are bored."
Brynn scoffed at her. "And you want to stand around pretending this has nothing to do with us. I guess it's easier following the rules, huh?"
Elara took a step forward, the two girls now face to face. "You never think anything through Brynn. All you do is cause trouble!"
Brynn clenched her fists. "You all act like I am the reckless one, but at least I am willing to do something!"
Thalos felt his stomach twist, they fought often, but even he knew this one was bad. It looked like the two were actually about to fight, and to his surprise, Orin was the one who stepped up.
"Brynn I don't think you're reckless, but there's nothing to do but wait. I want to know too. We should trust the hunters."
Brynn sighed, threw her hands up, and turned to walk off.
"Fine! Then sit here. Do what you're told and hope everything works out, but I'll show you, I'll show all of you."
As she turned to walk away, she heard their voices. All telling her to let it go. She only heard excuses.
Then one comment made her stop and look back.
"What if we just go to the ridge, not past the trees, just to look?" Thalos suggested.
She stared at him, studying him. "You're trying to take this from me."
Thalos was caught off guard. "What?"
"This was my idea!" Brynn gritted her teeth. "Not yours!"
She didn't need to hear more, so she turned around and started walking again.
She thought about yelling at them, turning around and forcing them to see it her way, but she didn't want to waste her time. If none of them care, then she will find out herself.
The group stood awkwardly, unsure of what exactly to do.
"What now?" Orin muttered. But no one had an answer.
"I think I am just going home." Elara's voice was tight. She turned and left without another word.
Garrick nodded. "Yeah, I love the adventures and all, but this killed the mood. I'll see everyone later."
He turned and headed off in the other direction. Soon, it was only Thalos and Orin.
"Do you think things will be okay?" Orin asked.
Thalos thought for a moment, "Just give it time, she always calms down."
This time, he wasn't too sure of that.
They walked together down the path, making small talk.
Thalos spotted a few figures ahead of them running between the houses. It was Rudy and his group.
He never liked Rudy, he was older than Thalos by a year, and he gained a reputation for being a bully.
Orin slowed his walking. "Rudy…"
Thalos turned. "Everything okay?"
Orin sighed. "Rudy and his friends have been messing with me lately."
That made Thalos upset, he wasn't going to let some punks hurt his friends.
"Orin, do you remember last winter, when Rudy trapped us in the tanner's shed?" Orin nodded, turning to Thalos.
"And do you remember what we said? That we'd get them back no matter what!"
Orin smiled, nodding his head again.
Thalos and Orin followed where Rudy and his friends went, past the baker's hut, behind the long house, to the southern end of the village.
Thalos saw them, there were four of them, doing something at the bottom of the hill. They tried to stay out of sight the best they could, making their way down and hiding behind snow drifts. They got closer than he thought they would.
Thalos was about to turn to Orin, then all of a sudden, Orin got up and let a snowball fly.
It sailed through the air and smacked Rudy right on the side of the head. For a moment, nothing happened, Rudy froze, his friends scanning the hill until they saw Orin.
Thalos grabbed Orin and pulled him down. "We need to run."
Thalos and Orin bolted just as Rudy yelled out. "Hey! Come back here!"
he never turned, he ran back up the hill as fast as he could.
Thalos stopped for a moment, catching his breath. Something whizzed past his ear, hitting the building just behind him. It wasn't just a snowball, It was more ice than snow.
That was all the warning he needed, he ran again, weaving between stalls and carts.
He scooped up a handful of snow mid-sprint, spun around, seeing two of them chasing, and threw it back without slowing, hitting one of the boys in the shoulder.
"To the right!" Orin yelled out.
It was Rudy.
He was keeping pace with them on the other side of the buildings.
Every now and then ice balls, or just plain stones, would hit them or go whizzing past. They ducked behind a wooden house.
"We may be in trouble," Orin muttered.
"I saw some stones fly past my head." Thalos peaked around the corner. "we need to do something"
They sat with their backs against the wall. Thalos tried to catch his breath, but they knew they didn't have much time.
"We need to lead them to somewhe…" He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening, and a large smile crept on his lips.
"Owens sledding hill!"
Orin looked confused for a moment. "Owens sledding hill?"
Thalos turned and placed both hands on his shoulders. "He put spikes at the bottom!"
Orin understood immediately, and just as the words left his mouth, he saw one of the boys turn the corner. Thalos and Orin were off again.
He knew where the hill was, and it wasn't far.
"What if they don't follow?" Orin asked.
"Oh, they will." He smiled.
As they reached the hill, Thalos turned to see the four boys closing in on them. He only had one chance. Orin got hit with a ball of pure ice, Thalos noticed he was slowing down.
The hill was tall and steep, most of it was clear ice. Another object flew past Thalos.
"Come on, Rudy," Thalos called over his shoulder, "you couldn't hit the side of a frostbear."
Rudy stopped and scowled, showing his teeth.
Thalos turned to Orin. "So scary. I think I'm getting chills."
He paused. "OH wait… no. That's just the snow."
Orin pitched it, " I think Brynn is scarier"
Rudy was getting visibly irritated.
"I bet Rudy is as cowardly as a Frosthare." Thalos jumped down the hill, as Orin followed.
He was sliding down fast.
"Get them!" Rudy screamed.
Thalos stayed as close to the sides as possible to try and leap out into the snowdrifts before reaching the bottom.
Behind him, he could see the boys coming down the hill, but they were unaware.
Thalos and Orin rolled and leapt to one side just before the bottom. One of Rudy's friends shouted.
"Wh...what is that!" But it was too late.
The spikes weren't sharp, they weren't meant to hurt anyone. They were just long, blunt rods placed into the ground to stop sleds… or more precisely, Brynn.
The boys slammed into the rods one by one.
Each one tried hard to stop their descent but was unsuccessful.
Painful groans, bruised ribs, and one boy looked like he sprained his ankle badly.
The adrenaline faded, and Thalos and Orin caught their breath.
"Th…That was bad," Orin said.
"I know." Thalos was still panting. "Maybe we took it too far?"
The others limped away in pain.
Rudy looked back at them.
Thalos could tell he was furious.
But this time, he had won.