Getting Drafted

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Xander leaned back against a claizal mak, watching Pairdra instruct some adolescent siv in the fine art of using a hyoel. The older siv made it look easy, but the weapon took years to perfect. Xander should know—he’d been practicing daily for almost eight months now and was just to the point where he didn’t nearly kill himself every time he touched it.

Saelen joined Xander on the tree, having finished his instruction for the day. He and Pairdra had spent more than six months teaching Xander both the basics of being siv as well as the more important, and more complicated, ways of being a siv warrior. It was obvious from the outset that Xander was suited for fighting, so that was what they taught him. He’d had quite a difficult time learning their language, but was up to a fairly proficient level now.

“Y’think they’re doin’ ok?” Xander asked casually.

“Alright, but not great. They’ll stay close to Ieccra for a few years,” Saelen answered, wincing as one youth tied himself to a branch with a hyoel. “Or maybe longer.”

Xander silently agreed. After all, he’d reached greater proficiency than some of the siv he was watching, despite his inexperience with being the species. He chalked it up to years of slaying. All those experiences in Sunnydale: vampires, demons, demonic possession…they had to have a benefit somewhere.

Pairdra concluded his lessons a few minutes later. The young siv rushed off, more than ready for a bit of playing after a hard day of lessons. Xander and Saelen greeted the third siv warmly, joking about his students’ aptitude, or lack thereof.

“Please, don’t remind me. I can see just how bad they are,” Pairdra said as they clambered home. The trio stopped by a bath house to clean up before venturing into Saelen and Pairdra’s house. Xander had pretty much gotten used to the idea of public bath houses, although he was still insistent upon bathing alone. Siv were much more comfortable with their bodies than humans were; when they were working out or practicing, or just laying around the house, most siv eschewed shirts, wearing only trousers. Xander, though, still wore as much clothing as he could find, despite the fact that it made him overly warm at times. His thick, short fur was excellent insulation.

When they got back to the house, they found a note from the elders waiting for them. Saelen read it and swore. “The t’kth-vaali attacked a siv hold near the border.”

Pairdra frowned. “When do we meet?”

“We should leave now,” Saelen replied. “You too, Xander.”

Xander shrugged and followed the siv. He didn’t know why he was going; after all, what good would he be? He was barely more proficient at self-defense than a child.

When they reached the gathering, Xander’s jaw dropped at the sheer number of siv occupying the space. The meeting was being held outside, and every available branch was taken up. Saelen led them higher up into the canopy, so that they could look down on the meeting.

Xander followed the discussion as best as he could, with helpful interjections from Saelen. The t’kth-vaali had attacked a siv hold near the border. It was mostly occupied by warriors, sent there to guard the humans too stubborn to leave the borderlands. The freehold was going to send reinforcements, since it didn’t look like the t’kth-vaali were planning to leave off fighting anytime soon.

The warriors didn’t object to the reasoning behind the plan, but they had problems with the number and type of warriors being sent. The hold wanted to send mostly warriors to defend the humans and replace the injured siv; the warriors preferred sending siv trained in offensive maneuvers. Xander saw both sides’ points of view, although he privately hoped that the elders stuck to their plan. Saelen and Pairdra fell into the latter category, as did he by default.

Unfortunately, the warriors were victorious. That meant that Saelen and Pairdra would probably be leaving for the border soon. As soon as the freehold elders adjourned, the warriors called a meeting. The gathering was primarily to determine where each tree would be sent. The negotiations fascinated Xander, since he had little real knowledge of the interplay between siv trees.

Siv identified themselves by a grouping known as trees. As Saelen had explained it, a tree was one’s extended family—both blood and marital relations. There were really two kinds of trees, though. One was the individual’s tree, made up of who their parents, siblings, and mates were. That one was really familiar to Xander, since it was nearly identical to the family trees he was used to. The other tree, though, was a more large-scale structure that organized siv by political and cultural relations, ones that crossed regional boundaries. Xander was still trying to get a handle on the nature of siv trees, but Saelen and Pairdra were helping.

Xander’s ears cocked up when he heard mention of his friends’ tree, the Avrel mak. Saelen and Pairdra also craned down to listen more carefully, trying to hear over the din of voices below. Even all those murmurs couldn’t drown out the sound of Saelen and Pairdra’s names being called. With a surprised glance and a gesture toward Xander, they shot down toward the platform where the elders sat.

One of the warrior elders came up to greet Saelen. Xander watched in fascination as each of the elders greeted Saelen, then Pairdra. He’d been told that Saelen was a little bit higher-ranked than Pairdra, but until that display he hadn’t realized it held any importance.

Finally the elders reached him. The looked him over carefully before greeting him with a slap to the shoulder. One of them began to chat quickly with Saelen.

“Y’anksa grestel Avrel mak, Saelen-ka?” The elder muttered.

”He’s of the Avrel mak now, Saelen?” Xander mentally translated.

“Ar,” Saelen replied.

”Yes.” Xander thought.

“Isvaiolh mak-sel, Habra nim Parvala?” The elder asked.

”Who is he to the tree…” Xander’s silent translation faded away when the elder used terms he didn't recognize.

Saelen fell silent. After a moment, he turned to Pairdra. The elder barked out a reprimand, and Saelen returned his gaze to the older siv. Finally, he answered. “Parvala.”

The elder looked back at Xander and nodded. “Ar.”

Pairdra led Xander away from the platform, with Saelen following. He was bursting with questions, but it was too crowded for him to ask them. Once they reached the house, though he began to talk.

“What was that about, Saelen? What does Parvala mean?” Xander asked excitedly.

Saelen sighed and looked hopefully at Pairdra. The darker siv took pity on his lover and answered the questions, sort of. “You’ve been informally adopted by the tree, and the elders wanted to know where you stood before we leave. That’s all.”

“Oh, so what’s Parvala?” Xander asked, still curious.

Pairdra frowned. “It’s just a name of sorts. I wouldn’t worry about it right now, Xander. We’re leaving before daybreak.”

“When will y’be back?” Xander asked, disappointed his friends were leaving, especially when Pairdra had just not answered his question.

“We, y’ included, will be back when it’s safe along the border,” Saelen said. “You’re going with us, Xander.”

Xander’s head shot up from where he’d been contemplating the floor. “But I’m not ready!”

Pairdra grinned. “With the hyoel? No, you’re not. But you’re fine with other things, and more of an asset there than here.”

From the look on Saelen’s face, the topic was not up for discussion. The two siv began to open chests, digging out all sorts of things. They began to sort stuff into three piles. Curious, Xander began to pick through the items.

“What’s this?” He asked, holding up some leather-and metal contraptions that looked painful.

“Protection,” Saelen answered absently, pulling out a set of blowdarts. “Y’don’t know how to use these yet, do’y?”

Xander shook his head. “Nope, sorry. I’d probably hit the good guys.”

Pairdra laughed at that and handed Xander a bowl. “Why don’t y’find something for us to eat. We’ll be eating dried fruit on the run for a long time.”

The thought had Xander’s stomach growling. He found and peeled several large fruits, mostly the chashol he liked so well.

After dinner Saelen told Xander to get some sleep, and he really tried to do so. Unfortunately, the excitement of their upcoming adventure kept him awake. Thus, he was also awake to hear the hushed whispers and groans coming from the bedroom. They made Xander blush and roll over uncomfortably. Rationally, he knew that his friends must do something together at night, but he was still weirded out by it.

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The next morning came too early for Xander, who had just fallen asleep. A terse Pairdra showed him how to put on the appropriate garb for a warrior. The clothes were a little heavier, but overall the same as what he usually wore. The major difference was a set of harnesses that fit over the hands and feet, giving protection from weaponry. There were also harnesses to hold his staff and small blades.

After a quick breakfast, the trio headed off to meet up with the rest of their tree. The Avrel mak were gathered and preparing to leave. The tree had been assigned to the front lines and would be the first to arrive at the attack scene.

Xander found himself straining to keep up with the group. They raced through the trees at a breakneck pace. More than once he felt another siv use him as a pivot point while swinging through the branches. For all their numbers, the siv were strangely silent, the only sign of their presence being the rustling of leaves.

Pairdra and Saelen kept an eye on Xander, to make sure he didn’t fall behind. The pace was set high because the location was remote; it would take days to reach there even at this speed. They just hoped he wouldn’t be worn out.

Finally, after what seemed like days, the entire group stopped. Xander slumped down on a branch, against the trunk of a tree, and collapsed. Saelen took a moment to retrieve some fruits from the canopy before joining Pairdra and Xander below. The three ate all he could carry, not leaving even a stem.

“I’m sleeping now,” Xander announced tiredly. Saelen nodded and he and Pairdra took up position on either side of Xander. Soon the three formed a weird siv-knot on the branch. Xander found it a bit odd, and would have said something, but he fell asleep before he could. Besides, the shared body heat was comforting.

The next morning found the trio getting more specific directions. Saelen and Pairdra were to lead a group of siv toward a key point on the border just a bit south of the actual attack site. It was a place frequented by t’kth-vaali, and the siv hoped to find some trace of the invaders there. Xander was assigned to their group based on his association with them. About a hundred other siv also joined that group. They headed off just before sunrise, racing toward the border.

It was nearly midday when Pairdra suddenly halted the group. Xander stopped, trying to figure out why they weren’t moving on. The forest was quiet; not even a bird chirped. He couldn’t tell if it was because of their presence, or something else. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the dark siv crawl down a tree, toward the forest floor. Moving around a few other siv, he followed suit.

What he found turned his stomach. Xander hadn’t realized that here was a village below them, but there was…well, it had been at one point, anyway. Now it was little more than shredded huts and body parts. All of what he could see belonged to humans; apparently the place had been some sort of encampment. Remnants of hides and bones told him it had been a hunting party, roaming the forest floor for food. It had probably been made up of people from one of the nearby villages.

Pairdra motioned Xander over. He wished the young siv had stayed up in the trees, but it was a bit late for that now. Xander could at least help him investigate. “We need to find out what happened,” Pairdra said quietly.

What happened was obvious to Xander. The people of the little village had been massacred. “I don’t think they were hunted, per se,” Xander said to Pairdra.

The siv nodded his agreement. “This was just killing. No flesh has been harvested.”

“Why would the t’kth-vaali waste it like that?” Xander asked. He’d been told that the t’kth-vaali were rather thrifty with their food, but the attack he’d experienced, along with this atrocity, told him differently.

“I don’t know. That’s what’s confusing me. This just isn’t normal for them,” Pairdra replied.

He led Xander back up the tree, meeting Saelen in the canopy. “Well?” Saelen asked worriedly.

“All dead. T’kth-vaali,” Pairdra reported quietly. Saelen’s face hardened.

“Let’s go.”

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The group’s pace increased impossibly. Xander had a hard time keeping up; eventually he gave up trying to stay with them and settled for keeping track of where they went. If he traveled further into the night, he’d catch up.

“You shouldn’t fall behind like that, Xander. It’s dangerous,” Pairdra said, dropping down to run beside Xander. His sudden appearance shocked the youth.

“Damn! I can’t keep up with you all, not yet anyway. And you shouldn’t slow down for me. I’d have been better off back in Ieccra,” Xander replied shortly, angry more with himself than with Pairdra.

Saelen popped up out of nowhere. “We couldn’t have just left you, Xander.”

“Why not? Afraid I’ll trash your place while you’re gone?” Xander quipped back at him.

Pairdra and Saelen shared a look. “No, we trust you. You should be with us, though. Come on, we’ll get you something to eat.”

Xander followed the pair back to a clump of branches they’d claimed as a resting spot. He chewed and ate the dried fruit they provided him without really tasting it—he was far too tired to enjoy the meal.

Saelen and Pairdra left Xander there while they went to discuss the situation with some other older siv. Eventually Xander grew bored; it wasn’t quite late enough to sleep but there wasn’t anyone to entertain him. He clambered over to another tree, where a large group of younger siv were gathered. They greeted him warmly, so he perched on a branch and joined in the conversation. It was mostly about weaponry and possible upcoming skirmishes.

“This is your first time out, isn’t it?” One young siv asked Xander.

He nodded. “Since I’ve been changed, yeah.”

The siv’s eyes lit up in recognition. “You’re the one…oh, nice to meet you.”

Xander and Fapgin, as he introduced himself, talked about various topics for several minutes. Eventually, Xander got around to asking a couple of questions that had been plaguing him since the warrior’s meeting in Ieccra. “Fapgin, what does Habra mean?”

Fapgin looked at him in surprise, but answered. “Um…it’s a title, brother-son, to be exact.”

“Oh,” Xander said. Ok…so Saelen and Pairdra didn’t consider him a brother or a son. ”So what does Parvala mean?”

That question earned him a frown. “You don’t know this? It’s lover-mate.”

“Sorry, I’m slow picking up siv,” Xander said automatically. He was confused. Why was he Parvala and not Habra? “So I’m…”

“Habra, to me at least. Everybody in the tree is Habra,” Fapgin explained.

“Gotcha,” Xander replied. Well, almost everybody…

Before much longer, they were given orders to sleep for the night. Much like the night before, Saelen and Pairdra gathered Xander up protectively, sheltering him from the outside. He took much longer falling asleep, though, because he was still trying to work out what all of the stuff he’d just learned meant.

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The next four days were spent traveling to the border. Xander found himself keeping up more easily, so long as he kept his mind on moving and not thinking too much. Still, each night he fairly collapsed onto the first convenient branch and fell asleep. Once they reached the border, though, things changed dramatically.

All the siv, Xander included, began working on fortifications. The spot they’d chosen was going to be a stronghold for what looked to become a serious conflict. To that end, the siv he was with had to build protection around their base. Xander wondered at the security of the positioning. After all, couldn’t the t’kth-vaali just burn down the trees?

Saelen had laughed at the suggestion. “I seriously doubt it. First of all, these trees don’t burn easily. More importantly, though, is that doing that would defeat the purpose of attacking us. A fire here would be uncontrollable, and we’re much more likely to get away than they are—and unless it started to rain, the fire would reach their holds rather quickly.”

Xander nodded his head, not completely understanding but guessing they were right. If he was a t’kth-vaali, he’d just light up the forest and be done with it. He supposed, though, that burning it down would have serious consequences. That was what the t'kth-vaali had done in the past, but that tactic had resulted in land that was unusable, even for them. Now they tried not to do so much damage when they invaded.

It was nearly a week after the group started building that they first spotted t’kth-vaali in the forest below them. The newcomers were mounted and heavily armed—and were most certainly not merchants or traders. Saelen confirmed Xander’s suspicions that it was a raiding party, pointing out that the weapons they carried were meant for killing prey like humans, not the other, four-legged game that lived in the forests.

“What are y’going to do?” Xander asked the elder siv. Saelen stared down at the t’kth-vaali, motioning for Xander to speak more quietly.

“Watch them for now. They would hear us if very many of us followed them from up here, so we’ve sent some sentries on up ahead. There’s another tree posted near a human village in the direction they’re headed, as well,” Saelen answered.

Xander soon found himself one of the sentries placed along the route the siv thought the t’kth-vaali were taking. The sentries moved singly along the route, keeping a few miles ahead of the t’kth-vaali and adjusting their path along with the raiders.

The more he watched the t’kth-vaali, the more Xander grew to fear them. For all their willowy appearance, it was quite obvious they were strong, cunning creatures. That slimy-looking, grey skin didn’t help at all. It made them look corpse-like.

The arrival of Pairdra roused Xander from his watching routine. “What?” He hissed at the siv.

Pairdra frowned. “Another group is heading this way. Looks like they’re gonna join up with these,” He replied.

“How many will that be?” Xander asked.

“Too many. At least sixty, if the counts are right,” Pairdra responded. “The other group’s coming straight in from the west. They’ll be getting here tonight, if they don’t stop.”

Xander nodded. That could mean a couple of things. The siv could simply keep shadowing the t’kth-vaali, or they could decide to attack them. He didn’t know which option Saelen and Pairdra would choose.

His assignment turned out to be the same as before: shadow the t’kth-vaali on their way to the human village. Xander moved along with the raiders, watching with growing apprehension as their travel strategies changed. They were nearing the human village. He began to worry; when would the signal to attack come? Surely they wouldn’t come all this way just to let the humans die.

As if waiting for him to ask, he heard a high, fast chitter ripple its way through the scattered ranks. He passed it along, simultaneously changing directions to move around the human village and descend upon it. They had been ordered to get as many humans as possible out of the place before the t’kth-vaali arrived. Pairdra was leading another group of siv around back, planning to trap the t’kth-vaali.

The siv moved much more quickly through the trees than the t’kth-vaali, even with their extra efforts to remain undetected. Xander wasn’t the first to arrive at the village, so when he got there, the humans were already aware of their presence. A few were resistant to the siv’s intrusion, but most were grateful for the warning; they knew that they were living in a siv region and that not obeying the ruling government’s orders was not a wise move.

Xander found himself directed to carry children up into the trees. He was grateful for the assignment, both because he feared for the children’s safety and because he was still not at full strength. The children proved to be easy to carry, since they were fascinated by his appearance. Once in the canopy, he tied the children down so that they wouldn’t fall and went back for more.

They had gotten more than three-quarters of the small village off the ground before hearing the warning call that the t’kth-vaali were close by. The siv rushed to finish the job and hide themselves in the trees. Only a few humans remained on the ground, and they were the ones that had refused to evacuate.

Xander took up position near point, watching for either the t’kth-vaali or the siv group coming in behind them. He saw the t’kth-vaali first. They had dismounted, leaving their horses deeper in the forest so they could approach the village undetected. There were only twenty-five or so, so Xander concluded that the other group had not met up with this one. That would make any fighting here much easier.

Shortly after spotting the t’kth-vaali, Saelen dropped down next to Xander. He was never going to get used to the siv sneaking up on him like that! “Well?” Saelen asked.

“Most of them are up here, except for the stubborn ones,” Xander reported quietly.

“Good,” Saelen whispered.

“Where’s the other group?” Xander asked. He was worried about not knowing where they are.

“Pairdra is shadowing them. They changed direction, going north a little toward the fortifications,” Saelen said. “Drop down a little, and head toward the village.”

Xander did so, seeing that the now-unified siv groups were forming a net around the t’kth-vaali. He couldn’t believe the raiders had walked into such an easy trap. He waited, tense with anticipation, for whatever signal would come.

Saelen waited until the t’kth-vaali made an aggressive move toward the village. The raiders wasted no time, running into houses and grabbing at the few humans still there. Once he had confirmed that these were attackers, he gave orders to retaliate.

Xander leapt from his perch, streaking down a lower branch that overhung into the village. Siv preferred to work from the trees, using hyoel, blowdarts and throwing blades. He wished he had a crossbow, but he didn’t. He’d mentioned it once to Saelen, who said that if he wanted training on a bow, it could be arranged. The Avrel mak weren’t by trade archers, but there was no taboo against it.

Since he was proficient in neither hyoel nor blowdarts, Xander was left with the blades he’d become quite good at. He moved from branch to branch, carefully aiming his limited shots. He was providing distraction more than direct threat to the t’kth-vaali; while they were focused on trying to get to him, more experienced marksmen were taking them out one by one from up high.

The battle didn’t take very long; the t’kth-vaali were outnumbered almost two to one. The few surviving raiders retreated to their horses, where they were cut down by waiting siv. Xander went back up to the canopy to check on the traumatized humans.

The village was severely damaged; not even the siv’s attack on the t’kth-vaali could completely prevent that. The siv couldn’t just go on the offensive without being sure of the t’kth-vaali’s intentions; that would start an interregional war that the siv didn’t want. The humans, having been brought back to earth by the siv, looked on with dismay at their ruined home.

They were cheered somewhat by the arrival of the defeated raiders’ mounts. Several siv led the abandoned ifnan to the village. The siv had no use for them, but they would prove invaluable to the humans. Saelen presented them to the village elders, strongly recommending they use them to leave the region. The elders, sufficiently chastised for their stubbornness, agreed. Besides, their village was littered with dead t’kth-vaali that the siv would not bury for them.

Saelen’s anger with the humans wasn’t mollified by their agreement to leave the area. To him, the deaths of the t’kth-vaali were entirely avoidable. Had the humans heeded the first warnings they’d been given, many weeks ago, this never would have happened. Besides, why would humans even settle so close to a hostile region?

Xander was more sympathetic. He understood more of the humans’ point of view, being a former human himself. Still, he couldn’t help but look at the bodies strewn about and wonder if it could have been prevented.

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