Training to fight, for tribesmen, mostly meant hunts. And when they came back, mostly empty-handed, it meant duels. Fighting each other until it got too serious and others had to separate them.
It had been a few days and their numbers had swelled.
This was the part of the day the children looked forward to because it not only meant seeing fights but breaking away from their labor. The adults wanted them to become warriors and so, among other things, they allowed this rest.
But today the warriors chased them off.
"No fight today! Go back to work, we're busy!"
While sickness still came back time and again, there were enough warriors to plan for a raid. The party was back, confirming the wéréns' whereabouts.
So, for the next day or two, all efforts would focus on weapons and rest.
By now alcohol was so rare that the most sought beverage was honey milk. And because captives were still working on the tower it was females and children that came to serve it.
Young females did it eagerly as it let them approach the warriors and linger at their side. They would often drink with them while those worked on sharpening or replacing their weapons. They would play with the bone necklaces.
Bone knives, bone spears and axes with a beak for blade. Some wore heavy boiled leather in straps and one had even turned a bull's skull into his helmet.
They all knew how dangerous wéréns were.
But Tunu was among them.
And just his presence had everyone galvanized. The kids could not get enough of him, always straying from their tasks to approach and get chased away. The warriors wished he would spend more time with them.
Their red fur, his red scales, clashed with the tender grass under them.
"If they have iron," one kobel wondered, "will our weapons be enough?"
"Who cares? Once our champion falls on them, the hardest part will be catching up!"
"Our champion should not even have to fight." Another groaned. "I am strong enough. I can take a wérén or two even."
"Try beating me first!"
And the group laughed. Their doubts, their nervousness, was hidden behind jokes and defiance. Still they knew those bones were paltry and their power hardly equal to wérén warriors.
It was zeal most of all that gave them confidence.
Tunu in their midst was hardly reacting to those talks. He could share neither their joy nor their concerns. He had his own.
Seeing this, a female approached.
"Why not bathe in hot water, champion? The source is warm, at the base of the cliff."
"Why just him?!" A warrior protested. "You like my smell?"
"Hush!" She protested, then returned to the scaled kobel. "I can see you are suffering inside. A good bath will wash those worries away."
Her fingers had slipped through to touch his chest.
He pushed her away.
"Yes." Tunu thought aloud. "I guess I will do that."
She suddenly got hopeful, was about to talk again but saw the kobel just get up and walk past her as if she did not exist at all. It was a humiliation many had suffered at his side and so, after a second, she only bit her tongue and returned to her routine.
He was looking for Elua.
There was no more popular kobel among the children than her. While they could not approach the champion, they could approach her and she in turn was with him so many times that it was only natural that her popularity had soared.
He found her near the boars' pen, breaking another fight.
"Tunu!" She got up with joy in her eyes.
They watched the two embrace, but he glared and the kids returned to their work.
"You look exhausted." He complained.
"You always say that. What about you? I thought the warriors would be dueling."
"Not today. What do you say..."
He paused.
She had caught the meaning of his words. It wasn't like rumors didn't spread in the camp. And while she knew how invincible the scaled lizard was, still fear gripped her all the same.
Her head pressed on his chest.
"Of course." She whispered. "You have yearned for this moment. You are so warm..."
He was rubbing her neck, almost with guilt. She was so frail, her fur so soft. That warmth she talked of was from his heart.
"The children can't wait to take arms. That's all they think about."
"They'll make the tribe proud."
"You will take a lot of captives for them, right? We will live in houses, we will have bed and meat every day. And we will grow scales..."
"Yes..." He whispered.
Elua realized she sounded sad, broke off to force a laugh.
"Actually, the kids tried to make a statue of you! Did you know? They used the firewood, it was a mess! But I think they are right, you deserve a statue."
"Oh please! All I need is you."
A new quarrel distracted them. There at the pen the young kobels were harassing a captive, beating him with sticks and stones and yelling at him to go in.
She rushed to stop them.
They watched the female kobel protect that black fawn and were completely at a loss.
"But he would not go in!" They complained.
"Then you go!" Elua mocked in return. "You go and face the boars! Well? Go on, we are watching."
"That's so unfair!" The kid protested. "That's his job, it's not fair!"
"And you do yours, instead of wasting time. Go now, all of you, clean up and bring those acorns! And no slacking!"
They protested some more but, what could a child do when adults talked: soon their little crowd had dispersed across the camp. She held back a giggle, then turned to make sure the captive was fine. He still trembled but let her bring him back up.
She let him there at the pen to turn back to Tunu and stopped.
The scaled kobel was looking at her with eyes she had not seen in a long time. Because he had not seen her like that in just as long. At that moment he had recognized the Elua of his youth, back when she used to scold him.
And he didn't know why, that made his heart beat so much faster. One could call it love or desire. All he knew was that, to him, the paltry kobel looked so beautiful.
"What is it?" She approached. "Is there something on my face?"
"No! No, it's nothing. I was... It's nothing. I just wanted to see how you were doing."
"And those few seconds are enough? You might want to look harder."
"No, it's fine."
She was almost taken aback. He would have normally picked up on her teasing. Here, instead, Tunu was simply looked away, absorbed.
She could tell he was hiding something.
"Eh, are you alright?"
"Yes! Of course I am! Don't worry, everything is fine. I have a lot to do, let's see each other later."
And he left as precipitously as he could, akin to a thief caught in the act.
He had thought himself in love with her and just discovered how much deeper his feelings could get. Yes, she was the one he wanted to protect. Even from him.
Especially from himself.