"Aria!"
Fen's booming voice rang out, freezing me mid-step. I had been on my way to sweet-talk the merchant into parting with more resources, when I saw them: a parade of angry faces from our tribe—ogres, goblins, lizardmen, kobolds, imps, and even Boulder, whose bulk made him impossible to miss.
Fuck. I forgot about Boulder!
"H-Hi, Fen! You're back early!" I blurted, plastering on the most innocent smile I could muster.
Fen wasn't having any of it. Her sharp eyes narrowed like a predator sizing up its prey.
"Oi," Leah growled, stepping forward. She was a kobold, but not like the scrappy, diminutive ones I remembered from the games I used to play. No, Leah was sleek, her wolf-like features and piercing golden eyes reminded me of Death from Puss in Boots.
"Don't think you can wiggle out of this one, Aria," she said, crossing her arms.
"And you five!" Fen snapped, her glare going towards the merchant and adventurers who had been trailing behind me before but are now backing away nervously, trying to stay away from them and looking increasingly uneasy.
One of them, Rea, even started chanting a spell under her breath, but, Jia saw that and silenced her with a bonk on the head using her staff.
I couldn't suppress the giggle that escaped me.
"Is this funny to you?" Leah snapped, her golden eyes narrowing even further.
"N-No!" I said quickly, although my trembling shoulders betrayed me.
The villagers weren't amused. Bjorn and Kiril, the two ogres, stepped forward and grabbed the 4 by the scruff of their necks like misbehaving kittens. As if that wasn't enough humiliation, Titan, the gentle armor of our group, decided Serena and I deserved the same treatment.
"Wait, I can walk!" I protested as Titan effortlessly lifted me off the ground. My legs kicked in protest, but he didn't even flinch.
By the way, Kiril is the second oldest of the eight little ogre babies before. The first being Shir, Kiril, Jil, Wiv, Nio, Bjorn, Hiol, Deil.
Each has a different personality, Shir being playful, Kiril the coolheaded, Jil the troublemaker, Wiv the smart one, Nio & Bjorn being the muscleheads, Hiol the optimistic one, and then Deil the sword addict.
Yep, addict, when he saw Titan weild a longsword before to test the creations of the blacksmiths and then saw Titan's skill he kept bothering him for a spar.
By the time we were unceremoniously deposited in the village square, a crowd had already gathered. It felt like the entire tribe had shown up for the spectacle. I was still absentminded when Serena nudged me.
I looked to my left, to where she was kneeling and saw her nodding her head towards the front, I looked over and saw Jia and Mela with their eyebrows raised.
Eep!
Realizing what was going on I followed suit and kneeled as well, I also realized there was a very interesting crack on the ground. The ground, at least, wouldn't judge me.
"So? Do you have anything to say? I mean, you could've given us a heads up before getting up and playing hooky! What's more, we hear from Boulder that you went and confronted these humans? Are you stupid?" Leah said, followed by Titan and the other's nod.
I can't even say anything about that, I mean I did escape without them knowing, BUT, I'm the leader anyway, so why would I need to get permission they won't give anyway?
With an unknown source of confidence, I blurted out. "It's not like anything happened anyway, you're coddling me too much! I'm not made of glass, you guys know that already! Besides, I'm the leader why do I need permission to—"
That, of course was met with more frown and an angry Fen. "Oh? So because you're the leader you can do what you want, huh? Have you ever thought of the fact that if you'd just disappear like that we would be looking for you? And then what? If we meet a hostile monster stronger than us and we died, what would you have done huh? Aria, just because you lead us doesn't mean you can just do what you want. You're being selfish! You're leading a village, not a playground!"
"Are you stupid?" Leah cut in, adding more salt to the wound.
"That's rich coming from someone who almost got us killed before," I muttered under my breath.
"What was that?" Leah's sharp ears caught it, and I immediately regretted my sarcasm.
"Nothing!" I said quickly, staring intently at a rock on the ground.
"You scolded us for leaving the camp without permission, yet you did exactly that," Mela chimed in. Her large, expressive eyes shimmered with tears, which only made me feel worse. "You're supposed to be our leader, Aria. If you don't trust us to help, how can we trust you to lead?"
Her words hit harder than I expected.
"You're not glass," Gorn added, his tone gentler but firm. "But we're not coddling you. We just don't want to lose you."
A lump formed in my throat. Guilt settled in my chest, heavy and inescapable.
"I'm sorry," I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper. "I was wrong. I won't do it again."
Author: She will (￣ω￣;)
The tension in the square eased slightly. Scar, who has been silently watching, ruffled my hair roughly. "Good. But don't think you're off the hook yet."
I barely had time to process his words when Fen's piercing gaze shifted to the group of 5 behind me. They had been inching away, one hesitant move at a time, their movements as subtle as they thought they could manage.
And yet, their guilty expressions betrayed them, faces pale and eyes darting nervously, like schoolchildren caught sneaking out of class.
Their retreat wasn't toward safety but straight into the center, as if that could shield them from whatever judgment was about to rain down on them.
Hahaha! (*^▽^*)
"Now it's your turn," Jia said, stepping forward. Her voice was calm, but the glint in her eyes was anything but.
Lin, the lizardman chief's wife, took center stage. Her scales gleamed under the sunlight as she fixed the 5 with a predatory smile.
Little Theater: The Five's Judgment
Fen: *glaring* "Do you five have anything to say for yourselves?"
Rea: *whispering* "Quick, someone faint! It might work!"
Serena: *deadpan* "Yeah, no."