"Just the scrappy trio I was looking for," A deep drawling voice called out behind them.

They turned to see the xio from before carrying one of the noble kids on his shoulder, “How’re ya’ll holdin’ up?”

“We’re doing alright. We were actually about to go looking for you.”

“Ah, well no need to thank me or nothin’. The name’s Tadios by the way. These folks cause you any more trouble, all you need to do is yell my name and I’ll come runnin’.” He said.

“Well that wasn’t the reason we wanted to find you, actually. I mean, thank you for helping us, but,” Dreiki sighed. He was not good at this, “What I’m trying to say- Will you help us again? I want to learn from you.”

Tadios tilted his head, “Now that’s about the last thing I expected to hear today.” He chuckled, “Ya wanna get stronger huh? Well I have a proposition for ya then. Join our war games and I’ll train with you.”

“War game?”

“It’s a bit of an unofficial event ‘round this time of year. Nobles make an invasion, we Tibur make the defense. Rules are ya gotta take the horn tips off of the other team until there’s either no one left, they surrender, or the Siren Ceremony comes and we do a head count. And meal time is neutral territory.”

Dreiki caught a glance with Luna, “Why would you want us to join?”

Tadios scratched his head, “Ya’ll are about our age, plus you’re scrappy, and I’m short on teammates this year. Can’t say I put much more thought in it than that.”

“But we’re Noxa. Will you treat us differently if we join?” Luna asked.

Tadios shrugged, “Can’t say I would. Like I said, if anyone gives you trouble, just yell.”

“We’re not trying to have any trouble come to us or make enemies with the nobility.”

“It’s just a game at the end of the day, but I guess I understand where you’re comin’ from.

Dreiki thought for a moment. Joining this war game would bring attention to their group. However, they were not exactly here to lay low. There were nobles, and there was a chance that the emperor’s son was here as well. And yet, as far as he could imagine, the odds of being discovered as a disciple of Savekio did not increase. Why had Savekio told them to come here in the first place? The first was to experience the Siren Ceremony and develop a plan for survival, but was that all there was?

Dreiki knew by now that Savekio’s tests were never as simple as ‘find a way to survive’. There was always a hidden criteria, or a test within the test that he was looking to judge.

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“If you need some time to think about it, I understand. I was actually lookin’ for your leader,” Tadios said.

“I can’t speak for everyone else, but I would like to join,” Dreiki said, “I thought about it and I think it’ll be fun.”

“Really? That’s great. I need all the help I can get this year, so I’m glad to have ya.”

“What about if I don’t have horns to cut?” Luna said.

Tadios put a hand to his chin, “Unfortunately, we can’t have ya since we gotta have a way to know if you’ve been knocked out of the war games or not.”

“Are you sure? Maybe I could help with healing, or something.”

Tadios sighed, shaking his head, “Rules are rules and I’d feel bad if I made an exception to them, sorry. I wish I could have you on my side.”

Luna chewed her lip, fiddling with her hands, “I understand.”

“It’ll be alright,” Dreiki said to her.

“Yeah,” she said, not seeming to hear him.

“What’s wrong? I’ll be okay.”

“I know that it’s just- I’ll tell you later.”

Dreiki nodded, turning to Tadios, “So what now?”

“Can I trust you to convince the rest to join too?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Good, then I’ll take you to meet my cousins now if you’ve got time.”

“Your cousins?”

“Yup! Everyone’s family in the Tibur clan, so that’s what I call anyone from a separate branch. Gonna meet up with them to let them know you’re gonna be helpin’ us out. The lady and the drake can come too.”

Tadios led them through a series of winding tents. The Tibur’s camp was packed to the brim with so many people he almost felt like he was walking through the streets of the city. A few of the wolves growled at Ezo, but a whistle from Tadios called them off. Dreiki had to do the same for Ezo.

“That’s a pretty well trained drake, where’d you get it?”

“I rescued him from some…poachers.”

“That so? You train it yourself?”

“I did.” That wasn’t a complete lie, even if Savekio had done most of the training.

“It must appreciate you saving its life if it’s that obedient.”

“He’s my first friend, in a way.”

Tadios nodded, “I think I can understand that. Easier to talk to animals than people, right?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“A lotta the kids my age were real standoffish on account of who my parents were and how I acted at the time.”

Dreiki raised an eyebrow, “How do you mean?”

“I might tell ya later since it’s a long story, but the gist of it was that my parents got tangled up with Malaki, and I was a pretty bitter bully when I was younger. They didn’t let me participate in the Siren ceremony when it was my time, so this year will be my first. Guess they didn’t trust me to help anyone if a Malaki started eatin’ their guts. Maybe they thought I’d eat their guts if the Malaki didn’t, who knows?”

“Why are they letting you participate this year?”

“I guess it’s cuz I’ve proven myself since then? Or maybe no one who remembers or cares about what happened with my parents is still in camp. I also had a mentor who taught me a lot about restraint, honor, and justice. Then there’s this girl in our tribe who offered a friendly hand when no one else would. Really softened me up over the years. She’s pretty much my little sister now.”

Dreiki couldn’t help but smile at that, “That’s all it takes sometimes, huh?”

“That it does, anyways we’re here!” He said, gesturing to a brown and gray teepee, “After you,” He said, opening the flap.