By the time they caught up with the tribe, Gale and Bo were walking side by side. With his wounds having mostly closed, thanks to the many Horus shoots he had eaten along the way, Bo felt far better than he had any right to.

Occasionally, his knees would buckle or shudder when climbing a particularly steep hill. But aside from that, he was doing very well for himself.

They had just caught sight of the tribe – a long winding trail of dark figures weaving between distant dunes. Even from far away, Bo could make out the many tracks their sledges had carved through the sand.

It wasn't until he actually saw those tracks and the distant figures of the Karak that he began to grow nervous.

"Do you think Ethron will be mad?"

Gale paused, scratching his chin thoughtfully, "Yes… but not at you,"

"Wh-" Bo stopped himself, thinking it over, "Will he be mad at you?"

The old man sighed, "I imagine he will be. That old bastard has never been particularly understanding and..." He glanced at Bo. "If you were still injured, he might have believed our story about you needing the tattoo to survive. But with you walking about like this… well, I don't think he's going to buy it,"

"Damnit," Bo clenched his fists helplessly.

"What will he do to you?"

Gale shrugged helplessly, "I have no idea,"

"Well, I've got your back! Me and Fran will stop him if he tries anything!" Bo declared, shaking his fist menacingly.

With a chuckle, Gale patted Bo on the shoulder, "Thanks,"

They continued on to the tribe, quickly closing the gap with their fellow Karak. The first thing Bo noticed was the panicked expressions on their faces. Every man, woman, and child was running from something - dragging their sledges with pressing urgency.

He noticed Fran at the back of the pack and rushed up behind her, trying not to disturb too many people with his approach.

"Fran," He hissed.

The old woman whipped her head around, freezing, when she saw Bo. "Uh," She stuttered as her face thawed and a smile bloomed across it.

Without a word, she rushed over and hugged Bo tightly. So tightly that his bones creaked in protest.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly.

"…" Bo couldn't find the words to reply; he just nodded meekly – taking comfort in the warmth and safety of the hug. He hadn't realized how much he needed it.

"Good, good," Fran fussed, turning him over to check each part of his body was still there. "Honestly, you should just forget this Qui business and focus on staying safe. There will be other ways to cross the salt flats,"

"Well…" Bo scratched his head awkwardly. "You see…" He trailed off, noting that Fran's gaze had levelled on his collarbone – where red and black licks of fire curled.

"What is that?" She asked quietly, her wrinkled hand pausing at Bo's collar.

"You see-" Bo stuttered, "I almost died and-"

"You almost died!?" She cupped her hand over her mouth in shock.

"No, well, yes, actually,"

"Are you insane!? Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine, but-"

"I can't believe this," She shook her head absentmindedly, taking a shaky breath, "I knew I shouldn't have let you go; I knew it was too soon. It's that old bastard's fault,"

"Sorry," Gale, who had been standing nearby the entire time, apologised meekly - looking down at his feet like a child being scolded.

"No, not you," Fran waved her hand dismissively, "Ethron - that old bag of bones. He's such a controlling little-" She stopped herself, squinting suspiciously at Gale.

"Where's your bag?"

"Uh-" Gale started to speak, but Bo cut him off.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you! I got hurt pretty badly when a Vesper attacked, and Gale had no choice but to give me this tattoo so that I could recover! But I was still too weak to walk back, so he had to carry me and…."

Fran was just staring at Bo in abject horror, words failing to find their way out of her mouth.

"And I'm fine now," Bo finished lamely.

"A vesper attacked," Fran echoed, shaking her head, "How the hell did you even… No, never mind."

She reached over and tried to cover Bo's tattoo so that none of the other Karak could see it. But with his robe in tatters, this was like trying to block a landslide with a fence.

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"This is serious, Bo," She said sternly, gripping his shoulder, "That old goat is going to be furious that you got the tattoo without his permission. He might even exile you. As for Gale…" She turned to look at the old man apologetically, "I'm sorry; I know this is Bo's fault, but Ethron may very well try to have you executed,"

Gale nodded slowly, seemingly unsurprised by this information, "I thought as much,"

"What!?" Bo exclaimed, "You told me you had no-"

"Hush, listen to her,"

"I won't let that happen," Fran continued, "Bo owes you his life, and I owe you just as much. Ethron needs me – especially with the upcoming ritual on Fox mountain. So I should be able to leverage that and work out a deal. I'll go and tell him what happened, you two…."

She glanced at the bedraggled pair. Bo was caked in dried blood, and his clothes had been torn into rags which had further been shredded into strips of dangling cloth that were merely pretending to be clothing. "Just try and look even more miserable than you already do,"

Bo nodded and started shifting his bandages so that the bloodiest ones were visible.

When Fran had left, he turned to Gale and asked, "How mad do you think he''ll be?"

Gale glanced at Ethron - who was glaring at the approaching Fran in much the same way a cat watches a dog. He seemed not to have noticed either of them yet, but that wouldn't last long.

"Very,"

Bo sighed helplessly, "I thought so,"

They watched nervously as Fran approached the group of hunters at the front of the procession, standing fearlessly before the pack of fully grown men. She didn't bend or buckle before Ethron's burning gaze – meeting it with an icy one of her own.

She proceeded to talk animatedly, occasionally gesturing back to Bo and Gale - who were following nervously at the back of the procession.

The first time Ethron turned to look at them, his expression was smug. He seemed to take some inexplicable pleasure in their miserable appearance, revelling in what he thought was a failed mission.

The next time he looked at them, his face was volcanic. Every little piece of him seemed to tremble in collective rage, bubbling and frothing like boiling magma. He looked like he wanted to rip their heads off and probably would – given the chance.

"Yeah, he looks furious," Bo said grimly.

"Yes, he does,"

Whenever Fran started gesturing to Bo and then back to herself – Ethron's expression took on a new temperature. Frigid. He had gone from boiling madness to an even more intimidating form of silent fury. The anger seemed to build up inside him, and the very act of containing his wrath only aggravated him all the more.

But despite his beat red face and gnashing teeth - Ethron hadn't erupted as they expected. He simply nodded grimly, and Fran made her way back to the end of the procession.

When she returned, she seemed equally furious – breathing heavily and clenching her fists. It looked like she had been in a physical fight rather than a verbal one.

"How did it go?" Bo asked anxiously.

"He's not going to exile you," She pointed to Bo, "Or kill you," She pointed to Gale – who breathed a sigh of relief.

"That being said," She looked at the old man, "Watch your back. He's blaming you for this,"

Gale sighed helplessly, "Okay,"

Fran shook her head, "I wouldn't worry about the immediate future, but he might try and deal with you in the form of some sort of 'accident' somewhere down the line… you know what he's like,"

"Yes," Gale nodded sadly, "He always did hold a grudge,"

Fran turned menacingly to Bo, "And you,"

"Yes,"

"Don't leave my sight until… oh, I don't know... forever,"

"Bu-"

"No buts. This isn't a request,"

Bo looked like he wanted to protest, but one glance at the seething old man at the front of the procession made him think better of it. "Okay," It might be shameful, but he would rather hide behind Fran than face the wounded beast.

The second she heard this reply, Fran seemed to deflate. "Good," She sounded drained, "I just want you to be safe… I know… I know that I won't always be able to protect you; I know that. But at least let me try,"

"Okay," Bo nodded meekly. He had rarely seen Fran get serious about anything, and when she did, he listened. He owed her that much.

In the awkward silence that followed, Bo heard a whisper drift across the growing wind. It was ever so distant and yet, felt like it was speaking directly into his ear. It spoke in a language he couldn't understand, but the intent of the words seemed to translate in his mind.

"Help... me,"

Bo whirled around, finding nothing but the endless golden expanse. There was nobody who could have spoken. Nobody at all.

"Did anyone else hear that?" He asked nervously.

"Hear what?" Gale looked at Bo with worry painted across his face, "You're probably just tired. How long has it been since you last slept?"

Bo nodded dully, "Yeah, you're right – it's all because of that storm; I haven't been able to rest in…." His eyes suddenly widened, and he grabbed Fran's arm, "There's a storm coming! We need to get to somewhere safe now!"

Fran frowned at him, "I know," She said, "Why do you think everyone looks so nervous?"

"Oh," Bo had previously noticed the general unrest of the tribe, but it had slipped his mind in the wake of Ethron's verdict.

"What are we doing to prepare?" Gale cut in, holding his stump, which had begun to hurt considerably. "I would estimate that the storm is only a few hours away – and it's big at that,"

Fran nodded, "We're heading towards a nearby cliff to take shelter. It shouldn't take us more than an hour to get there at our current pace,"

"Good," Gale sighed in relief, "I'm glad we made it in time. If we had been stuck out there during the storm... I don't think we would have made it back alive,"

"Thank you," Fran placed a hand on the old man's shoulder, "Really, thank you,"

The old man shook off the hand awkwardly and smiled, "It's not a problem. He's not all bad," He glanced at Bo awkwardly.

Fran followed his gaze and smiled. "He does have his moments,"

Squirming under the praise, Bo backed off and searched the procession for Leo and Tor. They weren't hard to find since they were hovering near Bo's group like vultures that fed on gossip. The second Bo separated, they dived in.

"What happened!?" Leo asked excitedly, having already seen Ethron's insane reaction.

"It's a long story," Bo said, "I'll catch you up after I've gotten some rest,"

"Aw," Tor groaned, "just tell us now,"

"Nah, it would take too long. All I'll say right now is…." He glanced to ensure no one was looking and lowered the strip of cloth covering his collarbone. "I got the tattoo," He whispered.

"What!?" Leo and Tor shouted in unison, drawing the ire of a few older tribesmen.

"Tell us everything," Leo hissed, doing his best to stay quiet.

Bo rubbed his eyes. "I'm just too tired right now; give me some time to rest, and I'll tell you the whole story."

Tor rolled her eyes frustratedly and threw her hands in the air, "Fine," She spat, "Then at least listen to this,"

"Did something happen?"

"Something," Tor scoffed, "Only the craziest thing since Hellen went missing... where should I begin?"

"Treya," Leo added helpfully.

"Oh yes," Tor nodded, "You remember Treya, right? Spiky hair, bit of a limp." Without waiting for Bo to agree or disagree, she launched into her tale, "Well anyway, she-"

"Help me," The quiet voice drifted across the ever-growing howl of the wind.

Bo glanced around, but judging by everyone else's reactions – only he had heard it.

While Tor continued talking, he rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the tiredness. Perhaps it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Maybe he was just tired…

"Help... me,"

Then again, maybe not.