Leadership

There was no disturbance in the valley. Marcus had been on watch and only allowed himself some sleep when Sam, Lana and James dragged him inside saying they would take shifts too.

In the early hours of the morning, breakfast was made by James and Sam. It included jam toast, scrambled egg and their first glass of milk from the goats. Rowan's group hadn't had a proper meal cooked from scratch in weeks.

They'd had wild meat from time to time but nothing like this since their awakening. That was probably why they didn't mind talking. Something to be at least somewhat happy about after all that death which Rowan confirmed is exactly what occured that night.

"It was... Monstrous." Michael could barely get the words out. "It had talons. You couldn't call them claws. They were just too long."

"The teeth. I can't get them out of my head. So vividly terrifying and wicked in nature," Clary described. Her whole body wouldn't stop trembling. It rose at the description but returned to its usual tempo as she finished.

"What can you do when your enemy can summon limitless fire?" Tarik asked. He already knew the answer. "Nothing. It consumed everything."

Jessica quietly sobbed but was determined to say something. Literally anything. "It ate Mord. I-it ate her w-when it h-h-had been going for me!" She wailed into the table with such sorrow but Marcus knew by her clenched fists that if anything, she was furious.

How could he possibly begin to put these people back together. Fixing them would take time. Especially since Rowan and Tarik hadn't started mourning yet. They were trying to be the responsible leaders they'd always worked as. Michael and Clary were still in shock so they would need time too.

Jessica was the only one with the strength to accept Mord was gone. She'd obviously been close with her though so she wasn't going to recover any time soon. A sight Marcus had already witnessed with his own group. The best he could do was look after them because that was a luxury his group had never had at the time.

Jessica went back to sleep. She passed out after crying so much. Clary and Michael were given tasks like weaving, making cordage and sewing to relieve them from the shock.

Finally Rowan, Tarik and the other people who'd made it came outside to help with the daily chores. They all just needed to occupy their minds with something else.

It was nice to come back and find a pile of cordage, dish cloths and mats, mended clothes and sacks all handmade. Assigning people tasks seemed to be very helpful for the community.

The mats just sought of became something nice to sit on for people who felt like sitting on the floor. A couple were set under the ladder for wiping shoes though. It was something that for once didn't just have a practical use but also became pieces of art and comfort.

With more man power, Marcus would have more time to start on new projects while the common chores that needed doing just to stay alive would almost take care of themselves.

It might be a good idea to make a schedule but first Marcus wanted to appoint a co-leader. At least so the slot wasn't empty in the clan description. James was of course his first choice but he needed more than just loyalty.

Lana and Sam both refused the position. They didn't seem too keen on leading others. It was a shame as usually the people who don't crave leadership are really good leaders. It was then that the idea of having Rowan or Tarik as the co-leader crossed his mind.

It made sense as they were both strong leaders with plenty more experience than Marcus. Another task to occupy them until they were ready to grieve but at least this way, it wouldn't impact them too much when they did break down as Marcus would still be there to offer direction. To truly lead them without relying too much on one of them to take on too much responsibility.

So after confronting them, Tarik was appointed as co-leader. Rowan insisted on it claiming that it was HIS bad leadership that led to their old clan's destruction. "When he regains his confidence, I'll hand over my position to him." Tarik said it as though he himself wasn't going through any trauma. It was easy for anyone to see otherwise.

And so, Tarik accompanied Marcus to the Georift clan's first official meeting. "We need to discuss how to prepare for a full on onslaught from this thing if necessary," announced Marcus.

Taemin was a short boy with black hair and dark, brownish skin. He was 16 and an incredibly skilled artist who'd just drawn a sketch of the monster which they all agreed was a dragon, on one of the main cave's walls. It was a white outline scratched into being with flint against the hard, grey surface.

Right now, Tarik, Taemin, Jessica, Rowan, Sam, and someone else from Rowan's old clan called Gavin were all surrounding the sketch. Gavin had black, bulging muscles but was recommended by Tarik for his tactical thinking.

When he shook hands with Marcus, Gavin let him know that he was impressed with the sustainable way of life Marcus had created here. Marcus was flattered and thanked him for the compliment.

Now Marcus was standing before everyone by the sketch Taemin had drawn. "Even if we planned a strong defence and managed to acquire lots of guns and explosives through the system, that monster would still tear through here and massacre everyone in it's path," declared Rowan. "It's fire can melt bones and we haven't even seen what it can do with it's wings yet."

Marcus stared at the white, flint carved graffiti. Examining every feature. He simply said, "it's quite big, isn't it?" The others looked confused. Some raised eyebrows and others screwed up their faces wondering where Marcus was going with this.

"Yes..." Jess answered for everyone, not knowing if she was supposed to say anything.

"What are you getting at?" barked Rowan. "Just tell us already." A hint of a smile ghosted Marcus' face. He'd never seen Rowan get agitated enough to produce a reaction and had begun to accept him as the calm and collected schemer up until now.

"Like in any folk tale, we can use its size against it," Marcus revealed without so much as a smirk. "How we do that needs some work but it definitely won't be hiding away in some dark cave."

"Well I'm just glad to hear our 'leader' wants us to slay some dragon just like some knight from a fairy tale!" Remarked Rowan.

"Actually, he said 'folk' tale not 'fairy'," butt-in Sam. Marcus was worried everything was about to devolve into an argument in which case, their first meeting would be a complete fail. However, Gavin nipped things in the bud before it could get that far.

"This isn't some joke. Those of us here who've seen the dragon have valuable information to give. We should be sharing it instead of assuming the situation is impossible to deal with." Gavin's eyes went straight to Rowan and his stare pierced right through everyone like spears. So much so, a few cringed to the side to avoid it.

He continued on with the same demeanor. "The threat is real enough that we can't rely on the stories of our youth to defeat it." His stare glided towards Marcus now who returned it with as much seriousness in turn. "But Marcus obviously has more to say than that. He doesn't seem naive so let's listen."

Marcus smiled with respect. Gavin dropped his gaze and took a step back. Not the stance of a leader but of someone wise and brutally honest. He might have made a better co-leader but it wasn't the time to run an election.

Either way, Tarik had been right to recommend him. It would be beneficial to surround himself with people just as smart if not smarter than him, Marcus noted. As long as he gained their respect and loyalty.

"Gavin's right, I have more to go off than just children's stories. First, I need to know everything you know. All of you," Marcus gestured at the survivors of the Dragon's wrath.

They each gazed back with renewed determination as well as a hunger for revenge. Tarik took his co-leader role seriously and stepped up to make contributions to the plan. His knowledge of tactics was unsurprisingly quite organised.