Trial? We Don't Need a Trial

"Such is the custom! It's not against our terms!" Elder Kano bluntly added, eyeing LaRee as he did so.

LaRee clenched his fists in frustration. But he kept quiet… There was no way for LaRee to speak over an elder during a village-wide announcement of that magnitude. Not without facing great consequences.

All the while, Elder Kano continued declaring, "Intruder! You will remain silent! Only speak if elders question you! Speak, and die!"

Ptew…

The elder seemingly calmed down after finishing the announcement, ending it with another shot of spit.

Elder Kano strolled out of the cage without spending another glance on the intruder. But he did nod to the band of hunters who had just returned with the unconscious wolves.

Those hunters bowed their heads in return. Then, they rushed to unload those two wolves and recruit more men.

As Elder Kano walked toward a larger hut nearby, rumors of a mammoth kill were spreading faster than the cold breeze. And the frustrated LaRee was soon surrounded by villagers.

"Great kill!"

"So strong! And so young!"

"Just like Chief!"

LaRee offered simple nods and brief smiles in response. But LaRee's focus was constantly drawn back to Ayse, who was smiling and taking in the sights of the village. All despite being strung up as a captive and threatened with death.

Then, LaRee's small smiles faded out of existence.

Ptew. Ptew. Ptew.

A line of tribe folk had entered the cage. In perfect rhythm, the villagers took syncopated turns spitting on their captive.

"How dare you!?" berated an older man. "You endanger us all. You bring Sky God's wrath!"

"Bad man!" a child yelled, only being able to reach Ayse's chest with spit due to being too short.

That child's mother followed up, shouting, "You deserve death! You hurt Chief LaRoe!"

And through all that, LaRee still found it impossible to understand the foreigner.

Because Ayse only smiled back at his protesters, even offering small head bows in response to every verbal jab pointed his way. When Ayse realized that LaRee was still focused on him, Ayse locked eyes with the prodigy hunter once more.

LaRee's tense demeanor melted away in an instant.

Ayse's eyes showed no malice, no anger, and no desire for vengeance. Ayse's warm but sorrowful grin demonstrated his unexpected acceptance of the accident he had caused. Ayse's body was relaxed in spite of being uncomfortable strung up by his wrist with feet barely touching the ground.

"Don't worry about me…"

Those words weren't spoken. But LaRee felt that plain, impactful phrase from Ayse's gaze alone.

That led LaRee to subconsciously turn away. His eyes naturally drifted toward the rug-like curtain at the entrance of the meeting house, the same curtain that Elder Kano had passed through moments ago.

"Execution!"

"Dismemberment!"

Two arguing voices filled the meeting house. Sitting in a circle, three elderly men and two elderly women exchanged glances. They all sat cross-legged on cushions of varying pelts. Each of them had their hair shaved. And their scalps were adorned with similar, serpent tattoos coiled around their heads.

Taking the floor for a moment, Elder Kano stated, "Execution is the best option. The sooner the better."

"No," a small elderly woman replied, wagging her finger. "The Sky God is angry. We must dismember him. And sacrifice his parts to her servants. Or the village will suffer greater tragedy."

Knock, knock, knock…

All ten eyes inside the meeting house were refocused on the curtain. No one had entered. But someone had knocked on the posts of the entryway.

"Who seeks the elders?" question an elder with heavy sabertooth earrings dragging down his droopy earlobes.

"LaRee, son of Chief LaRoe! Witness to the incident and the captor of the intruder!"

Elder Kano clicked his tongue but wasn't too irritated. He offered a subtle nod to his fellow elders as confirmation of those facts.

The elder with sabertooth earrings spoke again, "Enter! Be true and brief!"

LaRee stepped through the curtain with his head bowed. He pounded the side of his fist against his chest, three times. LaRee kept two fingers raised to mimic the fangs of a snake coming in contact with his heart.

"Now, you may speak," Elder Kano stated with a neutral tone.

With decorum behind him, LaRee raised his head to look the elders in the eyes. "The intruder's boat hit Chief. That killed Pack Leader. My father is lucky to live.

"But there's more." LaRee's tone shifted, becoming sterner. "We can't threaten the intruder."

"Why not?" the second female questioned, raising her slim, long arms in confusion.

"The intruder killed the mammoth. Not me."

… That answer shut each elder up, forcing them all to rethink their potential responses.

Elder Kano was the first to sigh and reply, tapping his finger on the dirt floor, "... The intruder? With your arrow?"

LaRee nodded. "Yes."

"Impossible," Elder Kano reasoned with a shaking head. "Did he take your bow? How could he kill it? With just the arrow?"

"Yes. With just the arrow," LaRee stated, his neutral expression unwavering. "He's that strong."

But it wasn't just Elder Kano struggling to believe such accusations. The short female elder sighed with her high-pitched voice, "LaRee. Don't belittle yourself. Not for your father's attacker."

"The intruder uses knives. Not arrows," Elder Kano clarified for his fellow elders.

"In that case…" A skin and bones man with a vintage face took a hit from his pipe. "... Do you lie? LaRee?"

Adamant, LaRee shook his head. "I tell no lie. The intruder killed the mammoth. With his hands and a fallen arrow. Yet he didn't harm any of us hunters–"

"But he knocked your wolves unconscious. Did he not?" Elder Kano retorted.

"The intruder did," LaRee answered. "But he didn't kill us. Or harm a hunter–"

"Nephew LaRee…" the smoking elder made a light cough. "Calm down. Your father is with the shaman. With time, the chief will recover."

"Uncle LaRae–"

"So stop. Don't defend the intruder. He dared to kill your father," Elder LaRae continued, lowering his pipe. "Please stop, LaRee. The intruder is guilty. Of many crimes. Attempted murder of the chief. Successful murder of Pack Leader. And even worse. The intruder brings the wrath of Sky God.

"No reason is enough for so many crimes. No justification is possible."

Thump…

LaRee stomped his foot in order to demand the floor and finish his statements. "Elders, I don't lie. Ayse killed the mammoth–"

"Ayse? You address him by name? As if equals?" A look of disgust drooped across the face of the elder with tooth earrings.

The skinny, lanky female elder clicked her tongue multiple times while shaking her head. "Oh, LaRee… There is no right here. The chief is unconscious. Pack Leader is dead. And at a terrible time. That's too much already. We can't survive Sky God's wrath. We must appease her. As soon as possible!"

Slowly, LaRee's mostly neutral stance and body language were growing more tense.

Seeing the young man's reaction, Elder Kano asked, "What do you propose? LaRee? How would you appease Sky God?"

When LaRee didn't offer a quick answer, Elder Kano also asked, "... How do you avenge Chief?"

"... How do we avenge Pack Leader?"

LaRee shook his head, speaking through gritted teeth, "I don't lie! The intruder killed the mammoth. The intruder spared our lives. The intruder can communicate, and explain!"

"Sorry, Nephew LaRee. But I have no questions. Not for my brother's attacker. Not for the enemy of Sky God," Elder LaRae promptly stated, stopping LaRee from going further.

Elder Kano then asked, "Have anything else to say?"

LaRee took in a slow, deep breath. He let his body start relaxing again.

"... Nothing more?" Elder Kano asked again. "Then go. We must discuss things."

"What about the cannibals? The cannibal scout escaped. They saw Chief get hurt," LaRee asked.

Elder LaRae took a puff from his pipe. "... We'll get to that topic. First, we deal with Sky God's enemy. With the chief's attacker. Then, we'll talk about the cannibals."

"The intruder agreed to help. To fight and protect–"

"Stop!" Elder LaRae leered at his nephew with a raised hand. He was livid to hear such words uttered by a family member. "... You trust your father's attacker? Sky God's enemy? He's no better than cannibals. He caused everything."

"Uncle–"

"He let the cannibal escape!" Elder LaRae yelled, silencing his nephew. "He killed Pack Leader! He almost killed Chief! Your father! He brought Sky God's wrath!

"The intruder deserves death! We don't debate that. We debate the process. And what to do with the corpse." Piercing his nephew's soul, Elder LaRae's eyes were like daggers. "The intruder will die. That is fact! It will happen immediately!"

"No! That's not our terms–"

"Enough!" SMACK!

Elder LaRae rushed to his feet to strike his nephew's face, instantly silencing the young man. And the fellow elders only felt embarrassed on behalf of Elder LaRae.

"What terms? The intruder is a criminal. The greatest criminal of our era!" Elder LaRae ranted. He leaned into LaRee's face, letting his spittle and breath press against the young man's face. "The intruder is the first! First to almost kill a chief. And to kill a pack leader. At the same time!

"Also the second to anger the Sky God! And we can't survive her wrath. Not again!"