FireFlies

My name is Kai, and I am fifteen years old.

I've been a soldier in my tribe since the age of ten, and was considered an Alpha by most others.

An Alpha was someone who was exceptional when it came to fighting- cool, calm, collected, and deadly. I was one of a few, who weren't needed until the tribe started having disagreements.

Our tribe used to be huge- We took up an entire forest, where most others barely took up a quarter. But since ours was so big, there was a lot of fighting, and differences among it. So we broke off into four different directions- South, North, East, and West.

I was part of the Northern tribe, run by our leader, Criss. He was two years older, and being so young had some difficulty in getting the older members to follow him.

Criss had two older brothers, both of which were supposed to take the place of leader, but were denied for outstanding circumstances that were never explained. So, the responsibility had fallen on Criss.

Criss was also engaged, to the daughter of Roden, who was the leader of the Western tribe. Her name was Alexandriana, and was about as dangerous as a fly.

The Eastern tribe was ruled by Chace, who was in his early twenties and rarely had anything to do with the other leaders. Most of us weren't even sure what he looked like.

The Southern tribe was never heard of. When they had broken off, they had ceased any sort of communication, isolating themselves completely, even going as far as building walls around what they considered their territory.

The Eastern tribe had the most supplies, while the Western had the largest population. The Northern tribe, however, had the most soldiers. Statistically speaking, about forty percent of Elves over the age of eighteen were soldiers, and of the population under eighteen, thirty-five percent. The other tribes had roughly twenty percent for their older citizens.

For the past dozen or so years, many people questioned the need to have soldiers anymore. The tribes were relatively peaceful toward each other, and there hadn't actually been a war in over one hundred years. But Criss still kept us all, and his only explanation was “just in case”. No one questioned it beyond that.

I was from a line of soldiers, on my father's side. My mother's family had only had a few, me being one of them. I lived with my mother, Tamara, because my father had died years ago due to a virus. Tamara and I looked almost exactly alike, except where I had long, wavy, nearly black hair, her's was white, and pin straight.

There was also Shyira, a friend of mine who had just turned twenty. She was married to Bryce, and both had been soldiers since they were sixteen. Shyira was the tallest member of our tribe- where most of us stood at six feet tall, she was around six-foot-ten. Bryce was about an inch or two shorter, and both had fiery red hair.

The majority of us had golden eyes- to have any other color was considered rare. It was rumored that the Southern tribe had red, but no one was entirely sure.

“Kai.”

I glanced up from the book in my hand- I wasn't reading it, but it was nice to make it at least look like I was doing something productive.

“Criss is here. He says you need to go with him to a meeting with the rest of the soldiers.” Tamara said with a small smile, tapping her fingers against the doorway to my small bedroom.

None of the houses in the tribe were particularly large- most had been built in the trees, to avoid flooding from the rivers and ponds around us during rainy seasons. In all honesty, it was sort of like your typical 'tree village', with bridges that connected the trees, and one or two homes together that consisted of the basics- a living room and connected kitchen, a bathroom, and however many bedrooms that the occupants needed. Most newly married couples were given two bedroom houses, in case of a future family addition.

The meetings for the soldiers were held below the houses, on the ground in a secluded opening about one mile away.

Standing from my chair, I put the book on my bed before following Tamara toward the living room, seeing Criss standing in the doorway. I nodded to him in greeting quickly as my mother went into the kitchen, leaving the two of us alone.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” I asked politely, putting my hands behind my back.

“I did. There is a mandatory meeting for all soldiers- short notice, but required. You know where they're held, so just go there and everyone should arrive in about ten minutes.” Criss mumbled, glancing to where Tamara had sat herself at the kitchen table before heading back out of the house. I slowly followed, watching as he went to the next tree before I began to make my way down the spiraled stairs that had been carved into the trees.

It was close to dinner, so the sun had just begun to set, covering the forest in an orange light. The desired meeting spot was even darker, being surrounded by trees. I wasn't surprised to see Shyira and Bryce already there, standing close together. Winter would be coming soon, which meant it would get cold. We always lost a small amount of the population during the colder months.

“Do you know what's going on?” Shyira asked as soon as I was in ear shot. I shook my head negatively, making her sigh. “He won't tell us. He could at least imply whether it was good or bad.”

I had a feeling it would be bad, simply because Criss had seemed quieter than usual. He had a loud voice, and to hear him mumble was an odd thing.

“Well, maybe it won't be that big of a deal. Possibly just something about winter.” Bryce suggested with a shrug.

“There's never a mandatory meeting about winter.” Shyira responded, putting her hands on her hips. Bryce shrugged again, this time more in defeat as he hung his head and chose not to respond.

Pretty soon the rest of the soldiers from the tribe were gathered with us as Criss went around lighting the torches surrounding the area. Once he was finished, he walked toward the group, sighing.

“Well. As you know, this isn't a scheduled meeting-”

“We know. Can we get on with it please? My daughter is home alone thanks to this.” someone spoke up. It always amazed me how disrespectful they were to Criss, but what amazed me more was that he didn't try and stop it.

“I apologize. I'll try to keep this brief.” he said, then put his hands behind his back and stood straight before continuing. “As you are all aware, we have not had contact with the Southern tribe for over one hundred years. The walls keep them in, and us out. Many of you have suggested that they're dead-”

“Probably are. What's it to us?”

“... Last night the Western tribe was ambushed. Us, them, and the Eastern tribe have a peace treaty. It wasn't us, and the Eastern tribe barely has anything to do with us. So that only leaves the Southern tribe.”

“... Are you suggesting that the Southern tribe just randomly decided to attack the Western tribe and no one else after hundreds of years of being isolated? That's not very believable.”

Criss sighed again. “Yes, I am aware of this, but it's the only thing we have to go on. According to several witnesses from the Western tribe, their attackers had red eyes and dark skin. Now, granted none of us know what the Southern tribe's population look like, but have you ever seen another Elf with red eyes or dark skin?” Criss asked, then glanced around the group as several people shook their heads.

“Exactly. Therefore, we have ruled that there is a very large probability of it being the Southern tribe. If any of you have a better idea, by all means, I'd love to hear it.”

Shyira frowned before stepping forward. “Sir, even if it was the Southern tribe, what can we do about it? We can't get through the walls- we don't have that type of technology.”

“I'm aware of this. However, we can be prepared should it happen again. All three tribes will have soldiers stationed at the wall from now on, just in case. If it's been a while, and nothing happens, then it's not the Southern tribe. If something does happen, and there's no activity near the wall, then we can rule out the Southern tribe completely and try to figure out who it is.”

“And who's going to be stationed?”

“You all will-”

Criss was cut off as everyone began to complain, from things about families to personal time. He let it go on for a minute before speaking again.

“I am well aware that you all have other things. But right now, this is what we need to do to ensure the safety of our people. Now, if you don't want that, feel free to leave now. I don't care either way. But I will do what I need to do to make sure everyone is safe, whether you like it or not. Now, you will all be stationed at the wall, and you'll rotate. Ten one night, then ten the next, and so on. Any more objections?” Criss asked. Everyone remained silent, and he nodded after a minute. “Thank you. Now then, Theo and Gage will be overseeing the rotations, and they are who you'll report to each night.”

Theo and Gage were Criss' brothers. Theo's full name was Theodore, but everyone referred to him as Theo since Theodore was their father. The two came by every now and then, but never stayed for longer than a few weeks.

“This is the first rotation- Kai, Shyira, Bryce, Celebrian, Gregovick, Marcella, Devin, Nicholas, Tora, Markus. Your shift starts tomorrow at five. I suggest you be there. Dismissed.” Criss said, watching as the crowd dissipated, a few people still complaining about the job.

“Oh, and Kai...”

I turned back to Criss, raising an eyebrow in question.

“Happy birthday.”