Chapter 2

"Come. It’s this way." Karmen led and I led Liam into our shared dorm towards a table that was barely holding it together. Once inside, she went on, "It's been such a hassle. Not a day goes by where the two of us don't mention something about it."

I went to speak up against liability of that statement, but Karmen gave me an aggressive look with a finger to her lip. I got the idea and shutted up.

"Well, here it is." Liam said. "I could see this little one's damage from a mile away. You're whole leg needs to be replaced--table leg that is." He knelt down beside the table and began to look through his tools. "You two can make yourself at home. This should only take a moment."

After we shut the door and returned to our cleaning of the room, Erkens began again, laying on his back beneath the table. "If you don't mind me asking, you two are of the tribe’s fourth generation, right? The ones from other lands who were accepted into the tribe? You remember the story."

"That is correct." I was the nearest person, so answering-responsibilities fell to me. "My mother is Scottish and my father African. Karmen always told me her parents were Eastern travelers. And what about you?"

There was an awkward pause from Erkens. "Oh--Irish. Not much to talk about there." There was something nervous or awkward about his voice. I couldn’t quite place my finger on it.

"Enough with your boring talk, Yrsa." Karmen brushed me aside. "So, Liam? What do you do in your spare time?"

"You're leaning." He said.

"What? Oh." Karmen ceased applying pressure to the table he was currently working on.

"Oh, well, you know. Besides working out, fixing things for people and lifting heavy things, I guess I just do the kind of stuff other people don't want to do. You know, grunt work and tasks that no one has time to get around to."

You have no idea. I thought to myself.

"Hmm… that's so manly." Karmen said.

I rolled my eyes in disgust.

"Well, you know. I guess I have been called that from time to time. It helps when you..." While Liam continued on about his tough and "macho tendencies" for some time, I caught something out of the corner of my eye.

"Oh, hey, Erkens." I said calmly, yet somewhat sharply. "There's a skrið spider-crab in the corner by your head. You might want to swat at it or something."

"What? Spider?! Where?!" Liam jerked up, hitting his head against the table. "Everyone back away!" He scrambled out of the hole he had made for himself, knocking things over along the way.

Liam grabbed the broom from my hands and stepped up onto our dinner table at the center of the room. "Come on, get up! Don’t let it near you!"

Karmen took his hand, but I ignored the two of them.

"Oh, what? The spider-crab? No, those things are harmless."

"You don't know that! This is a completely new world! There could be dangerous look-alikes or something." His voice was a shrill.

"No, look it's fine." I knelt over and crabbed the little critter up. It was a round bug-like creature of bright purples, oranges and green with big shiny eyes and was about the size of my palm.

"They’re actually more cute than they are scary." Karmen stood down back onto solid ground.

"What?! No, put that thing down! You don't know what kind of venom those things have!"

"Come on, it's harmless. It's okay to face your fears." The bug made a high-pitch chirp. "Here." I offered the bug towards him.

"Hey, no! Put that thing back!" He said, holding the broom in a defensive position.

"It's fine." I laughed and set the bug on the table. I think now I was finally starting to enjoy myself. "See? Harmless little guy."

The bug looked up at Liam from where it stood on the table. "No, no. Good bug." As it began to crawl towards Liam, he began to back up. "Stay! ... Sit!" He pointed down at the thing, but all his efforts were useless.

Then came the sound of a coarse scream as Liam fell off the end table and hit his head on the floor.

"Yrsa..." Karmen dragged out the last vowel of my name disapprovingly.

"Fine." I grabbed the creature up. "These things are everywhere. There's nothing to be afraid of." I tossed the bug out the window and heard it screech a high-pitched cry.

Liam stood up and straightened his tunic. "Afraid about? I was just being careful. Just got to make sure to protect anyone and everyone from any unwanted threats that may arise on this island, hidden or not. You know, just doing my job."

"Yeah... sure you were." It was all I could think to say.

Liam wasted no time in finishing up the rest of the repairs. Before we knew it, he was already packing up and getting ready to leave. "That seems to have done it." He wobbled the table. It didn't teeter back and forth like before. "Well, it was nice working for you, ladies." He was already on his way out towards the door, tedious not to touch anything. "It was a good thing I was here when that thing showed up. That could have gotten out of hand. Glad to be of service."

He stopped at the door. “Oh, and if you could keep this whole spider-crab scenario under wraps, that would be great.”

"Yeah... sure... why not...?" My voice was defuse of energy. I had nothing left for this guy.

"See you around, ladies!" He was off before you could say spider-crab.

The door was instantly shut. Both Karmen and I locked eyes.

"Well, I guess it could have been worse." I admitted and locked the door. "Besides being a wimpy man-child, he did fix our table."

"Could have been worse? He's – he’s pathetic! I was told he was the most perfect man in the tribe, but no, he's just a fearful idiot!"

Here we go again. I thought to myself.

Later that morning, while I was going through armor and clothing in my room, Karmen was laying on the top bed of the two bunks, complaining. I tried not to listen as she went on, "I can't believe for a minute, I was attracted to that--that imbecile! I'm ashamed to even have thought an oaf like him would be a fit for me."

"Now you're just taking it a bit too far..." I closed a drawer. "… But yeah, he was pretty pathetic."

Karmen rolled over and groaned into the open book on her pillow titled, 1000 Ways to Kill A Viking. "I'll never find someone in this strange, cruel world..."

"Do you know where I left my long dagger? You know, the one with the curvy tip?"

"It's in my bottom drawer." Karmen lifted a finger, then returned to her moping.

"Don’t worry, you'll find someone else in a few weeks or so. I'm sure of it."

She scoffed. “Easy for you to say. You don’t like anyone, no matter how strong or smart or good-looking they are."

"It's not that I don't like anyone, I just haven't met the right one yet. Everyone's either taken or... him."

I obtained my dagger from her drawer, then stopped to study it. "Remind me again, what was my dagger doing in your drawer?"

"What? I needed it for something." Karmen’s voice was matter-of-fact.

"You wh-- You know what, I don't want to know." I massaged my forehead and made a sound of discontent. "Remind me exactly why they made us room mates again?"

"Because of the massive storm that ran through this entire Training Colosseum, making us and the owner of the building as the only living staff left to run the place. Just be lucky we're not stuck with five or six room mates and a goat or two like the others."

"You're right. I am lucky." I gathered several items, new attire and matching armor into a bundle sack. "The queen is hosting a feast for the new month at her grand longhouse. Everyone is encouraged to go hunting. You coming?"

"Only if you take back that comment not wanting not to be my room mate."

"I didn't say that. I implied that. Two completely different things."

There was a small pause as I tied my bundle together with satisfaction.

"... Alright, fine. I'm coming."