A Good Offer|Clan Fira | Naurorod

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Alexi took the clear skies as a good omen; while there would probably be clouds in the evening, the fact there weren't any now boded well for the proposal he had for Fira.

Or at least, that's what he told himself. Hopefully whoever he spoke to would be reasonable.

Alexi shrugged, took the plunge, and placed his fingers between his lips for a long, shrill whistle that carried well in the desert air.

[Northen Light36]

An answering whistle comes back and soon after that Ann appears, bounding up to Alexi with Ember running along at her heals. "Hello Elder Alexi," she greets him. "What brings you to Fira? Uncle Damien is about to head to Char."

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"Hey, Ann." Alexi smiled at the girl as he reined Lars in. "Good to see ya. Can your uncle spare a few minutes? I think I might have a solution to the territory dispute, but he's the one everyone would listen to," he confided.

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"Elder Alexi," Ann says, looking completely serious. "If you can solve that mess, Uncle Damien will give you the whole day. Come on. We better hurry and catch him before he leaves." With that, Ann runs towards Fira.

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Alexi spurred Lars into a fast canter, nearly a gallop, leaning over and swooping Ann onto the saddle. It was a move he had perfected years ago, and it had come in handy during his old job. Now it was handy for getting both himself and Ann where they needed to go in a hurry.

Ember sprinted alongside them, yapping as they sped into Fira's grounds.

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Ann squealed in surprise when Alexi scooped her up, but quickly shifts into a comfortable postion - giving Alexi a punch to the shoulder as punishment for startling her like that.

The noise of the trio's arrival is enough to bring everyone, even Damien, to see what in Naruta is going on. When they see it's only Elder Alexian, most of the clan returns to their jobs though.

"Alexian," Damien greets the Elder, his expression emotionless. "What brings you here?"

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Alexi reined Lars in and slid to the ground, holding a hand out to Ann in case she wanted a little assistance coming down. "I have a proposal for the division of territory between our clans," he said amiably. "It's simple, really; I'm surprised smarter minds than mine haven't come up with it." Backhanded, perhaps, but it would get the point across.

"My plan is to go ahead and let Fira take just over half of the territory in question. In return, Char will trade fairly and hunt fairly when we are in the area as seasons dictate."

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"I'd intended to make much the same suggestion to Charanth," Damien comments mildly. "You saved me a trip. Good, I do prefer it when Elders can live up to their name." Tres flinches at that, but shakes her head.

"Alexi, normally I'd agree," she sighes. "But look around you. This year the number of children in Fira has almost doubled and now I have half of Pyre to look after as well. We need a lot more land to hunt in then we have."

Dismounting, without help, Ann sighes loudly, gaining everyone's attention. "For the sake of the Forces," the Heir sighes. "Why does ANYONE need to OWN that area? Why not just call it neutral land and BOTH clans can hunt all over it? It's hardly as though you'd both be there at the same time."

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Alexi looked at Ann approvingly. The kid was smarter than her age. "Well, why not?" he mused aloud, lowering his hand. "Calling it all neutral would end any messy trespassing disputes. All we'd have to do is be careful not to overhunt." And maybe not have so many kids, he thought. "And if the clans call it THEIR neutral territory, I think think any other clans of any kind would want to try taking it very hard."

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"I agree," Tres and Damien say together. They both look at Ann, Damien looking pleased, Tres looking surprised.

"That's a very good idea, Ann," Tres comments. "Thank you." Ann shrugs off the praise.

"It's my job," she says simply, then adds pointedly, "I am Heir. Now, I should get back to scout duty. Good evening Elder Tres, Elder Alexian. Good evening, Uncle." With that the young woman turns on her heal, whistles to Ember and heads back out of the clan. Tres shakes her head sadly.

"She's growing up too fast," she mutters. "She should still be a child."

"Charanth said the same thing," Damien comments. "And as I said to him, children grow up when they're ready to grow up."

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Alexi almost didn't hear Damien. He was wondering how the hell a kid could be so much smarter than the rest of the clans. He had thought for sure it was a good offer, but Ann cut through that in a mere heartbeat.

Damn. So much for his ego.

Alexi shrugged, and turned his attention to Damien. "So how do we make it official?"

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"That's easy, you can tell Charanth and Charminei, Tres here already knows," Damien shoots Tres a slight smile. "And I can inform Linnod. After that, word will drift out to the smaller clans quickly enough."

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"All right." Seeing as there was nothing else to do, Alexi swung onto Lars's back again. "Good hunting," he said by way of parting, and nudged the horse into a trot. "C'mon, partner. When we get back I'll give you some of those carrots I've been saving."