Coming closer he drew a line in the dirt
just in front of him, signaling his desire for a truce. If Kalus
crossed the line with one of his own it would mean that the truce had
been accepted, if only for the moment.
But Kalus did not answer with words and gestures of humbled acceptance.
Moving his hands in simple patterns he knew the wolf would understand,
he told him instead that he was angered to the point of violence by his
ingratitude, reminding him that if it had not been for his own, selfless
actions, neither he nor the girl would be alive at all. He then drew
another line in the dirt, not across the mark Akar had made, but
parallel to his own body instead, signifying dominance, and made it
clear that the wolf could either accept the truce under these terms, or
fight him to the death then and there.
Akar was curiously gratified by the man-child's response. In truth he
had not forgotten his compassion, but wanted to be sure that he was
worthy of trust. Goodness and compassion were one thing, courage in the
face of danger quite another. To say that he had wholly staged the
conflict as a test of the other's spirit would be incorrect; but once
it developed into such he did not try to stop it. Akar had lived too
long to give his allegiance easily or in haste.
Pages:
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53