“After all these years,” Pete laughed cheerfully. “The belt is finally back in the hands of a Koraski!”
With the exception of Landar, who was still rolling around on the ground moaning in pain, everyone cheered for their victorious friend. Pete had always come so close so many times before, so this was truly a significant achievement for him. Sy headed over to the crate of stuff and pulled the belt out from the bottom. She raised it high above her head, letting the fake gold trim glimmer in the torchlight.
She sauntered over with exaggerated hip motion, the belt still held high. As Sy circled around the newest champion of champions, the others softly chanted Pete’s name. Finally, she stopped directly behind Pete and slid the belt around his waist, buckling it loosely in the back.
For his part, Pete pumped his fist in the air as he jogged around in the torch-lit circle. Syonette took that moment to look up at Kre and whisper, “You should go talk to her.”
Startled, Kre cocked his head to one side and looked down. “Talk to who now?”
Syonette slowly placed her face into the palm of her hand and sighed. “Little boys,” she muttered, “that’s what you guys are. Stupid little clueless boys.”
Before Kre could ask her what she meant, she used her other hand to smack him upside the back of the head. “Go see Jem. I’m sure she’s waiting for you, but probably not for too much longer.”
“I can’t leave Pete right now,” Kre hissed back. “This is his moment. His most glorious of moments. He’d never forgive me if I just let him.”
Pete was still dancing about, pausing every now and again and straddle over Lander’s prone form and jiggle the massive belt buckle in his face.
“Get over yourself,” she hissed back. “Besides, you’ll leaving all of us soon. This is enough of a goodbye for Pete and the rest of us, but a one-minute quickie talk is hardly appropriate for Jem.”
Kre’s confused look was enough to make Sy shake her head again and prepare to smack her taller friend once again, but he instinctively moved away and held up a hand to stall her. “All right already, I’ll go find her. You keep Pete occupied.”
Sy nodded and shooed Kre away with a flippant wave of her hand. Kre walked slowly out of the light, trying to look nonchalant as he did so. Once he figured he was out of sight, he jogged along the walking path leading farther out of town, hoping that Jem would be waiting at the usual spot.
Reaching the large oak tree on the small hill, Kre glanced around but didn’t see anyone around. He cursed softly to himself and gingerly tapped his forehead against the trunk of the tree.
“Another thirty count and I was leaving,” came a voice from the tree above Kre’s head. He glanced up and spotted the shadowy silhouette of Jem a few feet above him.
“You’d leave without saying a proper goodbye?”
Jem swung down from the limb she had been resting on and unceremoniously plopped herself down in a lazily cross-legged seated position in the grass. “I could accuse you of the same thing.” She plucked at the stray pieces of grass sticking up from between her feet.
Kre waited a few moments before he took two long strides in order to stand beside and slightly behind his friend. “You could go with me,” he offered. “You do always say that you want to get out of this town someday and make something of yourself. See the world and all that.”
Jem laughed sharply once and shook her head. “To travel with a criminal on his way to sentencing? It might make a good song one day, depending on how the Citadel finds you, but it’d be a horrid trip otherwise.
“Especially since you’ll be traveling with the weasel himself. Gone would be any chance of staying in a reputable inn or staying to play a three night show, you’ll be on the move constantly, ever onward towards the Citadel.”