So this is chapter one of that whole story deal.

~1~


It was still dark as Racemes woke. He shuffled over to his box of clothing and put on some loose fitting, baggy clothes. His room was the only room with a hard wood floor; it was above ground unlike the rest of the complex. He opened the silk screen of his space and watched the sun rise over the distant hills.
After splashing some water on his face, he grabbed his two scimitars that he lovingly named day and night, and put on his shoes. He headed out to a forest that was about a mile from his dwelling and unsheathed his blades.
He started out by spinning the swords in simple twists and turns but then it evolved into a mysterious, mystical dance of twirling blades. He continued this for a couple of hours and then walked back to his shack, panting and tired.

* * * * *

The sun had risen by the time he returned to his dwelling. When he entered he found Rhea there with two guards standing above her.
“What’s she doing here?” he demanded of the lumbering guards.
“You asked us to do anything she wanted,” said one.
“She asked to see you,” said the other.
Rhea remained silent, looking at the ground.
“You two are dismissed,” Racemes said to the guards, motioning them away.
When they were gone he turned to Rhea. “So you wanted to see me?”
“Yes.”
“And may I ask why?”
“Because I would like some questions answered.”
“Is that so,” He said absent mindedly “would you like some tea?”
“Sure, now about those questions-”
“What sort of tea?”
“I don’t care.”
“I’m sort of partial to cinnamon.”
“Fine, I’ll take that.”
“Now, I don’t want you to feel like you have to-”
“Those questions!” She fumed.
“Now now, no need to shout.” Racemes said as he walked past the open screen.
“Hey…Hey! Come back!” she said after he left. After a couple minutes she sat back and started to look around. His cabin was rather chilly as it was winter and there were only silk screens for walls. She had to admit it was rather nice, completely different than the post apocalyptic world that she was forced to leave behind. It was a pleasant change though, so far, in the couple of days that she spent at the warrior clan’s facility, she was treated well. She was fed well and was allowed to wander as she wished. The only thing that she was not allowed to do was to leave the compound and that changed today when she visited Racemes.
Racemes came back inside. “It’ll be another couple minutes for the tea.” He said smiling to Rhea. “So, those questions?”
“Yes…” She took a breath. “Were there survivors.”
“Doubtful. We took the town in a pincer movement, cutting off all escape routes.”
Rhea looked crestfallen. “Oh…” she looked down, wiped her eyes and looked up. “ Why,” she stammered “what was the motivation behind the assault.”
“We need food, but mostly it was just because the soldiers wanted something to kill…”
She stared him down, coldly. “And what part do you take in these raids?” she asked simply.
“None.”
“None?” she asked, not believing it.
“None.” he repeated and then sighed. “I choose to refrain from the raids, I would have been killed by the others in this clan by now, but they decided that I was not worth the struggle. Instead they left me as a sort of figure head.” He looked out to the forest beyond his shack. “I still take part in their training facilities and eat their food, for all intents and purposes I am part of the clan, but I am not at the same time.”
He got up and walked outside and came back inside a couple minutes later with the tea.
“Here,” he said as he handed her an oriental style chinaware cup. “Careful, it’s hot.” He poured some tea in the cups.
At that moment he looked so human, so fragile. As he sipped his tea and looked out to the rising sun it seemed that she could not hate him.