Forgotten Clan: 2

Troall chattered away about new targets and different types of pranks, completely ignoring the fire eyed haedian below the group. Griffith, Oeric, and Aule looked between the angry haedian and Troall. 

“Uuuh, Troall, how should we deal with the haedian down there?” Griffith cut off Troall’s long list of ideas. 

Troall looked at the haedian who glared at her, but Troall shrugged her shoulders, “they’ll get over it.”

“I don’t think it’ll be that easy.” Aule added, “what if more come?”

Troall thought to all the other times she’d messed with this haedian and then answered, “they’ve never traveled with their friends before.”

Oeric watched the small haedian try to explain why she wasn’t worried, but Oeric prepared himself for a bigger fight. “If they learned from their past, they would have friends on the way.” Oeric mentioned. 

Troall shrugged her shoulders again and made a passive comment that showed she wasn’t at all worried.

The three tyrians all looked at each other as they heard a roar in response. It was very clear that the haedian had heard what Troall had said. However, what the group didn’t expect was a chorus of growls that followed the roar. All four swallowed as they peered into the darkness of the tunnel waiting to see how many would appear. Troall gave a nervous chuckle but stepped forward to take the heat. 

A cluster of haedians came into view all with varying sizes. Griffith and Aule were quick to decide there were too many to fight, but Oeric with all his ego was still confident and poised for a fight. The trio watched as Troall’s body language shifted to be more relaxed and a smile graced her face. Then to the horror of Aule and Griffith, she laughed and soon Oeric was joining her. 

The single haedian was now join by their friends and they made quite the intimidating group… usually. The group of angry haedians were visibly thrown by the laughter they got. The laughter bounced off the tunnel walls to add to the group's displeasure.

“They don’t take us seriously enough.” one haedian growled and it cut through the laughter. 

Griffith had a moment to realize that the haedians might not be able to reach them because they were lower and couldn’t fly like he or his friends could. With his thoughts, he relaxed, and joined in the laughter. Aule didn’t have the same train of thought as Griffith, but he was spurred on by the group mentality and added some soft chuckles. 

“What can you do from down there?” Griffith asked through his laughter. 

His question made Troall realize that these topside tyrians had no idea about the skills haedians may possess. Troall’s laughter stopped and her expression turned to concern. Before Troall could say anything contrary to what Griffith had said, the original targeted haedian smiled. It was a toothy grin, and with their powerful feet started to climb the wall face towards Griffith. 

Griffith’s laughter died as he watched a few other haedians join the wall climbing. He swallowed and took flight to a higher perch. He quickly changed his tune, “how about an apology?”

The targetted haedian considered it, but took a moment to see the whole group’s reaction, it was mixed. Oeric looked like he would rather die than apologize, and Troall’s reaction wasn’t far from his. Aule’s expression was harder to read, it could go either way. 

“Too late for that…” The haedian snarled. 

“Oh, relax,” Troall exclaimed, “it was a harmless prank!”

The three tyrians nodded along, but the haedian snapped at Troall, “maybe the first time, but every time after was a nuisance and a waste of time!”

Many haedians agreed and made their own comments about how annoying it was to get knocked out of the air. The group, in their frustration, bounced complaints off each other until they started to insult the Forgotten clan. Griffith shifted from his higher perch and prepared to fly down to help. 

Another haedian added, “don’t you have better things to do for that rag tag group you call a clan?”

Troall was small compared to most of these haedians, but the insults directed at her clan had her seeing red. Her wings flared and vibrated with anger. Aule and Oeric stood taller to impose their size, while Griffith had to make a more dramatic entrance from his perch above them. He landed heavily behind Troall and his blue eyes flashed. His weight made the wall they all stood on shake. Some pieces broke off and fell echoing throughout the tunnel. The three would defend their new friend and her clan. 

The three massive tyrians only appeared larger as they stood behind Troall’s small stature. Aule and Griffith growled a warning and Oeric gave the group of haedians a twisted smile. Many haedians growled back, unaffected by the three topsiders.

[814]