By Eptalk

"Marty! Marty!" shouted Eppie with joy to see her Amazonie friend at camp. "Where is everybody?" Eppie asked after she and Martman exchanged a hug and greetings to include some high fives.

Martman filled Eppie in on all the many, many things that had happened in her absence to include his wound and his recuperative powers. "Well, thank goodness you're okay now," Eppie told her friend in relief.

Eppie was quite tired from the last several miles of her journey and hastily straightened her hut and put up her things. The Terpsicord lyre looked just perfect in the corner and the boomerang hung nicely just above Eppie's bed. Having the bowie knives in her boots seemed sufficient weaponry to have on her persons in camp. Eppie wanted to await all her sister's return before proudly showing off her new skill with the controlled throwing of her boomerang, thanks to the Queens Champion.

Eppie had agreed to meet Martman for a nice reunion supper before darkness and planned a short nap before going to find the Amazonie.

Eppie's nap was interrupted with the sound of her lyre as she sat up in surprise to find a young Amazon girl in her hut looking strangely at the instrument. The girl turned toward Eppie and gave the warmest and kindest smile Eppie had seen on a child in a long time.

The girl turned to leave the hut as Eppie, shouted, "Wait! it's okay. Don't go."

This seemed to relax the young Amazon as she halted and turned back to listen further to Eppie who learned her name was Ephiny. Apparently her mother had named this child after the legendary stories of the once wonderful Queen Ephiny and the tribe had been her only family.

Eppie was sad to learn the child's mother had been killed several years before in battle and although quite self sufficient, the young girl seemed in need of a caring adult.

Ephiny talked in short quick sentences as she told Eppie about her favorite pass-time of writing on old parchment paper she found in one of the abandoned huts. Ephiny was most joyful describing she knew all the other Amazon children in camp and wrote for hours on hours about them and their stories on her papers.

As Eppie listened with interest, she enjoyed brushing the long blonde curly hair on Ephiny and offered her a matching arrow necklace she had in her pack. The two would be like sisters they agreed and Eppie asked Ephiny to join her and Martman for the evening meal.

By Nightsong

Nightsong growled and dove to the side as the blonde Celt swung at her with his staff. She could have taken the staff off of her first attacker, but this son of a bacchi had boasted that he would take Shsway, an Amazon and her apprentice, as his. For this insolence, he would pay in pain and blood. As the staff cut the air, Nightsong came up from behind the swing and punched the Celt in the midsection. As he doubled over, he instinctively reversed his swing and caught Nightsong in the side. She had seen the blow coming and had prepared for it, but the blow still managed to knock the wind out of her. She dropped and kicked out his legs, causing him to fall backwards. He rolled when he hit the ground and came up. The two circled each other, the celt wary and Nightsong furious. She kicked and he blocked with his staff, only to have her jump up, grab the staff between her ankles, and with a twist of her body, rip the staff out of his hands and hit him across the face in the process.

The Celt stumbled back, his mouth bleeding, as Nightsong regained her feet and with a feral smile, tossed the staff out of the ring. She then advanced on the angry blonde. He punched at her face, only to have her move to the side and with a smooth motion snap his arm at the elbow. As he screamed to his favorite god, he fell to his knees. Nightsong dropped his arm and said in gaelic, "You should never insult an Amazon." Before kicking him in the face to drop him.

Nightsong went over to see to Shsway, and smiled at the cut to her cheek. "You fight like a warrior, Shsway, might as well bear the scars of one too."

Lyco came over and returned her sword and gave her a congratulatory kiss, flaunting her right to it with the gold band on her arm. "You are loving this, aren't you?" Nightsong asked.

"Whatever makes you say that?" Lyco replied with a smile. Nightsong stood through Pixie's naming of her heir with her hand on her sword, waiting for someone to protest.

She was not surprised when the fool blonde awoke and opened his yap once again. Nightsong was about to break his other arm when he raised it to slap Pixie, but the arrival of LA stayed it for her. "Damn!" Nightsong thought, "I want his hide!"

As the Celt made his vow for vengeance, Nightsong snarled and lunged after him, but was stopped by Lyco. "There is a time and a place for this. Let him make the first move, then no one can challenge your actions against him."

Nightsong watched the Celt go, then turned to congratulate her friends.

By Shsway

Shsway scanned the wave of unfamiliar, and equally curious faces among the celts. Many seemed uncertain that she could qualify as Pixie's heir, but most seemed to be looking at her with open admiration and respect. She just smiled and tried to keep her bodily frame in a comfortable, easy stance. Her breathing hurt and she was sure her ribs had sustained some damage, the blood on her right cheek began to dry and sting slightly.

After being patted on the back and helped up by friends and mentor, she strode wearily towards Pixie and LA. Looking at them both with a combination of amusement and affection, she gave them both a tight hug, despite her complaining muscles.

"Oooh, someone looks BAD in her outfit," the scout commented, glancing at Littlearsonist's's well-fitting leathers. "I must visit the Isle of Skye someday..."

The celt raised an eyebrow in question, than grinned at her friend as she turned to speak to Pixie. The red-haired woman was also fatigued, so Shsway decided to leave them alone to talk.

She turned and slowly made her way from the circle towards a large tent with a large pot of water sitting next to it. Dipping a floating tin cup into the liquid, the dark-haired woman took a long thoughtful swallow. Her throat felt raw as the soothing water quickly began to bring her aching body back to life.

Note to self: Avoid picking fights with titan-sized celts in the future, she thought with a grin.

Suddenly, she dropped the cup and felt the air rush out of her as she was swung around to face Ephfan and Nike.
Ack! How do they manage to sneak up like that? This is becoming a habit...

"Alright amazon, it's FINALLY time to party!" Ephfan whooped. "Let's get you over to the healer of this camp so you can stay upright for the fun!"

Nike smirked "There's sure to be some excellent wine here, and these celts have a reputation for feasts. Let's just test them now, shall we?"

Shsway rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, let's get to it."

The stay at the healer's took a little longer than expected, as a woman even younger than Shsway was on duty. She chatted excitedly in Gaelic upon seeing the scout and took great care in cleaning her wounds. Some salve for her cheek and some wrap around bandages for her ribs were administered (the dark-haired woman blushing at having to remove her shirt, and her two companions smirking at her discomfort.)

Finally they made their way to the large rug where Shsway had first been sitting...only now it was surrounded by all the celts, making it hard to get through. Much to the young woman's shock, the crowd made way as soon as they saw her, Nike, and Ephfan coming through. They sat down to a huge medley of sweets, meats and other edible delights laid out for everyone.

Pixie got up to say a few words, she held an ornate silver goblet, indicating that some sort of toast might be in order.

Shsway looked to NightSong with a puzzled expression, who in turn mouthed, wholly amused,
"You'll see."

The scout bit into some sweet bread and munched thoughtfully as she watched the spectacle, trying to ignore the eyes that seemed to be everywhere. She wondered how LA could take it, as she was also being scrutinized after having revealed her identity.

And true to their word, Nike and Ephfan were sampling the wine amphorae. A little from each to get through them all.

Shsway smiled at them, and looked up at Pixie with a wink. To think I'm related to this woman now. What is in store for our tribes, I wonder?

By Eptalk

Eppie completed the arrangement of her hut as Ephiny watched curious of each object unpacked. Ephiny was fun in conversation but had little social language and a bitter attitude about life in general.

"Our stupid Queen doesn't have a sword even!" Ephiny blurted out as she asked Eppie about the boomerang hanging on the wall.

"Well, Ephiny" Eppie explained, "Queen Gabrielle has her Sais and doesn't advocate fighting unless in defense of our tribe or our lands."

"She still oughta have a sword like Xena," Ephiny responded as she closely looked at Eppie's bowie knives slipped on each side of her boots.

Ephiny became more whiney and mildly immature as Eppie offered her a wash cloth to clean her face before joining the tribe for the evening meal. The lack of adult guidance was apparent as Ephiny tangled her own neatly brushed hair with shaking her head and ruffling her hair with her hands.

Trying not to appear bothered by this action or upset with Ephiny, Eppie overlooked her conduct and offered her a nice cool drink from her water pouch.

With less than standard table manners, Ephiny guzzled and gurgled down her drink and then followed up with a mischievous smile. She surprisingly tossed the water pouch down on the flooring without cause.

Eppie took a long breath again to avoid reaction and merely suggested Ephiny follow her to go find Martman.

By Martman

"Martman," Eppie said with delight as she saw her old friend.

The amazonie ran to his dear friend and gave her a big hug as she approached. "Hi Eppie! I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, Marty. How is your wound doing," she asked as she gazed at the amazonie.

"I'm doing fine, just a bit sore though," he said as a slight pain from the healing wound affected him.

"How did you get wounded," came a voice from the child that walked along side eppie.

Martman gazed at this sweet little girl who was obviously unkempt and sensed a bit of despair inside her soul.

It took some time, but eventually Ephiny told Marty about her childhood - how her parents had been killed in a raid by marauders, and how she had to survive on her own. She learned quickly that people couldn't be trusted, and decided to close her heart to most people.

Yet Marty and Eppie seemed not to be a significant threat, so she allowed herself to get close - albeit not TOO close to them.

The question of how he had been wounded had been diverted for a time to delve deeper into this girl's past. She told her story, trying to hide the tears to remain strong, but she knew she couldn't do it, and started to cry as the pain came back.

Marty and Eppie were there to comfort her, but still she remained stoic, trying to hide herself from emotions.

"Again, Marty ... how did you get wounded," she asked.

"I got this wound protecting our Queen, Gabrielle, and her companion, Xena, from marauders.

"Gabrielle! Ha!," she said with contempt.

"Anyone who would allow themselves to be ruled by emotions deserves their fates. Love wont get us anywhere in life."

Marty seemed saddened at Ephiny's words, obviously born of hate built up from the cards she had been dealt in life. As the amazonie glanced over to Eppie, he could see she felt the same way.

"Love is essential, Ephiny. It allows us to share our hopes, dreams, fears, passions, and more with someone special, and to raise a family with them. A companion like that can give you a lifetime of joy, happiness, and fond memories. WE all need someone to make us complete - to fill an emptiness and void. Xena and Gabrielle are a perfect example of that."

"Xena and Gabrielle? How are they an example of love?"

"Both were incomplete without the other," Marty explained.

"Xena was a vicious warlord many moons ago, consumed by hatred, and anger as you are now. She had nothing to live for but death and bloodshed. And even when Hercules gave her something to fight for to atone for her mistakes, she felt unable to do it. Her heart was empty. Her past kept coming back to haunt her, and she had no one to believe in her and take away her fears or share her joys. Gabrielle gave that to her. She gave her undying loyalty and friendship to Xena, never blaming her for her dark past, but asking that Xena use it to fight for a better world. And she gave Xena love, emotional support, and shared her hopes and dreams with Xena. She gave this warrior woman a friend, a companion, and a soulmate whom she could always count on to be there for her no matter what."

"Likewise," he continued, "Gabrielle was trapped in a backwater, insignificant village. She knew nothing of heroism, of fighting to make a better world, knew nothing of the wrongs that existed in the world - until she met Xena. Once she traveled with Xena, she knew the world wasn't an idealistic, perfect place. She knew that things had to be changed, and Xena inspired her to do that - to fight for the greater good. And Xena gave her undying loyalty, friendship, and compassion to gabrielle too in some of her darkest times."

"So you see," marty concluded, "both Xena and Gabrielle have given something to each other that neither had before, and these contributions only helped to bring them closer together."

"I don't believe what you're saying," said the girl. "No two people could rely on each other that much, or enjoy it. It would be like having an albatross around the neck."

Marty sighed. He tried to get Ephiny to see the magic of the relationship. He turned to Eppie, hoping that she could get through to the girl.

"Wanna try Eppie?" he said.

By Pixie

The celebration had begun in truth now. Both Amazons and Celts sat on scattered rugs. Laughing children ran from group to group, being spoiled by all.

Pixie had spoken briefly with LA, tonight they were guardian and charge. It hurt not to be able to embrace her beloved but Pixie still had one more thing to do. They parted LA to keep watch over Shsway and she retreated to the rug followed by Lyco.

"Where is Nightsong?" Pixie asked as she sat down upon the furs.

"She is doing the same thing LA is doing, following Shsway. She will keep that girl in sight until that amadan makes his move." Lyco kneeled beside Pixie and held out a dagger "As I had hoped I return it to you unblooded."

Litavis approached them and held out a pair of small gauntlets, "These should fit." He bound them tightly, Lyco frowning at the makeshift cast. But accepting unwillingly that Pixie wanted to hide the injured arm.

Nightsong, then LA, returned and sat down quickly. Lyco and Pixie exchanged a smile as seconds later Shsway appeared flanked by Ephfan and Nike.Poor Shsway she won't have a minute alone till Rix is dealt with. Shsway sat and began picking at the trays of food. Smiling Pixie rose to her feet and lifted a silver chalice, "My friends, this is my family. They are my strength."

A cheer went up and Pixie took a drink then held the chalice as each of them took a drink of the sweet amber mead within.

'This isn't so bad.' Shsway thought recognizing the liquid from earlier. Then almost choked as she heard a soft voice in her mind, "Come and stand beside me."

Curious as to why, she did stood and walked to Pixie's side. The crowd parted as the little girl from the woods approached.

She handed Shsway a dagger.The silver hilt was carved to look like an attacking wolf. Pixie translated Aife's excited words, "For the life of my mother, I thank you." Then Aife broke into a grin and stood on tiptoes to hug Shsway.

Next a young man who resembled the blond warrior stepped forward. Nightsong would have stood up except for Lyco and LA's restraining hands.

"For the life of my sister, I thank you." He bowed slightly and handed her a matching dagger.

Next a green-eyed older warrior stepped forward, "For the life of my mate, I thank you" He handed Shsway a flowing wolf-skin cloak fastened with a pair of silver broaches that matched the dagger handles.

The man who stepped up next led a female warrior whose shoulder was bandaged. He wore the thick gold torque of a chieftain, both wore matching armbands that Shsway now recognized as a sign that the woman was his heir.

"For the life of my heir, I give you a life." He handed Shsway a basket with something moving wrapped in cloth.. " And you are forever after to be recognized as blood-kin to me." Shsway accepted the basket but Pixie took it as she had the other gifts and laid it on the rug.

Next the woman stepped forward awkwardly holding a sword in one hand. "For my life, I thank you."

Looking at the woman Shsway suddenly realized that she had seen this warrior before. She had seen the Celt fall and had rushed to her side, standing over the fallen warrior defending her. Until two other Celts had taken the injured warrior away.

Shsway accepted the sword noticing that it matched the daggers and broaches. She was to stunned to do any more than look to Pixie, as cheers rose from the crowd. The Celts half bowed once more then left.

Shsway almost fell still looking at Pixie. "But I would have...but anyone would have done the same."

"Anyone didn't Maicin, an Amazon saved a chieftain's heir." Pixie smiled and handed Shsway the basket."This is what you got instead of a husband." p>Shsway frowned at this cryptic message and pulled the cloth aside, revealing a young wolf cub that growled and began tugging at the cloth......

By Littlearsonist

Littlearsonist walked over to Shsway grinning. "So are you expecting at any time that they are going to start poking you with sticks?"

Shsway looked up at LA looking for all the world like she wanted to run. Trying to ignore the wolf cub tugging at her boot lace. "How are you taking this so well? I mean at least they are speaking to me...all you're getting are quick stares and mumbles."

LA sighed, "Well, now you see why I kept a low cover. Not many know how to treat a Child of Skye. And well...I did come in here as guardian, not a common visitor."

"The fact that you walked into the fire ring and made blondie almost wet himself didn't help matters.", Shsway half kidded pulling the cub away from her leg.
"Ummm, one question. What exactly am I supposed to do with the little teething monster here?"

LA grinned "Well look at it this way, when it gets older...no one will interrupt you when it's guarding the door of your hut."

Pixie reached for a bone sitting on one of the plates then tossed it toward the cub. They all grinned as the cub growled jumping on it.

"Yeah when it's not trying to chew through it.", Shsway mumbled watching the cub pick up the bone and shake it.

"Enjoy the celebration, little cub, it's in your honor." LA said then walked off to find the chieftain.

"Oh and Rionnac, warn the amazons of the potency of the mead. They've drank quite enough they'll start feeling arrow proof soon."

By Ephfan

No sooner were the words out of LA's mouth when the group was startled by a commotion from a nearby tree. They all turned to see Nike up against the tree with an apple on her head and Ephfan about 30 paces away with a crossbow. They all jumped up and ran over hoping to prevent disaster.

"Ahhhhhhhh, wasssa, uh Nike, I didn't know you were twins!" Ephfan looked towards Nike while weaving on her feet.

"Huh? Oh, that's 'cause you got both eyes open. Close one and one of us will go away. Now shoot that damn crossbow and don't forget if you miss the apple you owe me 50 dinars." Shsway grabbed the crossbow just as Eph was ready to shoot.

"If she misses she'll be paying you in hades" Nightsong said to Nike as she helped her away from the tree.

"C'mon you two, time for beddy bye" Pixie laughed as they led the two to a nearby tent.

"Hey Nike, they all got twins" was the last thing ephfan said before she passed out.