Mira

Unlike most pine trees, Coulter Pines produce large, heavy and often spiky pine cones. That would be my best guess as to what struck me in the back of the head, and considering Coulter pines where all around us, I think I’m right.

After seeing color again, I pushed myself off the ground and knelt for a moment. I shook my head trying to get rid of the cloudiness that filled the interior of my skull. As I became more conscious, I began to feel a nasty sting on the back of my head. Warm liquid began to spread over the back of my scalp, though it was the salty liquid streaming down from my eyes that I was the most conscious of.

I heard tree branches crackle and pop to the side of me and I turned my head quickly to the source. The Tribal girl, or Gertrude as they called her, approached as a blur. I rose my back to a kneel and clicked loose a single blade from the scabbard on my hip. I shakily stood up. The blur of Gertrude stopped approaching and began to encircle me. I could hear her voice and it was fairly audible, but the information was getting lost as my stressed brain worked to process it.

I held my blade out, not using any formal combat stance, with my left hand and reached to feel the back of my head with my right. A could feel a thick barb that had clung to the back of my head, being the main source of the bleeding. I unhooked the barb and then threw it to the ground. I grabbed the single blade with both hands and raised it over my head, engaging in a sure defensive stance. Or so I thought. The umbrella stance, as my squad came to call it, is extremely effective at defending one’s self as long as you have good focus. However, I could hardly see Gertrude’s movements, only her general position.

Gertrude seamed to hold her position a few feet in front of me. Her voice continued to run. My eye site began to slowly return to me as my brain regained control of my senses. Gertrude’s sentences began to register, and take meaning. Her hands and arms came into focus. They were held out, in a non-hostile manner. Gertrude’s first sentence that made clear sense unfortunately was, “Why where you spying on Dinli using the Tinkle-Wood?"

Even in my stressed stated I couldn't help, but present a smile.