After a round of promises, lunch was still settled: the Tyrannosaurus Billy had killed. At the table, Loa glanced around and asked, "Where are those Marines? Why haven't I seen any of them?"
"Oh, those guys!"
Loke took a drink. "I said it was strange for a Tyrannosaurus to show up in the village, so they volunteered to investigate the forest."
After a pause, Loke looked at Loa. "Brother Loa, I heard those Marines came to keep an eye on you?"
So you're not fools after all?
Loa smiled faintly. "That's right. They're afraid I'll cause trouble here, so they came to watch me."
"Hah! I bet there's more to it than that!" Elbaf had little regard for rank, so Billy and his son were at the table too, each with a length of bandage wrapped around one hand. Hearing Loa's answer, Billy said with disdain, "That old woman leading them paid a secret visit to the Grand Elder this morning. I bet she wants us to join the Marines and do their work for them!"
"Shut up, Billy! The Grand Elder has his reasons!"
Loke's sharp rebuke made Billy sit down and eat. Loa then asked, "Come to think of it, Loke, you're still the prince of Elbaf, aren't you? Where's your father?"
"We can stay friends if you don't bring that up, Loa!"
Loke looked miserable. "That bastard Pops has lived in the forest for years. It's bad enough that he won't bother with village affairs, but he won't even let us see him! Worse, the Grand Elder supports him! The Grand Elder only gave me this Village Chief position because he had no choice. What's that supposed to mean? Anyone who didn't know better would think I'd usurped the throne!"
*The former Village Chief lives in the