Annan flushed red. "You're... shameless! Despicable!"
Negotiations came down to who was willing to go further, and Annan clearly couldn't match the Jana clan leader.
"All right. You've had enough training. Rest up for a few days, then report to Trapezoid Mountain."
There wasn't much fighting left in the northern Empire anyway. The major battles were over, so the Deepwinter Legion could mop up the stragglers and get a feel for combat.
"That's more like it."
Bruno Jana released Annan's collar and huffed.
Only then did Gema dare approach. He bowed slightly to Annan. "I understand what you're trying to do. You want the Deepwinter Legion to learn to work together..."
"If you want to flatter him, do it in private. Don't stand there getting in my way!" Brino Jana cut him off irritably. "Leave your ancestor frozen under the Snow Mountains for hundreds of years and see if you're not in a hurry."
Gema gave a wry smile.
"Riley, come here." Brino Jana beckoned to the little girl one of her clanspeople was holding by the hand, then pointed at Annan. "That's Annan, the master of Free City. He'll be your lord from now on, too."
"You brought a little girl back with you?" Annan gave the girl, who was holding a cat, a friendly smile.
Brino Jana said, "Her father went into the mountains to earn money for his wife's treatment and was eaten by wild beasts. With no one to care for her, her mother died in bed. Riley was left all alone. I brought her back to raise her into an outstanding Jana female warrior."
Lily came over. "Are you Riley? I'm Lily!"
"Wow, you're so pretty." Riley's eyes sparkled as she reached out to touch Lily's raised tail.
"It doesn't matter that she isn't one