Quoted By:
-he complied with his wishes.
"Very well Father. I don't wish to pick a fight with the whole town. So I'll leave."
The shoulders of his father dropped as tension left his body.
"Good to hear you're still a little sensible at least. There should be some clothes in the drawer there. You can take those. But that's all."
Mantis took out the neatly folded articles of clothing and started putting them on. A vest made of tanned leather and lined with fur, traditional trousers that went down to his ankles, flat shoes, a pair of rolled up bandages to tie around his ankles and a length of rope to be used as a belt. He didn't expect much more. He did not have a horse of his own, nor any items worth taking with himself. But the fact he wasn't even given any provisions was a bit much even for him. Once dressed he looked back at his father, who did not avert his gaze from Mantis even for a second.
"Just so we're clear, I'll be back one day. And I'll make this place prosper, whether you like it or not."
His father did not respond. Perhaps he viewed it as nothing more than another case of his sons baseless boasting. Maybe he acknowledged the threat and took it to heart. Or simply he did not wish for further conflict with his own blood. But regardless Mantis left the log house and saw that his father was not in fact bluffing. Most of the able bodied men were waiting outside, fully armed. The rest were presumably still recovering from the attack. They sprung up the moment the door slammed open. But seeing the two calmly walk out they did not do anything harsh.
Not one word was exchanged. Not a "good riddance", or a curse, or a simple "goodbye". Nothing. Everyone simply wanted this to be over with as swiftly as possible. Mantis obliged them. He simply walked away from the Range Town and kept going until he stopped seeing his former relatives following him from a safe distance. Then he walked to the nearby woods, climbed a tree and rested, looking at the town that was now just a dot in the landscape. He remained there for hours as he was thinking about what the hell he'd do now. He had no clue about what to do, or where to go now. He lived his entire life in that small town and on the fields around it. He had little experience with the outside world. He sat on that tree branch until the sound of a galloping horse could be heard.
"About time..."
He grumbled.
"Hah! I knew I'd find you here. What's up fartbag?"
"Bee."
The person riding the horse was Amber Bee. A cousin of his from one of the other families. He wasn't entirely sure exactly how they were related. Everyone kinda was in the village. So those of roughly the same age group just referred to each other as cousin or cos' all the time.
"Took you a while."
