The Rejected Alpha's Vengeance

[HAWI]

Mornings in the free lands had always been quiet, but today it was buzzing with life and a clang of swords. There were different things happening at the same time and more than anything, there was the need for reassurance.

From the battlefield yesterday, Hawi had lost a thousand warriors and they were yet to bury them, given their warriors needed to be attended to and those that survived were to keep going. It was a cruel way to live but the war wasn't king to anyone.

In the meeting tent, Awuor Hawi Sicario sat thinking about what Jeremiah had said about her the previous day. She wondered if there was a truth to it all. Jer had said a lot of things and while she wanted to argue that it was for anger, Hawi knew it was.

She wanted to make herself feel better, to pretend that the world was full of butterflies and shit, but she knew there was some truth to Jer's statements. However, unlike the endless times when she had moped over that reality, today, she wouldn't.

In fact, today she would be living as the hours came by. She already had a war in her hands and she wasn't going to let women cowardly form a nameless pack try shit with her. With that in mind, Hawi put on her smile like it was her armor.

"Your smile is creeping me out, Hawi," Mbali said when she walked into the meeting tent and saw a happy Hawi staring at the entrance like she was waiting for a party to walk in. Of course, that hadn't been Hawi's intention, but her smile was creepy in a way.

Mbali walked over to where Hawi was and began checking her out to see if there was something she had drank in the morning, because the Hawi she knew was not a morning person and could kill anyone if they so much as tried to breathe next to her.

Perhaps the woman had changed?

Well, Mbali wasn't buying that, and yet she got more creeped out with every minute that passed, and Hawi smiled at her. It made her feel like she was being hunted even though she was certain she wasn't the prey.

"What a good morning, Mbali," Hawi greeted and Mbali started like there were a hundred things wrong.

"Yup, not buying it," Mbali said as she walked out of the tent only to come back with the entire squad of leaders who weren't sure what they were expecting, but then a smiling Hawi was already creeping them out too.

"Did she kill anyone today?"

"Are you sure she isn't dead and smiling?"

"Do you guys remember the last time she smiled?"

"What did you do to her, Rukiya?"

"If she doesn't close those wide eyes and wipe that smile off—"

"Maybe she finally lost it."

"Do you think we should call for Malika?"

"Sicario is two days away."

"We can portal."

One by one the leaders walked in even though they made sure to sit a little farther from Hawi. Hell, even Rukiya wasn't sure if this was a good time so she kept her distance. She loved Hawi with all of her, but not when she was smiling like the dead.

"You are the reason for all of this. I shall collect your souls one by one," Hawi growled as her eyes darkened and she looked at her friends. She wasn't sure what she was exercising, but a smack on her head by Mbali was certainly not it.

"Oww, you're crazy. Why the fuck are y'all overreacting just because I smiled? Goddess, I should smile more often then," Hawi said and they glared at her like it was the worst thing that she would have thought of. But well, she was Hawi, right?

"Good morning, Mrs. Creepy," Mbali greeted and Ruru just rolled her eyes at the woman.

"My arm hurts but hey, good morning to you too. How are you and the teams doing?" Hawi asked as she looked at her friends. She knew they hadn't had enough rest and she could tell by the bags under their eyes.

However, they were warriors who had gone for a long war. They were used to such states and while Hawi didn't want them to, she knew that she had to appreciate that little bit of their uncomfortable railings.

At the moment, she was to give them the go-ahead and tell them whether they were to get ready to portal back into Sicario or if they would bury their dead first. It didn't matter the order really because both would happen eventually, and there was no denying that.

"They're all good. You look different today, Hawi. Are you sure you're all right? And I'm not talking about the creepy smile earlier. Are you really okay? Is there something we need to do for you?" Rukiya asked and Hawi just shook her head.

"There isn't much to be done at the moment. We just need to prepare for the next time we go to Sicario. Meanwhile, we will rest for three days and then get back up. Perhaps that should give us time to mourn our dead, and bury them," Hawi said.

The leaders looked at her, wondering if that would make a difference. They were fatigued and most of them wanted to sleep, but then the war wasn't kind to anyone. It was nice that Hawi knew that, but that just wouldn't cut it.

This was a war with the devils and they needed to match the energy, otherwise they would lose more than they would gain. They had trained for this for years and now that they were here, they wouldn't back down even for the tiniest of moments.

"Meanwhile, Mbali, you need to send word to Sicario. Tell them we give them three days to bury their dead. After that, we shall attack," Hawi said to Mbali who nodded in understanding.

She didn't understand why Hawi was giving them three days but then she was their leader.

Three days was a lot of time for an army like Sicario, but then with the ambush, they would either be compromised or the Sicario warriors would be stranger than before. It was a gable, but that didn't matter because Hawi had already made up her mind.

She wanted Jer to understand that there was hell coming and there would be no mercy. Life in itself was crafted enough, but if they got their chances, they would do whatever was needed to defend their home.

That was a non-issue for Hawi and she wasn't even the least bit surprised at the stares her friends were giving her. It was almost like they were trying to see whether this was happening for real or this was just some damning illusion.

"Are you sure about that, Hawi? Three days is a long time. They could already be planning to blow us up if we go there," Adolf said and Mbali just chuckled like Adolf didn't know who Hawi was or even the amount of power that this army had.

"We have Malika on the inside, you need not worry and from what I felt last night, Elodie is also on board with our plans," Mbali said confidently. This wasn't going to be hard for them and for that, she was glad.

"What did you feel?" Riley, the leader of the Sicario rebels asked.