It hurt to move let alone fight so, as stubborn as he was, he finally broke down and went to a healer or rather an apprentice, Murin. He had Murin swear on his life that he wouldn't tell a soul he came to him and to help him with his bandages and tiny doses of magic to help heal his broken rib. It made things doable but not pain-free. He also met with Tornjak to hear his report on the town and the turnover to the temporary watchmen that he'd had assigned there until he could return.
He spent his mornings for the next two weeks hanging out with his two little sisters as both their parents were part of the council, Kyla being the master of the Cloth. He told them stories of victorious battles and many at the requests of his listeners, of the girl. They loved the idea of a girl who could kill demons and they were fascinated by her foreign ways of healing.
Then they would play pretend and make Takal into a demon with towel wings and belts for tails. They would chase and fight him off with wooden swords all around their living quarters pretending that they were mighty demon fighters themselves. He'd never seen them so happy and wondered if it was because he'd always been too busy to spend much time with them or if they just liked the idea of becoming mighty warriors more than masters of cloth.
Takal would never allow for such embarrassing tomfoolery outside those quarters where someone might see him, but he enjoyed their laughter and smiles too much to deny it entirely.
Takal spent his afternoons training new scouts which he always hated. He had no patience for cumbersome fools and stupid questions. To keep himself busy he also took charge of additional scouting operations at night and assigned scouts to train volunteers from within the regular ranks.
He hated sending newbies out, but he wanted bigger groups and they were short on people. He led several patrols just to keep from going stir crazy though he felt a lot more vulnerable with his lame arm and a borrowed horse.
He was too restless to sleep very much whether he was out leading newbies on a simple scouting mission or at the castle in his own quarters. He blamed it on the pain and the new threats few others knew of from the demons, but he knew that at least in part he was nervous about the next council meeting and the girl. He knew he'd go back to tell her about the news in person either way, but he hoped it wasn't to say no. He worried she wouldn't want to anymore and he wondered about how to get her here if the council did say no.
The day came for his next council meeting this one was different as it was to be a judging, but since it was not for him, he would again get a chair. He would get to argue his case, on the girl's behalf, and could even call up witnesses if he chose. When he walked into the council room half the masters were already there chatting pleasantly with one another. Taking his seat, he tried to ignore the gossip and focus on what he was going to say. But he couldn't help but overhear a small group nearby.
"What is this council meeting about anyways I heard it was a judging."
"Ahh that Takal, I knew he couldn't stay out of trouble forever."
"Actually, I heard this judging isn't for him, that he's standing in for someone who can't make it."
"I feel bad for that guy." He heard someone mutter and a few chuckles followed.
"Just remember that if he has anything good to say then the kids probably great, he's hard to impress." Someone said.
He hoped they all remembered that.
"Who's not here that he might be standing in for?"
"Well, Tornjak is back so it's not him, maybe Hawk?" Someone suggested. "I'm not sure he has any other friends." well that was rude... and possibly true. His personality didn't exactly draw people to him, and he was too young to fit in with the other more experienced decorated officers and had seen too much to relate to most of the younger guys. Besides, who wants to get attached to new people when they are most likely to die? Best to wait a year or two so your friends were more likely to survive.
Tornjak was an exception, he'd joined younger than most and despite Takal initially ignoring him he was persistent in trying to talk to him and followed him whenever possible eventually wearing him down it helped that he'd worked hard to become a good fighter, so he didn't constantly have to worry about him. And despite his loud mouth, he followed orders well, not getting upset that someone a few months his junior was the one giving them. Some like Libic really hated it. But he had earned his spot; and although most of the masters still seemed to think of him as a trouble-making young teen he'd grown a lot over the years. Just not enough for some of them apparently.
His father called the room to order, and his wandering mind snapped back to attention. He hoped the girl hadn't changed her mind. He had no desire to defend her just for her to refuse the spot if offered. He didn't do things like this for people often and her turning down the army's invitation would feel like a personal slap in the face.
"Lt. Col. El'Takal is here to deliver a request to the council and speak on the absentee's behalf." Master Tazmaine said and motioned for him to begin.
Takal stood and looked out over the faces before him. "I'm sure you remember when I told you all, of the girl who escaped the demon lair." Some nodded their heads while others just stared and he continued "Well before I left the town of Newport, she asked me to pass on her request to join our army. She wishes to learn to fight as we do, to help us fight against the demons and help save the captives still trapped by the demons."
The table exploded into a buzz as he sat down. "Women cannot fight", "It would be too dangerous", "Why would she want to?", "She survived the attack?", "She would get someone hurt" were just some of the exclamations he overheard.
"Quit. You may all address your concerns and opinions one at a time. Then you must give the defense a chance to answer or make a rebuttal. Now, who would like to begin?" Master Tazmaine spoke silencing the chaos and bringing back the order.