Misunderstandings
Nieka
"What were you thinking?" Again, his tone told her he thought she wasn't. "You could have died." This was a simple statement of fact but embarrassed by her failure and his part in it, which she fully blamed him for, she argued.
"I was fine until you interrupted me." He frowned at this.
"Maybe," he said, clearly doubting her conviction. "But you're lucky I was here."
"Ha!" she scoffed at him. "The ground would have been softer than you." she rubbed the welt she felt forming on her back. Then at his smirk, she realized that what she had said could be taken as a compliment. Embarrassed, she quickly changed the subject. "Besides, it was a controlled fall. I would have been fine." she thought she sounded a lot more confident of this fact than she really was.
Now he huffed, "You'd have to be stupid to really believe that."
She shoved his hand off her and stood up quickly, putting some distance between them. "I'm not stupid." Just a liar she thought, and his eyes seemed to say the same as he crossed his arms. "What are you doing here anyway?" she asked annoyed.
"I came to talk to your parents and tell you that we aren't leaving until tomorrow morning so there's no need for you to be sneaking out yet."
"You are not talking to my parents. Besides Tornjak said I could meet with you guys just outside of town as soon as I was ready."
"Well, he was wrong to say that, you're not, and I am going to talk to your parents." He said stepping closer to hover over her short stature.
"Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do? And they are my family, not yours." God, I sound like an irritating child she thought. "My judgment on this matter should be respected." Did that sound older or just stupid?
"Who am I to give orders?" he asked in little more than a whisper; a terrifying whisper. Well, that had been the wrong thing to say, he sounded pissed.
"I am Tornjak's ranking officer." His voice was getting louder. "And if you join, I'll be your ranking officer as well. So, you better get used to listening to me and obeying my orders without all the lip, or you won't be joining us. And as far as your parents go, they have a right to know where you are and what you're doing. Running off and not even saying goodbye? That's not fair to them. I cannot respect that decision, you're lucky you even have the chance to say goodbye to them, and you just want to toss it away." There was hurt behind that anger then shock as he stopped short. He obviously hadn't meant to say so much.
She decided to strike while his guard was down. "First off, it's none of your business-"Okay bad idea. Apparently, he really didn't like getting caught with his guard down… and poking him in the chest probably hadn't helped.
He looked livid, absolutely terrifying. His eyes were angry and…and what? Scary, yeah scary fit. He shoved her back, knocking her to the ground then pinned her flat in the grass, again with just one hand. "You made yourself my business by deciding to join my army." He whisper-yelled.
She tried to get up but couldn't. He seemed to have more strength in one arm than she had in all of her. She could not tell if she found this terrifying or fascinating. She hoped he couldn't hear it beating wildly then realized that didn't really matter because he could definitely feel it. Her heart was pounding under his hand in preparation for the unknown, he wasn't hurting her at all, but this guy was crazy and completely unpredictable.
"Now, if you can't agree to follow my orders then you will not be coming back with us at all. Do you understand?" It was impossible not to flinch just a little under his harsh tone and even harsher glare. He gave her a look of disgust and continued to stare at her, not letting her up. He was waiting for something or searching for something, but she did not know what.
"Do you understand?" he asked again. Ah, he'd been waiting on an answer.
"Yes." She said. Immediately he lifted his hand up and leaned back. "I understand, Sir," she added robotically, grabbing her backpack and fumbling with it as she turned away from him. She understood that he would find any excuse he could to ensure she didn't go back with them. But she didn't care if he didn't want her there. She had to go back, and at least try to save her sister. She would do whatever it took to go, no matter how drastic.
"I wasn't going to leave without saying goodbye, you know." She hunched her shoulders to further hide her rummaging. Luckily, she had anticipated this possibility and had a plan... She just needed the right opportunity. "And I left them a detailed letter and all…I just wanted a pleasant goodbye." She found it. A smile curled the side of her mouth, but nervousness broke it apart. If he had been mad before, this was going to really piss him off, but if it meant she could go, well, then she'd deal with his wrath. "I've just already made up my mind, and I didn't want them to waste their time trying to stop me." She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, she would only get one shot at this.
He placed a hand on her right shoulder. It startled her, but she forced herself to still because that... well, that was just convenient...