Galen trudged along under the weight of the milk buckets Walker
Seeing Seth a short distance away, Galen considered taking a detour to
avoid meeting up with his tormentor. Fortunately, that became unnecessary when
the other man took another path. As Galen approached the turn-off he noticed
Seth had dropped something. He put down the buckets, picked up the fallen
object and after a brief hesitation, apprehensively called out to get the man’s attention.
“S-seth, you dropped your p-playing cards!”
Seth turned on his heel and hastily bore down on the younger man.
Leaning in close with his eyes glaring, he sarcastically mimicked, “How many
times do I have to tell you my name is not S-s-seth, you imbecile? And what’s
it to you if I dropped my p-p-playing cards?”
At that moment, Thad put in an appearance. “What’s the hold up, Galen? Walker
“Nothing that’s any of your business,” Seth meanly retorted as he
viciously grabbed the pack of cards out of Galen’s hand. “S-s-simple S-s-simon
here just had something of mine.”
“What is your problem?” Thad demanded. “Why are you so nasty with the
kid?”
“What’s it to you? Unless of course, you’re S-s-simple S-s-simon’s
nanny,” Seth sneered.
“I don’t need a nanny!” Galen disputed indignantly, taking a step
towards his antagonist even though Seth was several inches taller than him.
“Come on, Galen. Just ignore him! He isn’t worth it.” Thad picked up the
two buckets. “Let’s get these to the mess hall. It’s almost lunch time and Walker
“That’s right, dummy, do what he says, ‘cause here comes someone else who’s
probably looking for you,” Seth mocked just as Spyke happened along.
“Why don’t you just back off?” Thad asked.
“Are you going to make me?” Seth sneered, daring him to follow through.
“If he doesn’t, I sure as hell will!” Spyke got into the big bully’s
face.
“Hey, it’s under control, Spyke!” Thad informed the younger man,
although in truth he really felt things were actually getting out of control with
tempers heating up way too quickly.
“Are you on the half-wit’s side, too?”
“Who are you calling a half-wit? You want trouble, you ass-hole? I’ll
fuckin’ give you trouble!” Spyke pushed the bigger man, who immediately shoved
back.
“Come on, Spyke! Better leave pretty-boy alone!” Thad advised just as
two more young men showed up.
Wes and Wayne were hurrying to get back to camp but they pulled up short
at the sight before them. The air was practically sizzling with tension.
“What’s going on?” Wes asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. He easily
picked up on the hostile atmosphere and took in the tight stances of the guys as
well as the thunderous look on Spyke’s face.
No one answered him and Wes inched closer, full of curiosity. Wayne put
a restraining hand on his brother’s arm, only to be rudely shaken off.
“Don’t get involved!” the older twin hissed.
Seth made a grab for Spyke, who immediately retaliated by throwing the
first punch and catching Seth off guard. The two combatants tripped and fell while
continuing to fight.
“Take that, you fuckin’ shithead!” Spyke yelled, landing a second punch.
He apparently had the upper hand as he was the one on top.
From where Wes was standing, the fight looked pretty one-sided with Spyke seemingly having the upper-hand. He often
felt as if it was Seth against everyone else. He had seen a few of the others
avoiding Seth and whispering behind his back. He was slowly beginning to know
Seth and didn’t think he was as mean as he made himself out to be. He attempted
to plunge headlong into the fray, while his twin tried to hold him back.
“Wes!” Wayne growled. “Remember the rules! No fighting!” He thought he
had managed to waylay his brother but such was not the case as Wes advanced to
help Seth.
Within seconds, Wes had jumped in with his arms and legs flailing amidst
the heap on the ground. Grunts and sounds of victory were heard as fists found
their marks.
Hearing the commotion, Larry raced down the path and arrived to find
Spyke, Seth and Wes rolling on the ground and clawing at one another. He ran
over to keep the confrontation from escalating, but poor timing on his part
resulted in Spyke’s drawn back elbow smacking him in the face.
Blinking back tears that instantaneously form as a result of the
unexpected pain while simultaneously wiping his bloodied nose with one hand,
Larry somehow managed to maintain his hold on his squirming partner.
Everyone backed off as Spyke continued to clamour for revenge.
Then Galen stepped forward and shouted, “I can fight m-my own
b-battles!”
“Oh yeah! Bet you can’t!” Seth spat out the challenge and turned his
nose up at the person he was most leery of; not that he would ever admit to it.
“You don’t have the nerve.”
Galen threw himself on top of
the man in an attempt to pummel him into the ground. He wanted to prove to the
group that not only did he have the nerve, but he was not going to stand for any
more bullying.
Wes once again tried leaping to Seth’s aid, but Wayne held on tightly to
his shirt and hissed. “You are so going to get it this time!”
A round of applause for Galen came from Thad and Spyke just as several
older men appeared on the scene.
Larry closed his eyes and let out a groan at the sight of a big Scot
thundering down the path towards them.
Spyke, not seeing Aiden’s approach, was still scratching at Larry for
release. Larry, hoping to hide the fact from his older partner that he was bleeding,
turned his head away. He swung Spyke around so he could see their partner
bearing down on them.
“Oh fuck, Larry!” Spyke
whispered. “By the look on the big man’s face, we might be in a bit of shit
here.”
“What do you mean ‘we’?” Larry retorted. “I didn’t do anything but try
to referee and all I got for my efforts was a taste of my own blood.”
As soon as the older men reached the combatants, Thomas dragged Galen
off Seth and placed him on his feet. Without waiting for Galen’s
adrenaline-forced breathing to ease, Thomas demanded to know why he was
fighting.
“It wasn’t his fault, Thomas,” Thad answered for his friend.
“Then whose fault was it?” Thomas
sternly inquired.
All involved looked towards Seth who had sought protection by sliding in
behind Preston . The big lumberjack turned and
glared down at the main object of attention. His inquiry as to why the others
were staring at him met with shrugged shoulders.
“That ass-hole was just lookin’ for a fight! That’s the problem! Besides
which, he’s got a fuckin’ big mouth!”
Spyke spoke up when Seth refused to.
“Shut up, Spyke!” Larry warned. “Don’t aggravate Aiden any more than he
already is or you’ll be sorry.”
“Wheesht, enough!” Aiden ordered.
He looked at the older men and suggested, “I think ’twould be best if we
separate them all ‘til we get things sorted out.”
The other men agreed as they took their individual charges off to talk
with them in private, leaving Aiden alone with his two partners. Thad and Wayne
made good their escape, only too relieved not to be among the guilty parties.
Aiden walked over to where Larry and Spyke stood. “Larry, look at me.”
Larry, not wanting Aiden to know he’d been injured, kept his head turned
away.
“Lawrence
“You may as well let him see, Larry, ‘cause he’s going to find out
sooner or later,” Spyke advised and got shoved down for his trouble.
Aiden bent over, lifted Spyke off the ground and placed him out of
Larry’s reach. “Ye hold yer tongue, wee toerag o’mine. I’ll be dealing with ye
in a minute. Lawrence, let me see yer face!” His voice was much sharper this
time.
Larry turned and lifted his head. The blood flow had now become a
trickle, but small amounts had dried on his upper lip.
“How did that happen? Ye dinnae take the first punch that had Seth retaliating,
did ye?” Aiden asked.
“No, sir!” Larry was indignant. “I tried to break it up and got struck
in the face by a flying elbow.”
“Let me take a look to see if ‘tis broken.” Aiden stepped closer to Larry and gently
examined him. “It doesna seem to be but Lakota’s the doctor, not I. So I want
ye to go see him. Then get that cleaned up and go back to our tent so we can
have a wee chat.”
“I didn’t do anything, Aiden.”
“Aye, but ‘tis true ye tried to hide from me the fact ye were hurt. I’ll
nae put up with that, Lawrence.”
Larry was about to argue but the look in the bigger man’s eyes, made him
swallow his objections. “No, sir. I get your point.”
“I’d be thinking ye might. Now why don’t ye take yerself off to the
doctor and get checked out while I deal with this wee spitfire.” Aiden didn’t
say another word until Larry was out of sight, then he turned to Spyke and
demanded, “Well, just what would be yer rendition of events?”
“Oh shit, Aiden, that prissy was picking on Galen, calling him names and
such. I didn’t know if the kid had it in him to defend himself, so I took it
upon myself to act as his protector.”
“So ye started it even knowing the council’s rules on fighting?”
“Gee, when you put it that way, it sounds like what I did was wrong. But
if you look at things from my point of view, you’d see what I did was perfectly
acceptable.”
“Yer concept of acceptable behaviour is amazing. ‘Tis plain wrong, what
ye did. Ye should have taken Galen and walked away instead of brawling about.”
“That’s your opinion.”
“Aye, ‘tis so and ‘tis the only one that matters here.” Aiden took a
hold of the young man’s arm and dragged him over to a fallen log, where he
seated himself, pulled down Spyke’s pants and hauled him over his knee. “Just
why is the flat of me hand going to be warming this wee bottom of yers,
laddie?”
“’Cause I was fighting,” Spyke whimpered and clenched his backside as he
waited for the first spank to land.
Thomas took Galen by the arm and led him away from the scene of the
fight. He was at a momentary loss for words. It came as a shock to him to see
this usually genial young man whom he was so fond of, actually fighting. They
walked to the beach and Thomas guided them to a large piece of driftwood where
he firmly sat Galen down.
“Before I make any comments, Galen, I’d like you to tell me exactly what
lead up to this fight.”
“Seth dropped his p-playing cards.” To Galen’s mind, he had answered the
question as that was what had started the whole fiasco.
“Dropped his playing card?” Thomas was left more confused than before.
“How could that start a fight between you?”
“Well, I p-picked them up and returned them b-but..." Galen paused
to think of how to explain this without causing Seth to dislike him further.
“Seth doesn’t like anyone touching his stuff.”
“And what did he say or do about this?” Thomas inquired.
“He kinda complained and that’s w-when Thad showed up, then Spyke.”
Thomas drew a deep breath; obviously getting this whole story was going
to be like pulling hen’s teeth. “Kinda complained? Galen, what exactly did he
say or do?”
Galen sighed. He realised Thomas was going to find out sooner or later,
so he did his best to explain. “Not m-much really, but Spyke didn’t like it and
told Seth to shut up; when Seth said ‘m-make me’, Spyke p-punched him.” Galen
smirked at the memory.
What Galen was trying so hard not to say concerned Thomas more than what
he did say. “I’d like to know exactly what ‘not much really’ means, if you
please.”
“Well, he just calls p-people he doesn’t like m-mean names. He doesn’t
like me m-much. But that’s okay, Thomas; not everyone likes everyone else you
know."
“I realise that, Galen, but you also know that not liking a person is
not an acceptable excuse for fighting with them. We have been very clear in the
council that fighting will not be tolerated here. Name-calling, though a
distasteful and improper behaviour, is not any reason for fighting.”
“I know and I’m sorry," Galen murmured dejectedly. Looking up, he
added, “I guess things just got a little out of hand. A few of us m-might have
over-reacted a b-bit.”
“I think ‘over-reacted’ is an understatement for what went on here,”
Thomas commented. “Okay, we got to the point where Spyke punched Seth; what
happened after that?”
“The twins came along, and Wes took Seth’s side. Then Larry arrived and
kinda b-broke things up by p-pulling Spyke away.”
“At what point did you enter the fight?”
“I w-wanted to show Spyke I can stand up for m-myself, so that’s w-when I
sorta w-went after Seth."
“I see,” Thomas sighed. “Galen, you do understand that this matter will
have to come up before the council, don’t you?”
Galen’s eyes widened and he paled slightly. He hadn’t given any thought
to the repercussions of breaking a statute set down by the ruling body of their
little group of men. “W-will we get kicked out of the community?”
“No! Galen, we formed the council so the community could work together
and deal with the problems that arise. It would take a whole lot more than some
fisticuffs to have someone expelled from our newly formed society,” he
reassured the young man.
“So w-what’s gonna happen then?”
“You and all those involved will have to stand up before the council.
Each will be asked to give their accounting of what happened and then the council
will determine the appropriate punishments. I think it is safe to assume
apologies will be in order. Would you like me to stand with you, Galen? I could get someone else to serve in my place
on the council if you’d like my support.”
“I think I can do it by m-myself, Thomas. Remember you told m-me we all
have our responsibilities to the community and head of the council is yours.
Thank you for offering though,” Galen sincerely declined even though he really
had doubts about his ability to do this on his own.
Thomas was disappointed. He’d hoped that Galen had grown to want his
support. But he was not in a position to demand that Galen accept it. However,
he couldn’t help wistfully thinking, ‘Maybe one day he’ll trust me enough.’
“Alright, as long as you’re sure. Just remember that as a council member
I cannot allow our friendship to affect the outcome of this matter.”
“I know,” Galen replied before asking uncertainly, “huh, Thomas, are you
going to p-punish me too?”
Thomas was surprised by the question. Up to this point he hadn’t thought
of it. He and Galen had formed an agreement that he could punish the younger
man for wandering off or not eating properly and following the doctor’s advice.
But was he within his rights to chastise the lad for this infraction on top of
what he knew would be a difficult outcome from the council session?
“I think we should discuss this after the council has made its decision,
Galen. Though you broke a rule of the community, you did not break one of the
rules you and I discussed. After this is done, I would like to talk about what
rules we might further decide on between us though. How does that sound?”
“I’m okay w-with that.” Galen nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. He
knew in his heart there was one reason he’d have for fighting again and that
was if someone ever accused Thomas of being an unfair or unreasonable man.
“Alright, Seth, I want an explanation,” Preston sombrely demanded as he took a seat on tree stump and
glared up at the fidgety young man in front of him.
“I’m not exactly sure what happened, Preston .
Galen and I were kinda exchanging words when first Thad showed up, then Spyke.
I think the twins arrived on the scene just as Spyke belted me one, and then
all hell seemed to break loose.”
“Why were you and Galen arguing in the first place?” Preston
wanted to know, his little remaining reserve of patience dwindling rapidly.
“What is going on between you two? When and how did it start?”
Seth kept his eyes on the ground and shrugged his shoulders. His
attention was brusquely drawn back to the older man when a large hand reached
behind him and landed a stinging swat on the seat of his trousers.
“I really don’t know the answers, Preston,” Seth muttered, rubbing
furiously at the hand-print on his backside. He was unwilling to own up to the
feelings he harboured towards Galen. He
thought back to the first time he’d laid eyes on the younger man. They had both
been passengers on the last large rowboat transporting the exiled men from the
ship to the island. Seth shuddered as he pictured the person who sat hunched
and motionless on the seat across from him; a wretched filthy little creature
with unruly black curls and dark-rimmed grey eyes staring unseeingly from a gaunt pale
face. Seth had determined then and there that Galen was a bad omen and someone
to be very wary of. This conclusion was only strengthened when he first heard
his nemesis stuttering.
“Well you may not know how it began but rest assured, it is about to
end! Fisticuffs have never been an acceptable or successful means of handling
differences. Brawling is strictly forbidden here!” Preston
scolded. “You, I’m afraid, are about to learn that ordinance the hard way. Drop
your pants, Seth!” he ordered and patted his knee.
Seth was in little double as to what was about to take place. They had
very few rules in their relationship. First and foremost was the ‘no gambling
for chores’ rule, the only other being that Preston expected complete adherence
to all regulations proposed by the council and duly voted upon by the community
as a whole. Seth had already broken the first rule and suffered the
consequences. He fervently wished he hadn’t broken the second one.
“Come here, you little hellion!” Nathan sternly ordered. “I have a long
discussion planned for you!”
“Like I said, Nathan, I thought they were bullying Seth and I was just
trying to help.”
“Do we have a rule about public brawling and hitting others?” asked the
ever-patient Nathan.
“Before I answer that question, can I ask you one, Nathan?”
“Of course!” Nathan heaved a silent sigh.
“If I were to come across something bad happening, would you expect me
to help?”
“Yes.” Nathan let out a long-suffering breath.
“And if the only way to help is to get into the fight, would you fault
me for it?” Wes was searching for a loophole.
Nathan kept his face straight and cut to the chase. “Yes. Fighting is
inexcusable. It is never the answer to any problem. and you know it.”
Stumped, Wes ventured, “w-what happens now?”
“What did I say I would do the next time you got involved in a fight?”
Wes kept his mouth shut tightly and refused to answer.
“Think about it while we walk, Wesley. After all, it wasn’t quite all
that long ago.” Nathan took Wes’ hand and led him further into the forest to a
glen that would offer more privacy.
Arriving at their destination, Nathan turned and calmly inquired, “have
you come up with a proper answer, young man?”
“You said I’d be in trouble if I got into another fight,” Wes
begrudgingly replied. “I didn’t mean to get in trouble.” This last was softly
spoken.
“Not meaning to and not doing it are two entirely different things,
young man. And now you find yourself answering to me and to the council once
again; for fighting no less!” Nathan
bristled with frustration
Wes hung his head at the stern admonishment.
“Work harder on controlling undesirable impulses, Wesley,” Nathan
recommended smoothly. “As far as I can see, you still need help doing that.”
Nathan encouraged no further conversation, as he sat down on a fallen tree and
reached to undo Wes’ pants.
Wes gasped and tried to still Nathan’s hands. “No!” he exclaimed, panic
in his eyes. This was the first time Nathan was removing his pants for
something other than pleasure.
Nathan easily had the slightly smaller man bare-bottomed and over his
knee. “Sooner or later, Wesley, you are going to remember that fighting is
forbidden." He lectured, then raised his hand and landed a hard swat on
the smooth, white flesh.
Wes jumped at both the sound, as well as the intensity of the smack.
Without the protection of his pants, his bared flesh flared into an immediate
sting from Nathan’s punishing hand. Spanks rained down in a steady fashion
while Wes sobbed out his contrition.
He could not believe how much more it hurt being spanked on his bare
bottom than it had the previous time. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he
made a vow to himself. Never again would he dive into a fight without thought.
This kind of spanking was way too high a price to pay.
Nathan allowed the young man several moments to become aware of the
punishment having ended.
"Ssssh, Minx. All is over. You are forgiven. The slate has been
cleaned and we start anew." Nathan soothingly repeated this refrain as he
rubbed ever widening circles on his partner’s shuddering back.
Wes drew in ragged breaths as he got unsteadily to his feet and pulled
up his clothing. How could Nathan spank so hard? The man certainly didn’t fool
around when he punished. Most of the time, he was so easy-going. Wes sniffed to
himself, feeling totally misled.
Now that the spanking was over; another problem raised its head.
“Nathan?” Wes whispered. “What about the council?”
Nathan sighed. “It’s a bit late to be thinking of that, isn’t it,
Wesley? Because I am pretty sure you’ll be summoned. You better learn that
impulse control is a good ability to develop because much as I love you, I
don’t look forward to repeatedly appearing with you in front of the council.
You hear me?”
Wes nodded and sniffled. “You didn’t spank that hard when I punched
Galen, but this time you did.”
Nathan snorted. “Hmm, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you eventually
find that this spanking was somewhat tempered in comparison to what it could
have been.”
Wes gulped. “It could have been worse?”
“Although I hope we don’t get to this point, I can see us using a
hairbrush if you refuse to conduct yourself properly.” This was said rather
sternly.
Wes’ stomach clenched and dipped. “A-a hairbrush?”
“Minx, I spanked harder this time because it was a repeated offence,
wasn’t it?”
Wes’ eyes dropped immediately. “Yes,” he whispered. “I won’t be fighting
again, I swear!”
“Good! I mean what I say, Wes. If
you want to avoid the hairbrush, then learn to govern yourself in an
appropriate manner, clear?”
“Yes!” Wes replied in a small voice. “That means no more fighting. I get
it. I’ll stay out of trouble, Nathan. You won’t have to resort to the
hairbrush, I assure you!”
“Good man. No task is insurmountable as long as you are willing to work
on it. I firmly believe we make a great team and I want you to know how very
much I love you and how proud I am of you for giving me your guarantee.”
Wes squeezed his arms around his partner and crossed his fingers behind the
older man’s back.
TBC….
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