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"Why, family of course. Didn't you guess?" Koran muttered with a tight jaw and clenched fists. Ehan looked to the older man, trying not to show his surprise but knowing that the shock would surely be written upon his face. Ehan wanted to doubt Koran’s words and erase the man’s contempt for his family, but his captain seemed utterly serious, so Ehan dared not laugh or contradict his leader.
“How could two of your own kin remind you of Captain…” Ehan paused, saying the title regrettably in front of Koran. “…Captain Herding’s words and way of viewing our mission?” Ehan did not understand how any family could contain hate or malice towards each other. The younger Southron waited in an uncharacteristically patient manner, taking a seat on a nearby boulder that protruded from the earth and glowed dark-grey in the evening glow of moon and stars.
“Doubt fills his mind…doubt in my abilities as a leader. Herding wants me to fail, and he will let me take my steps and go off on my merry way just so he can see me trip over my own feet.” Koran paused, kicking at the ground and bringing dust floating upwards to his boots. He let his hands and shoulders relax. “Herding wants me to fail…” the captain trailed off, and Ehan listened carefully to his next words. Ehan wondered if he would reveal such precious information about his family. “There are others close to me that would like to see me take a fall as well. They are close enough to make it happen, too. Why, if I could…”
Koran balled both hands into tight fists.
“Anger is a bad counselor, good Captain,” Ehan murmured gently, not wanting to upset Koran more by causing him to think he was being tutored by his own soldier. “After all, a leader must lead by example, and he does so whether he planned to or not. The best way to deal with doubt, I’ve learned, is to…well…treat it as an enemy in battle!” Ehan flashed a boyish grin. “You must kill it! Bring it to its knees and make it beg for mercy! Then slice its throat…”
Ehan saw Koran roll his eyes and smile, scoffing at the younger man’s silly correlation. The captain released his clenched fists, and Ehan relaxed and he felt the immediate tension roll off his companion. The ferocity was gone, but the anger remained in a simmering flame.
"Besides," Ehan continued. "There always has to be a hero, and Herding is not the hero type. And enemies of the hero always end up dying." Ehan contemplated his own words as they spilled off his tongue and out of his mouth.
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