I required no further explanation. I grabbed Leon by the arm and dragged him a mile back to the village. By the time we had reached clearance from the thickets he was covered in dirt and pricked by thorns and it was a pretty pitiful sight that almost made me regret yanking him through the briars.

When we reached the village, I promptly marched toward the elders’ lodge, the grandest lodge in the village. Friends and neighbors who knew not of my impending banishment greeted me along the way but I had no time for pleasantries. I charged into the elders’ lodge, without warning, reproaching them for their poor judgement, which evidently did not help my case.

Lameka the Gentle, the matriarchal leader of the tribe, calmly responded, “Calm down, son of Taparok.”