"You're not _really_ the elder's son!", taunted Yoli. It had been like this for some time. Yoli Chetka had decided for some reason to take a disliking to Kita, picking on him every chance he could get. Kita was usually quiet and solitary, so when Yoli would taunt him, he'd simply shrug and ignore him. Kita was a boy who kept to himself, never really talking much beyond polite acknowledgements. His tribe was aware that Yoli was picking on him, but his adoptive father assumed that maybe this would teach Kita some backbone and give him a fighting spirit. Instead, it just made Kita withdraw into himself and feel even more isolated.
	Today was different, though. Yoli had been on him since morning, tripping him on the way to his chores and dung clods at him while he worked. Kita was on his way out to tend the goats in a nearby mountain pass when Yoli followed him and said, "The only reason the elder takes care of you is because he feels _sorry_ for you and they lost their own son. They don't really love you. You're just a _replacement_ for Tamal. I'll bet your _real_ family threw you out, and _that's_ why the elder found you." Kita had taken plenty of abuse up `til now, but this was finally the last straw. As he felt his eyes burn with the coming of hot tears, he tried to bury the pain. Instead, he turned it from sadness into deep anger and he turned on Yoli suddenly. Yoli was surprised, but he was even _more_ surprised when he saw Kita lift and move his hands in an intricate pattern, a green glow beginning to envelop them. He then thrust them both forward as if to punch Yoli in the gut. Yoli easily leapt out of the way and began to laugh at him, yelling, "What a loser! You can't even fight like a real man!" But Kita didn't hear him, and Yoli soon saw that Kita was not aiming to punch him. A bolt of green light shot forth from the enraged boy's hands and struck his taunter in the chest. Where it hit, ice began to spread quickly and Yoli started to scream. "Demon! AHH! Demon magic!" Kita's only words to Yoli were, "Feel how cold you have turned my heart.", uttered in a dark, angry tone. As the ice enveloped the screaming Yoli, Kita came to his senses and saw what he'd done. Yoli was being encased in ice! They were both far enough away from camp that no one had heard Yoli's screams or seen the altercation, but Kita knew it wouldn't be very long before the frozen boy was discovered.
	With a look of horror, he muttered, "Not again... Oh not again!!", and ran back to the yurt encampment. His father and mother were not in their yurt, and he knew nobody would understand, so he grabbed as many things as he'd need to be self-sufficient, like his one-man tent, some dried rations, his deep winter clothing, and anything else he'd need. He took all of this outside to where they kept their horses and loaded up his horse, tying everything down securely. When he felt he'd grabbed and secured all he could, he then leapt on the horse and galloped off as fast as he could go. A few of the tribespeople noticed Kita riding off at breakneck speed and one old lady commented to another, "Was Kita.. Was he crying? That boy _never_ shows emotion."
	Kita rode as hard and fast as he could and only spared one glance back to his tribe. . o ( Forgive me for who I am. I can't help it. I know I've been much trouble to you. I just hope you won't hate me forever. But.. hope is not meant to be mine... )




	Winter had settled early on the steppes and snow was beginning to fall. By now, Kita had begun to ride at a more relaxed pace so as not to tire out his horse. As they trotted along, Kita's thoughts reflected over everything in his life. He tried to remember his childhood, but something blocked him.
	The earliest memory he had was of the tribal elder finding him half-buried in snow, near frozen to death and covered in scars along his back. They nursed him back to health and accepted him as one of their own. . o O ( Was it like Yoli said? Was I just a replacement for Tamal? ) He was broken out of his reverie by a cold, hard wind buffeting him. "We'd better make camp, Bitla.  This storm looks unpleasant." His horse whinnied in response as he climbed off, walking a few paces.
	When he found a level spot, he took his pack off Bitla and began to make camp. He had taken with him a smaller version of a yurt, more easily carried by Bitla. He drove the stakes into the ground, positioning them carefully, and tied them down. He then got out the felt walls and began wrapping the yurt. Once they were tied in place, he took out the goatskins and lashed them down over the top to keep the snow out, leaving a small hole in the top for smoke to escape.
	Bitla was looking very cold, so Kita took an extra goatskin blanket and laid it over Bitla's back, lashing it down so it wouldn't blow off the horse. Hearty as these steppes horses were, they were not invulnerable, and the look in Bitla's eyes showed how cold and tired he was.
	"I'll freeze _myself_ if I don't get a fire going. BrrRrRRr!" Kita pulled his gear inside and began making bed. He'd brought a sack of fire fuel with him, goat dung, and made himself a fire. He then set out his sleeping furs and cuddled up under them, watching the smoke from his fire curl up through the smoke hole at the top. The storm was getting worse, but Kita had done a good job lashing down his small yurt. The howling wind acted almost like a steppes lullaby, and Kita soon fell asleep.