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Claudius was glad to hear that Dawali was recovering, but he wasn’t sure what to make of Jefferson’s flippant tone. Claudius recoiled slightly, uncertain if this level of disrespect among leaders was common. His mother had never spoken to Dawali like this, so it seemed rather abnormal to the boy. But then, she wasn’t a leader anymore and probably had to hold Dawali to a higher level of respect. Whatever the reason behind it – if there was one – Claudius didn’t like it.
Sakari then piped up and answered Jefferson’s questions with ease, explaining the Cherokee language. Claudius knew a few words, but was by no means fluent in it. Like French, he knew bits of pieces, but couldn’t string them together to make a sentence. Sakari then turned to Claudius and asked about his living arrangements, to which Claudius just shrugged. He gave her a small smile, but didn’t reply. There was too much going on for him to say anything but he didn’t really mind.
And again, Jefferson proved himself to be a poor conversationalist and a man of few manners. “You,” he demanded of Claudius, advancing on him like a hunter might his prey, demanding he stand up straighter and stop ‘tweaking’ – whatever that was. Claudius immediately folded back his ears, took a step back, and narrowed his eyes. He did not like this man at all. If he wanted to insult his proposed guide, he could do that somewhere else, or not at all. Claudius did not like having this rude man make fun of him and then demand his name. No, he would not be getting a name from Claudius. He didn’t deserve it.
Before Claudius could reply, Sakari interjected to defend his honour. Although he was a little embarrassed that his friends were the ones responsible for coming to his rescue, he did see that she could offer a retort with more eloquence than he ever could. So, he was grateful he had her on his side. As she reprimanded the one-eyed, one-armed wolf, Claudius felt some pride swell up in him. She wouldn’t let some scary wolf tromp around here and make her feel bad! He admired that.
He shot Jefferson a mean glare and replied as well as he could. “I-i-i…f y-you do-o-on’t ha-a-a-ve anything n-nice to-o-o sa-y-y-y, don’t-t-t s-say it a-at all,” he shot. He then turned to Sakari. “I-I will sh-show you w-where I fish, but he,” he enunciated with a jerk of his chin, “i-i-is not w-welco-o-ome.” His behaviour was unfit for that of a leader and Claudius did not like him. So, he would have to be content wandering about the stream on his massive horse, far away, and where he could not bother Claudius. Claudius did not venture forth outside of his den every few days to be confronted by a horrible wolf. No, if he had known this bully would be waiting for him only kilometres from his home, he would have never ventured out that morning.