"That's ambitious," Cutie said, a hint of admiration in his voice. "Starting from nothing, building something strong enough to stand against entire tribes..."
"Every empire starts from nothing," Kaya said. "Every leader begins as just one person with an idea and the determination to see it through." She looked at them both. "I'm not saying it'll be easy. I'm not even saying we'll succeed. But I'm done being prey. Done running. It's time to start building something."
Veer was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, "You sound like a revolutionary."
"Maybe I am," Kaya agreed. "This system—pulling humans here to be breeding stock, fighting over them like property—it's broken. Someone needs to break it further, then rebuild it into something better."
"That's dangerous thinking," Veer warned. "The major tribes won't take kindly to someone trying to upset the established order."
"The major tribes are already trying to kill me," Kaya pointed out. "How much worse can it get?"
