* * *
Aly struck the portal door to Shanvi’s hut out of the way with the side of her fist after sessions were over, not even wanting to stay for practice. The regulars in the store stopped chatting as the Little One stormed off to the back. Shanvi stopped wiping the counter.
“Um, are you well, Alytchai?” a mastra asked. “The errand messenger informed us as to what happened.”
“My thanks, yet I am well,” Aly said as she ran into the back room, now knowing the incident was probably the talk of the town that entire afternoon.
The customers looked at Shanvi and some got out of their seats, since they figured the master needed some time with his Little One.
“Nay, I beg, stay.” Shanvi set his cleaning towel down. “I shall return shortly.”
When he pushed the curtain to his child’s room away, Aly was stretched out across her bed, head buried in a pillow. Shanvi sat on the edge.
“So, no staying after practice today, nay?”
Aly growled into her pillow. Bad joke. Shanvi made the Little One face him so he could check her chin, but she didn’t even look at him. She was too angry to look at anyone.
“It looks not as severe,” Shanvi said with a smile.
“If I may, Pappai?”
“You may.”
“Truly, you were not the one to be struck, yes?”
Shanvi laughed as he hugged his daughter. He kissed Aly on the cheek and rubbed her head.
“My, I fear how others shall perceive this one once her sharp tongue becomes public! Be of ease, dearest. Perhaps you are right to be upset. Be that as it may, a gentle spirit triumphs an aggressive act.”
Aly tilted her head and raised a brow. “What?”
“Truly, you are too fresh in youth to understand such proverbs as they be, yet fear not. They shall make better sense in your grander...” Shanvi’s left ear twitched as he turned around. “Oh dear. Here we go.”
Aly’s hearing wasn’t as good as her pappai’s, so she didn’t hear the two grown-up Goolians marching down the street the way he did. Shanvi patted Aly on the face twice before he got up and waited.
“If I may, is there trouble, Pappai?”
“Be still, Aly. All is well.”
Shanvi heard the front door burst open and a Mature Aged Goolian demand his whereabouts. His Little One crossed her legs and scooted back against the wall. He forced a smile when Cattalice the Elder was the first to poke her head through the curtain. When she saw Aly, the mastra almost cried and covered her mouth.
“Oh, you poor dearest little thing.” Cattalice looked at Shanvi, as if wondering if the two of them were still friends, and when the master shrugged, she fell to her knees and bowed.
Shanvi glanced at Aly, whose ears perked up, probably never thinking she’d see the day that the field lord’s mate would make such a gesture to a commoner like her pappai. Quongun came through the curtain seconds later and locked eyes with him. He too, dropped to the ground.
“Our most deepest apologies, Teacher. We come to you with heavy shame.”
“We beg that this one shall find it in his heart to forgive us,” Cattalice said, still trying not to cry.
Shanvi made the couple get up. “Will you two not calm yourselves? Truly, such commotion from people of your stature shall scare my customers from returning. I was in the midst of even telling Aly that friends may fight from time to time. No harm has been done.”
Quongun crossed his arms. “Nay, I fear this is where we are to disagree, Master.”
Cattalice sat and scooted over to Aly, cupping her face. She felt the smooth area that was burned and that was probably what made her ears shoot straight out. That was a clear sign of anger. Aly looked at Shanvi, more likely contemplating on whether she needed to call for help or not.
“Dearest, I beg, let us not make a scene,” Quongun insisted.
“Hold your tongue!” Cattalice pulled Aly close to her, as if she was her own child. “Our own flesh and blood has the nerve to fight the dearest Little One in our village, let alone her dearest friend!”
Shanvi rubbed his cheeks. “I am sure Catty feels remorse already.”
“Truly,” Quongun said. “Yet fret not. She has been properly disciplined. I assure you, such actions shall never befall Aly again.”
Aly, who was still being smothered by Cattalice, looked up at her pappai. Truly. Is all this grand attention necessary? Shanvi moved his hands to his temples when he heard Teacher approach the door.
“Back here.”
The front door creaked open again. Then Teacher poked his head through the curtain, scratching his head.
“Teach– I mean, Master Shanvi, I thought the store hours were opened.”
“They are. Why does this one speak as this?”
“The dining room is vacant. That be all.”
“Truth’s Grace.” Shanvi groaned and rubbed his face. Then he turned the other two masters around and shoved. “That be it. All of you, out. This is my Little One’s bedroom and we shall not discuss delicate matters in her company, very good? Mistress Cattalice, I fear this includes you as well.”
The mastra sighed as she let Aly go. She grabbed the Little One’s hands as she faced her, down on one knee.
“Truly, we regret Catty’s actions today, Aly. Yet, I beg, let this not spoil your dealings at school in the morrow, yes?”
“Very good, Mistress.”
The elder female kissed the Little One’s hands, smiled, and walked out the room. Shanvi nodded at the mastra in gratitude and shook a finger at Aly.
“Be sure to complete your afterschool workings, very good? Practice your counting up to one and a hundred. In the meantime, I fear I must discuss some boring talks, so remain here until then.”
“No worries, Pappai,” Aly said, already grabbing a scroll and writing utensil. “If I may, you elders have confused me greatly today.”
Shanvi chuckled as he went back to the front. Teacher, Quongun, and Cattalice were already sitting at one of the tables in the far corner so Alytchai couldn’t hear them. Before joining them, he went over to the abandoned chairs, placed the currency the customers left on the tables into a pocket, and picked up the bowls.
“Again, I say there be little need for concern,” Teacher said to the couple. “Catty is well behaved and liked by the others in school.”
“Perhaps this is where the issue resides,” Quongun insisted as Shanvi cleaned the bowls. “You did say that Aly bested Catty with reflex trainings, yes? For one of their age, losing to one that – with all due respect, Teacher Shanvi – has yet to catch up with other dealings, may be a blow to the inner pride.”
“With this, I agree,” Cattalice said. “I am still appalled at Catty’s actions. Those two have been friends since they were born, and Catty is only grander in age by two months! My greatest fear is that a friendship might be squandered due to foolish enmity. With the highest regards, Teacher, should you not be more observant of things?”
Quongun looked like he was about to interject on the sparring priests behalf, but he probably realized there wasn’t a point in stopping his mate once she had a point to make. Shanvi placed three bowls of water in front of the Goolians, along with a plate of leaves and bread. He cleared his throat and sat down beside Teacher.
“In Teacher’s defense, I must say that training a lot of children and monitoring their lively states of mind is no easy task,” he said. “We cannot expect him to take full responsibility with developing personalities at their age. Nay, child rearing at home is still of grave importance.”
He glanced at Cattalice, who eyed the table. He placed a hand on hers and patted it. “Thus, such is why it takes a great multitude to nurture a single child, yes?” Shanvi squeezed the mastra’s hand. She squeezed back.
Teacher ran a finger around his bowl’s rim. “As much as I appreciate and agree wholeheartedly with all sentiments, I also understand both parties face unique situations. “One Little One is offspring to the field lord of the
entire village. Eyes are thus already on her. She may feel inclined to exceed the expectations of not only her peer class, yet the entire tribe as well.
“And then there be the other Little One, offspring to the beloved former sparring priest. With that alone, expectations are thus placed at a higher standard than normal. Yet she struggles to meet the basic needs and requirements of our culture. A lot of pressure has thus been placed on them, and the fact that their curriculum has sped up shall not help matters out, I fear.”
Cattalice quickly sipped some water from her bowl and held up a finger. “And speaking of which by Truth’s Grace we have not suffered any quarrels with the neighboring tribes. Thus why would Overseer Greagen see the need to direct tribal dealings when he is to have greater concerns on a planetary level? Does he not think we know how to manage our local affairs?”
“Who knows what is to go on in the administration’s mind?” Quongun said.
Shanvi crossed his arms and shook his head. “Well, I for one, applaud him. Do you not recall the conversation about the Little Ones climbing trees a while ago, Cattalice? The tribe has grown quite soft as of late, and too accustomed to peaceful times. While I rejoice in the fact that we do not know the horrors of war, I fear our present generations have grown weaker due to it.”
“How does living in peace make one weak, Master?” Cattalice demanded.
“With the simplest of ease. Centuries ago, the sparring grounds and Evaluations were used to calculate who could truly defend the tribes the best. And now, they are simply a manner for us to keep in physical shape, that and a cultural tradition we use to remember darker times. Why, such values are becoming as relevant as the old Cyogen stories we tell the Little Ones around the campfire. Call me brutal if you must, yet I am proud that my Aly is to take part in the Evaluations earlier than usual. Such acts may be good for us as a whole people, yes?”
Cattalice leaned back in her seat, rubbing her arms. “Be that as it may, such grander ideals do not settle our more trivial concerns. I beg, we must settle the implied rivalry between Aly and Catty prior to it becoming something more severe.”
“Mistress Cattalice,” Teacher said, “you speak of the fear of a rivalry being formed, yet I fear a rivalry is thus inevitable.”
Quongun and Cattalice looked at Shanvi, who didn’t seem as troubled as they did by the notion.
Teacher took a sip of water as he checked the suns. “Be that as it may, we may still nurture this into a positive form.”
“You say nurture, yet I merely hear a fancy form of corrupt,” Cattalice said. “And these lot are but five years in age. You dare to speak of such things?”
“Truly, we cannot direct who these Little Ones declare friend or foe,” Teacher explained. “As sparring priest, I am only permitted to supervise the Little One’s social development and intervene when need be. Thus, at this age, my main concern is the monitoring of respect, not friendships. For we all know, very well, that friendships and animosities may rise and set with the suns, yet the manner in which one perceives others is an eternal treasure.”
Shanvi sat up as he stroked the tents on his chin. “What you speak is true. Yet, pardon my bluntness, I believe we speak of matters due to our current passions of the moment. Perhaps we should settle our nerves for an evening and converse this when calmer heads are in our company. Truly, shall we let a mere squabble at the sparring grounds draw so much concern?”
Teacher paused and grabbed one of the leaves on the plate. He studied its greenery before popping it into his mouth, chewing slowly. The other three waited for an answer after he finished eating, but it never came. Shanvi and Quongun looked at each other before leaning in closer. Cattalice crossed her arms and cleared her throat, but Teacher still didn’t say anything.
“Does this one have something that would lead me to think otherwise?” Shanvi asked.
Teacher still didn’t answer. He grabbed a large piece of bread and was about to put a chunk into his mouth before Shanvi forced his hand down.
“Do not delay us, lad. What be the trouble?”
Teacher wiped his forehead and Shanvi allowed him to take a drink of water. He finished the entire bowl and licked his lips, still longing for more.
“Perhaps your calling the incident a mere squabble was more than that, Master,” Teacher said. “Rest assured, I was not hoping for such an act, yet I also needed to assess a thought I had in regards to Aly. I saw it best to put her against Catty, since she would provide the best, um, supporting unconditioned subject.”
“Subject for what?” Quongun asked.
“As I say, Aly has struggled constantly with her being, yet she performs quite well in the other areas.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Be damned, and I do not even give her due credit! The child is beyond quite well. Her reflexes are the sort I have yet to ever see. Her reaction time is precise; perhaps just as great, if not greater than your own, Master Shanvi.”
Quongun and Cattalice smiled at their old teacher, as if congratulating him for his Little One being good at something. Shanvi, on the other hand, look more concerned than anything else.
“Go on,” he said to Teacher. “I fear there may be more.”
“Indeed there be. I thought very little of it when I first took notice. For Aly’s frustrations justified it all. Yet the more perturbed I have seen her come to be, the more aggressive she has turned, as well.”
“Nay, she has become more aggressive because the girls pick on her at school,” Shanvi corrected.
“And I had such similar thoughts as well. Truly, I did. Yet there be more to it than that. I saw it the day she was practicing with the dankerballs.”
Shanvi leaned back in his seat. “Yes, I recall you relaying to me that she was using the types that Young Ones are to use.”
“What I intently failed to mention was the fierceness in her eyes as she practiced,” Teacher said. “Master Shanvi, perhaps my gaze was too intent and played tricks on me, yet––”
When Cattalice chuckled, the masters could tell it was one of denial. She shook her head as she drank some more water.
“I see where this one goes,” she said. “And I am to say that perhaps we shall find another Teacher to educate our lot on the sparring grounds. You are naïve.”
“Cattalice, I beg,” Quongun said, patting her thigh.
“Nay!” She slapped Quongun’s palm away. “How dare you! To come into our old teacher’s home and make such allegations against such an innocent child.”
Shanvi shushed everyone, and the Adults paused. He looked over to Aly’s room, switching to infrared vision so he could see if the little mastra was nosing in on the conversation. Aly had looked up for a quick second, more than likely upon hearing the mistress’ outburst, but went back to reading and counting when the commotion settled.
Cattalice cleared her throat, that probably being her current extent to an apology. Shanvi lowered his palm on the table, reminding everyone to keep it down, and then nodded to Teacher so he could continue.
“I merely report what I see,” Teacher whispered. “And from what I have perceived, Alytchai may be a greater issue than we could have imagined. I shall be true. What I have seen might only be mere setbacks, yet all point to, well, symptoms.”
Cattalice got out of her seat and started pacing around the entire board, not knowing where to go. Quongun placed an arm around Shanvi’s shoulder and rubbed it. Shanvi didn’t say anything, only stared; his expression growing blank the more his mind struggled over what Teacher was implying.
“Tell me, what did you see in her eyes?” Shanvi said.
“Master, I––”
“Be blunt with me if you must, then. I care not how you say it.”
Teacher’s lips went dry. His rubbed his sweaty palms, and the murmur of a word that no Goolian ever wanted to hear hissed into his ear.
“Tell me, what did you see in her eyes?” Shanvi asked again.
“I saw severe pupil dilation, Master,” Teacher said. “
By Truth’s Grace, her eyes would have gone as black as death had I not shaken her out of her state.”
A tear ran down Shanvi’s cheek. He tried laughing it off, but the chuckles were mixed with sniffs. Cattalice sat back down in the farthest corner of the room and rocked. Quongun helped Shanvi out of his seat and walked him to another door that led to the pond and fields in the back.
“Perhaps we should get a breath of fresh air, Teacher?” Quongun said to Shanvi. “What is more, I fear we should discuss such things beyond this room.”
Shanvi didn’t say a word as both masters helped him outside.
Cattalice covered her face as she got up and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, counted to ten, and jumped out of her skin when she opened them again. Aly was looking up at her.
“Oh, Alytchai,” the mastra said, holding her chest. “You – you scared me, dearest.”
“Apologies, Mistress, yet I heard a little... a little––”
“Commotion?”
“I believe that be the proper term.”
Cattalice’s laugh was fake.
Aly stepped out from the doorway a little more and walked up to her. “If I may, my pappai is still here, yes––”
“Mastra––” Cattalice almost fell over a chair as she stepped away. “Truly, I thought I was to hear your pappai instruct you with your evening assignments. Now, trouble him not, yes? No worries. He and the other masters are merely chatting outside, admiring the lovely pond and marshes you have in the back.”
Aly’s ears drooped as she turned around and dragged herself back into her room. Cattalice reached out to the Little One, wanting to apologize for being so harsh, but she was still too scared of her to say anything. Anyone would have done the same thing, now knowing what she knew. Still, the mastra’s shame made her cover her mouth as she wailed behind her palms.