Evaluations of the Tribe Read online

  People came out of their homes to see what the commotion was, and some of them hurried over to intervene when they saw Aly and Shanvi on the ground. However the Little One got up as fast as she could and hobbled after Catty.

  “Stay away from me!” Catty cried as she hopped off the hut and landed on the ground. She took two strong strides before going to all fours and taking off.

  “Aly,” a grown-up said as he grabbed her. “What nonsense is this? Why are you two not at school?”

  The Little One wiggled out of the master’s grip before dashing off on all fours as well. She and Catty crashed into laundry, pots, and anything in sight as they ran through the village. And just when Catty thought she had enough time to turn and apologize for breaking another woven basket, she shot back around and ran even harder since Aly was catching up.

  “Mammai, Pappai!” Catty cried as she got closer to her parents’ fields.

  When two nearby workers looked up to see what was going on, they saw Catty hop out of the high grass for a glimpse before Aly took her down like a wild predator. The grown-ups were too startled to even intervene. The sounds of Goolian hisses and fists and feet striking flesh broke the calmness in the area. When everything got quiet, the elder Goolians crept in to see if the two were still alive. They took a single step, and then their spines told them to duck.

  A yellow ball of energy shot Aly out of the grass and sent her four meters into the sky before she plummeted back down.

  “Get the lord, quickly!” one of the workers told the other.

  Aly’s body was smoking as she coughed and sat up. The onlooker rushed over and set his bag down beside her.

  “You are well, yes?” was the only logical thing he could think of asking.

  Aly didn’t answer as she eyed the sack of wheat placed at her side. It had a long wooden handle tied around the top.

  Catty’s heartbeat raced like a Goolian drummer’s hands beating to a lively song. Still, she felt safe now that Aly was down and a grown-up looked like he actually had a hand on the situation. She walked up to the master, figuring she’d have to practice her explanation to someone before giving it to her parents, but she paused when her spine tingled again.

  Cattalice the Elder dropped some bowls she was helping some servants clean when she heard her child scream. Not even caring why she wasn’t at school, the mastra leapt over the banister of her top floor, and ran outside.

  “Quongun...” she managed to say as her mate bumped into her from the other direction.

  Quongun didn’t say anything. He just ran.

  “Aly!” The only other worker in the area grabbed her by the shoulder. “Truth’s Grace, dear one! What have you––”

  Pain

  Aly spun around and swung the same handle she dislocated Catty’s knee with against the Adult’s head. It broke against his skull and the master dropped to the ground, not budging. Catty scrambled to her feet and tried to run again. She fell the second she put weight onto the leg Aly hit, and cried even more when bolts of pain shot all the way up her leg.

  Aly picked up half of the handle she had broken as Catty scuttled back on her hands. She waited for the other mastra to get up a second time, and raised the stick over her head.

  “Aly – I beg, wait...”

  She blocked the blow with her forearm and grunted. Not even knowing if Aly just broke a bone or not, her entire body shivered. Aly, with eyes getting darker, strolled up to her and grinned.

  “You enjoy this?” Catty got up and hobbled on one leg. “Truly, what be your––”

  Aly jabbed the blunt end of the stick into the mastra’s injured side. Catty gasped, feeling as if someone just threw a boulder at her ribs. She leaned over onto Aly’s shoulder, only for the other mastra to push her off.

  Pain

  Aly picked up the other half of the handle and went to beating Catty’s body like a drum. The jaw, the chin, the arm, the leg – any part that was vulnerable was struck as her target curled into a tiny ball. Ten seconds later, both sticks broke again and Catty was as still as the unconscious worker lying behind her. Aly tossed the remaining parts of the handles away and picked the tiny Goolian up by her top.

  Catty coughed blue out of the corner of her mouth. Both eyes were swollen. Her breathing was more like wheezing, and she couldn’t think of a part of her body that didn’t scream in anguish. She forced one eye open and the only thing she saw was blackness as she looked into Aly’s eyes.

  “Forgive,” she managed to say through her swollen mouth and tears. “Truly, forgive.”

  Aly raised her hand into a fist and pulled back as hard as she could. She held the form for all its worth, soaking in the one moment where she was finally the stronger. And then, just when Catty took her eyes off her face and looked at the wrath that came in the form of a fist, Aly rammed it as deep into her right eye as possible.

  Catty’s pupils rolled into the back of her head as Aly dropped her, letting the body slump onto the ground. The black-eyed Goolian knelt down and rolled the unconscious Little One over to see if she was still breathing. When she was, Aly raised her same hand and struck Catty’s face, just as she had as before.

  She felt and heard her knuckles and wrist crack with that blow, but her mind was slipping too much to acknowledge the discomfort. Ten blows in, and the body was exhausted. The hand was swelling, but still, the Goolian went on. A blow. Another blow. And another blow. And when the fabric of the mind was about to slip into complete abyss, Aly, eyes as black as death, raised her hand and an eerie glow formed around it.

  The markings on Catty’s face got brighter as the final fabrics of her being went into overdrive just to keep her alive. They wouldn’t be able to work hard enough as Aly lifted her charged hand, still growing dark with the horrid aura, and swung.

  Quongun tackled the Little One, her fist centimeters away from shoving Catty’s nose into her skull. The final remnants of her mind heard Cattalice scream when she saw her Little One stretched out across the grass, her body blue and black, blood and drool running out the corner of her mouth. Aly’s mind went completely blank as Cattalice fell onto her knees and kept hollering Catty’s name, her child not answering.

  “Over here!” Teacher shouted as he rushed across the field.

  He and Shanvi pressed the grass away as other workers arrived. Shanvi, still holding his head with one hand, knelt down on Catty’s right and tried calming Cattalice down by making her look at him. Still, the mastra just kept screaming as her child’s swollen head lay in her lap.

  “Be of peace, Mistress!” Shanvi demanded as he shook Cattalice by the shoulders. “Your cries do none of us any good. I beg, I need to direct my thoughts.”

  “Take her.” Quongun shoved Aly over to one of the workers. He crawled to Catty and rubbed her head.

  Aly, whose eyes were still black, just stared. At what, no one could tell. Even the grown-ups trembled when they gazed at her. So dark. Her eyes were so dark, and she didn’t even blink.

  “Enough, fools.” Shanvi motioned the building crowd of onlookers back. “She needs air.”

  “Shall I commence, Master Shanvi?” Teacher knelt down on Catty’s other side. “I feel I shall be able to manage.”

  “Then do so, lad. This is now your proper calling, not mine. If you are to become too drained, then I shall finish, if you need me to do so.”

  Teacher nodded as he placed his hands on Catty’s cheeks. He closed his eyes, took in steady breaths, and concentrated. And, as Teacher’s hands started to glow a bright blue, he was able to direct Catty’s being circulation to the most vital areas with his own energy. He pushed, and breathed, repeating the pattern.

  Teacher rolled over to his side and almost blacked out when he had pushed for twenty long seconds. Shanvi sat him up and patted him on the back.

  “You have done well.”

  Still too tired to say anything, Teacher just smiled and leaned over. Catty’s markings on her face faded as her breathing eased.

  The
bruises and swelling on her body were still there, but Cattalice sighed and buried her face into her child’s chest. “My thanks. By Truth’s Grace, my thanks.”

  Quongun picked Catty up and headed back to the house. Shanvi was about to follow, but stopped.

  “Quongun. Dearest lad...I know not what to say.”

  The other master paused, not bothering to turn around. “Truly. Perhaps you know not what to say since there be nothing worth saying, Teacher. You have as much fault in this as Aly does, which is none. If there be need of an apology, then perhaps it should come from us and the rest of the village for not accepting one that be a little...different. We have brought this amongst ourselves.”

  Cattalice got back to her feet as Quongun left. Before she followed after him, however, she glanced over at Aly, who still stared off into space. She looked at Shanvi, and then left.

  When they were out of sight, Shanvi sat down in front of Aly. Teacher crawled over to him and studied the Little One’s face. Shanvi rubbed his mouth before snapping his fingers twice in front of the mastra’s face. Aly didn’t respond and just kept staring.

  “Dearest, you can hear me, yes?” Still no response.

  Teacher scooted over to the two. “Surely this one must know how to bring her out of this blind state, yes?”

  “I do not. One studies very little in regards to these sorts of...creatures, given how rare they be. Yet I feel she shall awaken in her own time. I shall take her back home and monitor her there.”

  “You are sure of this, yes? I know you must hate having to accept this, Master, yet we cannot be as passive with her as we once were. For three years have we tried to discount the signs, and thus they have come to us at full force with a horrid reminder as of this day. Alytchai is a Sungstra, Teacher.”

  “I know!” Shanvi slammed his fist against the ground. He was about to say something coarse, but covered his mouth. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself.

  Teacher didn’t say anything else while he took his time getting up.

  Shanvi caressed his Little One’s face, and frowned when Aly didn’t respond, her mind still trying to find its way back to reality.

  “My poor Alytchai. By Truth’s Grace, give me strength.”

  * * *

  Chapter 7

  Quongun used his authority to make sure the learning board wouldn’t expel Aly from school, but she still ended up getting suspended along with the others. Even so, Shanvi didn’t gripe. He knew the consequences could’ve been more severe. Quongun also had Aly stay on his plantation during the typical school hours so Shanvi could have some time alone. He knew Shanvi needed to fill out some mandatory documentation for Aly being a Sungstra, and the Little One couldn’t be around while he was doing it.

  “A Sungstra is a Goolian who lacks the control of one’s inner being,” Quongun read out loud one day while visiting Shanvi. “Other common indications include tallness, above-average reflexes, aggressiveness, and severe pupil dilation when placed under high amounts of stress. Sungstras are naturally short-tempered and, if not conditioned, may endanger not only themselves, yet others amongst them.”

  Quongun stopped reading the form to see what Shanvi thought of it, but the other master just shrugged and kept filling out more paperwork.

  “I suppose we were in denial for far too long.” Quongun folded up the scroll and tossed it onto the counter. “What fools we be, yes?”

  Shanvi didn’t answer.

  Quongun looked over the master’s shoulder. “Truly, you are sure that you do not need a hand, nay? I did not think the filings would be so grand in size.”

  “My thanks, yet it is not as toilsome as it seems.” Shanvi put his writing utensil down on the counter so he could give his fingers a rest. He hopped off his stool and stretched. “And Aly still serves you well at home?”

  “Clearly, she is no fan of what she must do while there.” Quongun went over to a window and looked outside. “Yet fret not, Teacher. She is a good child. Be that as it may, I must still confess my concern over her lack of memory from the other day. She recalls nothing beyond chasing Catty to my fields.”

  “So, I take it she is not suspicious of the story we made up for her?”

  “Telling her that Catty ended the bout with a highly charged beam that knocked both unconscious is easy enough, as long as no one decides to add on to that simple fib. Even so, does this one have any thoughts as to why she cannot recall anything?”

  Shanvi cleared his throat as he looked out the window as well. Little Ones too young for schooling were running down the street and laughing. He thought about going back to those simpler times; Aly was just another normal girl back then. He slapped his forehead back to reality when the fantasy became too painful.

  “I would suppose it is a defensive construct for her psyche. Perhaps her young mind is merely too fresh to cope with such a traumatic experience. I know not. Even so, I beg we shall not be given a chance to test my hypothesis. I simply hope the government shall send me a booklet of some sort when I present the documents. Truly, it must have greater insight on how to manage a Sungstra child, yes?”

  Quongun placed a hand on Shanvi’s shoulder. “A Sungstra, perhaps. Yet a child still be a child. Raising one shall always be a grave task, no matter the circumstances, I am sure.”

  Shanvi patted Quongun on the back before sitting in a chair. He’d usually have a healthy crowd in the store around that time of day, but everyone in the village was still playing last week’s event with caution.

  Quongun bowed. “And I fear I must take my leave. I shall have Aly back here around the typical instant, very good? And, I beg, if this one is even in need of an ear, let me know, very good?”

  “Not only are you a noble lord, yet a dear friend as well. My thanks, Quongun.”

  * * *

  Aly was giving Catty her lunch in bed, which consisted of mashed-up and watered-down fruit mixed with herbs meant to speed up the healing process. Neither of them looked like they were enjoying the joined assignment. Every time Catty sipped through her reed straw, she shut her eyes and swallowed hard. Disgusting.

  When she turned her head away, refusing to drink any more, Aly set Catty’s lunch down and scooted back in her chair. She tried scratching her wrist, as the cast she wore made it itch, but she couldn’t reach the spot agitating her. Catty tried shifting to her side, but stopped the second she felt like needles were jabbing her ribs. Aly had broken two of them, in spite of how developed Goolian skeletons were.

  Cattalice walked in with a tray of fresh food. She set it down in front of the desk Aly had scooted to, and Catty felt her mouth water at the sight of the leaves and bread.

  “My thanks, Mistress,” Aly said, unwilling to look at the mastra.

  Cattalice forced a smirk and left the two alone. When she got downstairs, Quongun was walking through the front door.

  “How does she be?” he asked.

  “Which one?” Cattalice headed over to the office area of the house so she could tally up the current figures of the day.

  Quongun scratched the back of his head as he went up to Catty’s room. Aly was using her good hand to eat when he tapped Catty’s opened door.

  “Alytchai, you shall have to use your other hand eventually, yes? It be a near week now, and it needs to gain its strength.”

  “If I may, it hurts whenever I try to use it.”

  “Very well. Suffer at your own pace then.”

  He got up and knocked on the wall. A maid came to the doorway seconds later.

  “If you do not mind, may I suffer a moment with Catty?” he asked Aly. “And once you have finished your lunch, why not help the Mistress?”

  “Um, I fear your mate no longer likes me, Master. Thus I do not think she would fancy my assistance.”

  “Nay, dearest.” Quongun rubbed the Little One’s face. “She simply lacks the words to say to you at the given moment. Fret not. I am sure she still loves you as if you were our own. Now, off we go.” />
  Aly got out of her chair and headed to the dining board. The maid picked up her tray, nodded at her lord, and followed after her.

  “As for you, Mastra...” Quongun pulled up the chair Aly had been sitting in. He sat down and patted Catty on the shin. He then handed her some papyrus, a writing tool, and a wooden block for her to write on. “The mouth still hurts, yes?”

  The Little One nodded.

  “And I take it Aly has yet to apologize for the fight.”

  Catty sighed through her nose and nodded again. Quongun smiled and caressed the mastra’s tents.

  “Yet I feel you have not demanded one either, nay?”

  The Little One didn’t give a response at all. She looked down at the paper and closed her eyes. Quongun sat back in his chair and crossed a leg.

  “I thought it best to give your body a moment’s rest, yet your mammai and I believe that I should converse with you now. Aly told us how the brawl commenced.”

  Catty turned her head away, but Quongun made her look back at him. When she opened her eyes, however, she still didn’t stare at him.

  “The look of shame you currently bear indicates that there be no need to waste my time with a lecture. Even so, I can only ask why. Little Cattalice, you and Aly were the best of friends prior to starting school. What changed within a mere three years?”

  Catty paused, then picked up the writing utensil. She dipped it in the nearby ink block, and her left hand flew over the papyrus as she wrote.

  “I merely wanted the other lot to like me,” is what she wrote. “Yet they were to make fun of Aly, and when I was to defend her, I would suffer with her. I had no other choice beyond join––”

  Quongun snatched the utensil out of Catty’s hand and slammed it on top of the block, making the Little One jolt.

  “Yet you did have a choice,” he said. “You put self before others. Truly, there is no other way to put it. And you know our people seek the greater good of all. You disappoint me.”