Evaluations of the Tribe Page 16

  “Quit it!” she demanded.

  The lad hopped up only with the aid of his legs. None of the Young Ones were smiling anymore when Catty went into a defensive stance.

  “A grave mistake, Little One,” The lad took one step at Catty and raised his right arm, ready to backhand her.

  Catty lunged forward and struck the lad in the jaw with a left hook before he could swing. He hit the ground, hard.

  “Ow wow wow wow wow!” Catty shook the sting off her fist as she got back into her fighting stance. “I need to do more pushups on my knuckles.”

  “Get her!” the lad shouted as he rubbed his chin.

  Aly swore, annoyed since she knew she was now guilty by association. Two of the lad’s comrades charged at Catty, but Aly laid them both flat on the back with both of her feet, popping their heads back. They didn’t get back up.

  By the time Requai and Glani brought Teacher to the commotion, six Young Ones were rolling around on the ground as two Little Ones tried to catch their breath by sitting against a tree. The brawl was over in thirty seconds. Catty’s left cheek was bruised, while Aly’s right eye swelled. The bright-eyed mastra wiped her bloody nose and frowned at the torn fabric of her new robe. The hood was ripped off, the bottom stomped and torn, and the brown and red dirt took away the blue’s brilliance.

  Teacher towered over the two and crossed his arms.

  “They started it,” Catty said nonchalantly. She looked over at the closest head resting by her foot and kicked it with the back of her heel.

  “I’m sure they did.” Teacher helped the two up. “You two are making my job difficult, but I’ll let the both of you slide for once. I’ll deal with them, and why don’t you go on home and clean up? Don’t worry. You’re not suspended, this time.”

  Catty was already yammering and bragging about what happened by the time the two were back on the dirt road.

  “And then, I was like boom, pow!” Catty mimicked her attacks. “That should teach them!”

  “You’re making my life very miserable.” Aly sauntered on, examining her torn dress. “Look at my clothes. I’ve never had clothes this nice before, and it took Pappai so long to get it too.”

  “Oh, don’t sound so whiney. I’ll just get my pappai to get you a new one.”

  “It won’t be the same.”

  Catty paused. “Gee. You’re welcome.”

  Aly looked up in the air and groaned. “Fine. Thanks for helping me back there, Catty. I guess your current charity erases all of the horrible things you did over the past years, right?”

  Catty scratched her head between her tents, not knowing what else to say. She felt a twig that got stuck during the skirmish and tugged it out. She then looked up at Aly’s tentacles and giggled.

  “Your tents are a complete mess.” She brushed Aly’s head with her palm. “Why don’t you let me help you clean them up at my place?”

  Aly slowed down, but Catty kept smiling. “Why are you being so nice to me again, Mastra? You wouldn’t have helped me today if this was last year.”

  Catty shrugged. “This isn’t last year, is it? Things change.”

  Aly looked for a catch in the mastra’s grin, but never found one.

  “Yeah,” she said, smirking from the corner of her mouth. “Maybe they do.”

  * * *

  Chapter 10

  Quongun paid for Shanvi and Aly to take a trip the following morning to another village that was days away. Shanvi knew what the lord’s true intents were; he didn’t have Aly pack a lot so they could leave as soon as possible. When evening time came and everyone was at home, Quongun called a tribal meeting outside their Truth’s Grace temple. It was the largest structure in the tribe, standing three stories high. Still, the inside only sat a few hundred at a time, so the tribe met outside. Some sat on the beams of nearby rooftops, while the remainder just sat in the road.

  Cattalice and Catty checked the roster to make sure everyone was accounted for before Quongun went up to the front. When the attendance was confirmed, Catty went and sat with Requai and Glani, while Cattalice stood off to the side.

  “Thank you all for arriving promptly, in spite of the hasty notice,” Quongun said; he spoke Universal, knowing Catty’s class was in the middle of the given assignment. “However, due to an incident that took place at the sparring grounds yesterday afternoon, I felt it was past time for us to address a delicate issue that few tribes must deal with.”

  Requai yawned, but Catty slapped her on the arm so she wouldn’t ignore her father.

  “And given that my daughter seems to be the proper age to know of such issues, I have asked all Little Ones at least six years old to attend as well.” Quongun winked at Catty. “I’m sure we have noted the absence of two in our company, given the one we are to discuss isn’t permitted to know of her condition.”

  Catty looked at Requai and Glani and they both shook their heads, not knowing what Quongun was talking about. Cattalice the Elder hissed and pressed a finger to her lips when the three were about to start talking.

  “Aly, child of Master Shanvi and the Late Alytchai the Elder, suffers from sungstrosis, the Sungstra illness,” Quongun said. “Due to her condition, she shall never be graced with the ability to control her inner being.”

  “A Sungstra?” Catty said. “What on Gooliun is a Sungstra?”

  “Quiet, Cattalice,” her mother whispered.

  Catty did as told, but she still shrugged. Cattalice pointed at Quongun and raised a finger to her mouth again. He’ll explain if you just listen.

  “She was already filed with the condition to the government some time ago,” Quongun continued, “And Master Shanvi gave me documents that came right from the Capital.”

  He pulled a scroll out of his robe and held it up over his head so everyone could see it. Then he went on to explain how there were only a few thousand recorded in the documented tribes, and listed the known symptoms.

  Catty couldn’t believe her ears. She held her hands out in defeat and then grabbed her head when she felt it throb. Requai was about to say something to her, but she held her tongue when the older Cattalice gave her a stern look.

  “For these reasons alone, our government fears what the alien races may do if they are to know of Sungstra Goolians. So, we keep such issues as discreet as possible, even amongst ourselves. The less discussed, the more preserved, and we can guarantee the welfare of not only our tribes, but our citizens that suffer the condition. There’s no telling what the alien nations may intend to do with the use of a creature known for aggressive attributes, and we intend to keep it that way. So, that means Kutenbrya will have to do its part as well, understood?”

  People nodded and answered back in agreement. Catty looked around to see how her classmates were taking the news, and they were looking just as baffled as she was.

  “Still, our Little Ones are in class with one considered potentially dangerous. My very own came across our local Sungstra’s aggression, nearly costing her life.”

  Catty glanced over to her mother, who looked like she was trying to omit visions still haunting her. Her mammai rubbed her sweaty palms together and took a deep breath before looking down at her. She put on a smile, and Catty smirked back.

  “In spite of this, from what I have gathered, it looks like we’re not to protect our own from Aly, but maybe it needs to be the other way around.” Quongun put the scroll up. “An incident involving six of our very own Young Ones provoked her into defending herself, and for what?”

  “Pardon me, Lord Quongun.” A mastra of Mature Age near the front stood up. “May I speak, please?”

  Catty knew this was bound to happen, noting the mastra was mother to the Young One who initiated harassing Aly the other day. Her pappai smiled and nodded.

  “While I’ll be the first to say that there’s no pride in my boy assaulting a Little One,” the mother said, “that does little in concerns to the real problem, right? Alytchai still needs to be monitored with caution. She’s still
dangerous.”

  Glani covered her mouth. “No, we always poked fun at her. Hey, is that why you’ve been so nice to her lately, Catty?”

  “No. This is the first time I’ve heard anything about this. Honest.”

  Catty glanced at her mammai to see where she stood in regards to the other mastra’s words. Cattalice had never seemed thrilled about the way the tribe was currently handling Aly, ever since she saw what the Sungstra did to her. To Catty, that was probably why her mother’s smile hinted at her agreeing with the other mother. She shook her head in disbelief.

  “With all due respect, Mastra Sentill,” Quongun said, “I must insist that Aly is a peaceful child. She has no intent––”

  “Didn’t you just say it’s in a Sungstra’s nature to be ill-tempered and aggressive? And you pointed the well-being of your own as an example, right? Why, maybe we should be discussing if a creature like that should even have a part in the Evaluations.

  “By Truth’s Grace, are we supposed to wait for one of our own children to come upon her wrath like Catty did, if not worse? Or maybe you called this meeting since it was your own child involved in the latest conflict. Would you have shown the same concern if this had happened to someone else’s?”

  A lot of the people started murmuring to one another, agreeing with what the mastra said in regards to the Evaluations.

  “I speak from the insight of a mother,” Sentill said. “Maybe we should hear the thoughts from another, right? What do you say, Mistress Cattalice?”

  Catty and Quongun both blinked twice, bewildered at how easily his authority over the meeting was taken. They waited for Cattalice to make a reaction, expecting she’d simply give the direction back to him, as previously agreed during planning. However, the mastra had a new appeal of power in her eyes, knowingly seeing the opportunity to say what was really on her mind.

  Catty caught her pappai shaking his head ever so slightly, begging her mammai to keep her tongue. Cattalice, however, took the bait and stepped forward. Sentill smiled as the orange-tented mastra walked over to her. Catty’s ears drooped, disappointed.

  “Thank you, Mastra.” Sentill bowed when Cattalice stopped in front of her. “So, you agree with me, don’t you?”

  Quongun covered his eyes. “Cattalice, please, just leave it alone.”

  “No,” his mate hissed. “As a matter of fact, I don’t think I will.”

  Cattalice clutched her right hand into a fist, pulled it back, and jammed it into the mastra’s left eye, knocking her into her startled mate’s outstretched arms.

  “Shuyna pache,” Quongun said behind his hands.

  Catty gasped. “Pappai!” She had never heard him swear before.

  Quongun ran over to Cattalice and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her away from Sentill’s head as she reached out to pull a tent.

  Glani scooted behind Catty a little. “I guess your folks are – how do they say – on the same page with Aly?”

  “Apparently so, but maybe my mammai is a little more...passionate about their joint perspective.”

  “And more direct!” Requai laughed. “Really, why aren’t we called to more grown-up meetings? These are great!”

  Catty’s mother took another swing when she almost got out of Quongun’s grip. “Who are you to speak out against a child that has no voice to defend herself? Why, you only speak as such, given your boy was to get a thorough ass-kicking!”

  “Mammai!”

  “Catty, your mammai is so awesome!” one of the lads in her class hollered.

  Quongun swung Cattalice around. “Settle down, I beg!”

  The mastra hissed at Sentill, who looked as baffled as she was terrified. Still, the mistress eventually calmed herself down, straightened her robe, and stood beside her mate. Quongun looked like he was waiting to see if Cattalice was going to make another break for Sentill. He cleared his throat when she seemed level enough to continue.

  “Well, our mistress certainly has a way with words. Regardless, for what it’s worth, I agree with her. The danger in Aly is obvious, yes, but no more obvious than an individual who can fire a death beam at any person’s head with the mere point of the finger, like the rest of us.

  “And I think we have a greater arsenal over her. We have weapons in words. The teachers at the learning boards can only do so much in explaining right from wrong, but it is vital for all parents in the tribe to educate their Little Ones in the dangers of insults and bullying. Believe it or not, they are as deadly as any beam or blade, and if they aren’t addressed soon enough, the harm might very well become physical.”

  Glani and Requai both squirmed a little when the master passed his gaze over them.

  So, we’re going to end all ‘problems’ and concerns over Alytchai tonight. Now.”

  Catty didn’t know Quongun could speak to other grown-ups like that when he was upset. And apparently, grown-ups had a lot of things to say when they were, since the meeting went on for another two hours. By the time Quongun thanked everyone for coming out and allowed them to leave, some of the Little Ones were already asleep.

  “So, it finally ends.” Catty stretched and yawned before she shook Glani awake. “Elders can’t stop talking when they’re on a roll.”

  “Tell me about it.” Glani patted her face twice to shake off her drowsiness. “It was beyond boring. Then again, at least the start was exciting.”

  “Beyond exciting!” Requai said as she slapped Catty on the back. “By Truth’s Grace, Catty, I never thought your mammai could throw a hook like that. I think I even envy you more.”

  Catty smiled as she placed her hands behind her back. She skipped over to at her parents and gave Cattalice a hug.

  “If I may, thanks, Mammai.”

  “Oh? For what, dearest?”

  “For defending Aly the way you did.”

  Cattalice checked Quongun out of the corner of her eye and saw him grin. “Oh. While I’m glad you noted my intent, I probably could’ve handled it a little better. Especially for one being a noble. And here we are, talking about bullying to your classmates, and you have to watch a grown-up throw some punches. I’m sorry.”

  “Sure. Still, you’re not going to exclude Aly from the Evaluations, Pappai, are you?”

  Quongun rubbed his chin as he approached the two. “We have a few more years to think that over. We’ll just have to see if Aly will be a risk or not.”

  “No more of a risk than people that can point a finger and fire a death beam.” Cattalice poked her mate on the nose. “Remember?”

  Teacher and Slew came up to the family, both bowing deeply.

  “It looks like our Sungstra child was well-defended, despite her absence,” Teacher said.

  “It’s easy to do for one so dear.” Quongun placed his hands on Catty’s shoulder. “Aly might as well be one of our own.”

  Cattalice rubbed her head. “I still can’t believe what Sentill said. Of all the nerve.”

  Teacher shook his head. “There’s bound to be other simple-minded people like her, who just weren’t vocal about it. We can’t help that, but we can do our part in educating people properly.”

  Slew rubbed the top of Catty’s head. “And what do you think of all this, Little Mastra? Does this change anything? Teacher and I couldn’t help but notice how much nicer you’ve been around Aly these past few months.”

  “If I may, so what?” Catty shrugged. “It took a broken jaw, ribs, and a dislocated knee for me to wake up.”

  “Maybe.” The master looked at the remaining Little Ones talking with their parents. “Still, I think a lot of people your age are going to be nicer to Aly now, more than likely acting out of pity. You, on the other hand, were able to change on your own accord just because it was right.”

  Catty made a line in the dirt with her foot. “If I may, no sir. I’m sure others would’ve done the same if they were me.”

  “Probably. We all have to learn things the hard way at times. But, call it a hunch, I still think you would
’ve come around before others. You’re a good friend. I can tell.”

  The Little One eyed the ground, wanting to hide her smile. “Thank you, Master.”

  Teacher and Slew bid the family farewell and headed off to their own huts. Cattalice and Quongun grabbed Catty’s hands and swung her back and forth between them on the way back to their home.

  “I hope you live up to Master Slew’s words,” Quongun said.

  Catty nodded. “I’ll do my best, Pappai.”

  “Sure, but actions speak louder than words, Little One.”

  “For actions are what truly make character,” Catty answered in her native tongue.

  Her parents looked at each other and smiled.

  “It looks like this one finally understands the meaning behind the words,” Quongun said. “I think you’re heading in the right direction for being a Goolian of true honor.”

  “Agreed.” Cattalice swung Catty forward. “I think you showed your worth as a friend yesterday. Still, maybe we should all try to solve problems without having to throw a punch, okay? Besides, we don’t want to mess up too many robes.”

  “Oh, right!” Catty leapt out of her parent’s hands. “That reminds me. If I may, can I ask a favor?”

  “It doesn’t require spending any silver, does it?” Cattalice asked.

  Catty placed her hands behind her back as she looked up at the stars and smiled. “Well, the thing is, Aly got her new robe messed up pretty badly yesterday and––”

  “Oh no.” Quongun held his head.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 11

  Pick and stuff, pick and stuff. That was the beat fourteen-year-old Aly made as she plucked weeds in the field. Some shifts could go on for four hours, while others took six. Either way, the mastra was worn out by the time she was done. She brushed a tent back; they now went a little past her shoulders and were blue beyond the base of her head

  “Why not take a moment, Nala?” Aly told the large four-legged creature plowing the gravel for her up ahead.