Evaluations of the Tribe - Prossia Book 0 : A Coming of Age Space Opera Page 30

Chapter 14

  Shanvi came around the counter when the front door creaked open. “Ah, such a fortunate surprise, Quongun. I beg, sit.”

  The other master nodded and took his favorite seat. “It seems the crowds have not been as grand as usual for the past month and then some, Teacher. I suppose the local celebrity’s absence is to blame for this, yes?”

  Shanvi chuckled as he placed a bowl of water and some leaves with bread on the counter. “Perhaps so. I fear Aly’s singing may have spoiled many of the customers. They miss her, indeed.”

  He looked out the window and frowned. Some parents outside were embracing a child who just returned from the Evaluations.

  “Yet not nearly as much as I,” he added. Shanvi took the seat adjacent to Quongun. He fiddled his thumbs before tapping the countertop.

  “Truly, I share your burden,” Quongun said. “I try more than usual to keep my mind preoccupied with the numbers the tribe has made in the fields. Hah! Cattalice and I even count over them ten times now, just so my mind does not lose itself in worrying. Ah, and I must say, the store seems extra clean than it usually be.”

  “So, this one has noticed. I sweep and wipe the floor for hours. I wash the pots and pans in the back until my fingers cramp. I spend my evenings at the temple until the suns set, and yet, I still despair.” The master rubbed his mouth as he eyed the empty bedroom behind the kitchen. “I just want her home, Quongun.”

  “And they shall be, in due time, Master.” Quongun held his drink out to Shanvi before finishing it off. He then spun around on the stool and leaned back against the counter, taking the time to admire how well-kept the wood in the hut was. “I was told two more groups arrived this afternoon.”

  “Oh? And how did they fare?”

  “Well enough, I suppose. Shuai had a broken clavicle and Cunvice apparently impaled her arm due to a fall.”

  “Truth’s Grace. When I was to take my part in the assessment, such reports did not sound as dire. Yet I suppose the ears of a father are more sensitive.”

  “I suppose.”

  Shanvi turned around and stroked his tentacle beard. Quongun rubbed his chin as well, feeling the skin puffing to what were the beginnings of new tents.

  “You never told me,” Shanvi said. “Is this one concerned about his Little One fighting alongside a Sungstra, all alone in the deepest parts of the forest?”

  “She be not alone. Requai and Glani are with her as well.”

  “You know what I mean, lad.”

  Quongun grabbed the bowl of food off the counter and offered some to Shanvi. The older master shook his head and waited patiently for the honest answer. He’d have to wait, since Quongun ate two leaves and took his time chewing and swallowing. When he finished, Shanvi was still looking at him.

  “Would you not worry if Catty were the Sungstra and Aly was not, Master?” Quongun said. “Truly, for the most part, her issue has been well-monitored and in check due to our keeping of a watchful eye. Yet they be both out of our reach now. Surely you cannot judge me for having such thoughts, nay?”

  Shanvi patted him on the back. “Apologies. It was not my intent to find a reason to misplace your logic. Nay, I think quite the opposite. I find comfort in knowing Aly is perhaps climbing a tree right beside Catty as we speak. Your Little One be the only true friend my child has. If, Truth’s Grace forbid, any issue was to happen, I feel if I was to want anyone to be with Aly, it would be her. For that, you have my thanks for raising such a noble mastra. She shall be a fine field lord when she is to come of age.”

  Quongun smiled before he placed the bowl back behind him. “Nay, Elder Cattalice and I can only take so much credit, yes? We can only express our values to her, yet she has decided to make them her own. And why praise me when Aly be such a proper soul herself?”

  “Look at the two of us. Bragging over our children. The years are growing on us.”

  “What nonsense. You may speak for yourself in that regards, Teacher. For I have yet to hit my eighties, while you turned a hundred and ten the prior year!”

  The two laughed, and Shanvi got off the stool so he could get Quongun another drink.