Today's topic is a continuation of the excerpt posted last Thursday. If you haven't read it, I suggest you you here before starting here. :)
Copyright Lexi Ander
Canry scales,
with the exception of his neck and belly, were black as night. The larger,
thicker scales along his spinal ridge, where his retractable barbs would grow,
would eventually turn the signature red of the Vondorian bloodline, signifying
their barbs were poisonous. Mestor gently ran his claws along the edge,
marveling at how the dark scales were already lightening to a black-red. Azaes
on the other hand seem to be stuck on nasty foods, he made a gagging noise and
reflexively Mestor clapped his hand over his mouth to stifle his giggles. They
quickly moved away from Canry when the youngling whimpered and moved. If the
monitors thought he was waking up, they would send an attendant if Meme was
unavailable.
::What do we do
now?:: Azaes walked to the pen that took up one quarter of the room.
Mestor shrugged.
He had not thought past getting to the nursery. He and Azaes did not want to be
left out when Canry was introduced to the Waters of Poseidon. He joined Azaes
at the pen's fencing. The sunken area was filled with sand and in the corner
was a pool of salt water. This was where younglings learned to control their bowels.
The sand was easy to clean and sanitize. It also helped when younglings molted.
They rolled around in the sand sloughing off dead scales as newer, bigger ones
came in. Mestor thought the area looked smaller than the last time he was
there.
Azaes glanced
around the room and Mestor followed suit, knowing that his brother was looking
for places to hide.
::Everything
seems—::
::Smaller,::
Azaes finished.
Mestor pointed to
a cabinet. ::We used to fit into those cubbies.::
::And now it
looks like only my leg will fit.::
::We could climb
to the top.:: Mestor pointed to the carved crown of the sturdy armoire next to
the window.
::We would have
to climb the curtains.::
Mestor's
shoulders slumped. ::Last time the curtain rods tore from the wall.::
::And the window
broke.::
::We were lucky a
balcony was directly below.::
::Father yell
really loud.::
::Meme cried when
she thought she was alone.:: Mestor and Azaes had rushed from their hiding
spots to console her, promising they would never climb curtains again.
::If not there,
then…::
A noise in the
hallway caused Mestor to turn toward the door. The crack spanned only two or
three fingers but activity in the corridor still echoed. Mestor had not heard
approaching footsteps before the familiar voice spoke on the other side.
"I believe I
have found them, Valdor. It was not too hard. I only needed to follow the dirt
trail." Sohm'lan said.
Azaes's red-yellow
eyes were huge when Mestor glanced at him and then down to Azaes's dirt stained
pants and tunic. The cuff of the pants had filled with dirt. Azaes made an
angry noise and jabbed a clawed-tipped finger at Mestor's matching dirt
speckled trousers. One of his hems was torn and a small scattering of dirt sat
on the floor at his feet.
"I will keep
them here until it is time," Sohm'lan said after a long pause.
Frantically,
Mestor searched for place to hide. Azaes grabbed his hand and pulled him to
Shaneva's bed. She had grown out of her birth bed and now used a small sleeping
platform more suited to her size. As the door rattled, he and Azaes dropped to
the floor and quickly crawled behind it.
The clearance
under the bed was not large enough to allow them to hide underneath, but Mestor
could see the doorway and where Canry's bed was suspended from the ceiling. The
door slid all the way open and the decorative boots of a high-ranking warlord
entered the room. Mestor had the insane urge to giggle.
The boots stopped
at Canry's birth bed, the delicate chains holding it aloft rattling. Mestor
startled, almost giving away his hiding spot when something grabbed the end of
his tail. Rolling to the side, he spied his sister, Shaneva, looking over the
edge of her sleeping platform. He had not realized that both his and Azaes's
tails were sticking straight up in the air as they lay on their bellies.
Shaneva not only held his tail but would not give it back. Azaes gestured for
her to release her prizes but Shaneva giggled and pulled harder.
When Sohm'lan's
head appeared over Shaneva's, Mestor froze, suddenly feeling like prey as those
of luminous blue eyes pinned him in place. "Do you know how many people
are looking for you two?" Sohm'lan's rumbling voice held displeasure.
Tears pricked at
Mestor's eyes. He had not meant to let his waterfather down.
Azaes was not
affected with the same emotion. He glared up at Sohm'lan in defiance. "We
will not be left behind. We want to be with Canry when he takes his first
swim."
Mestor was
impressed by his twin's fierce scowl.
"Who said
you could not come?" Sohm'lan's frown was worse than Azaes's.
"Nanny
Kalika said we would be too much of a destruction on Canry's big day."
"Distraction,"
Mestor corrected.
"She
probably meant both," Sohm'lan replied.
"Maybe,"
Mestor and Azaes said in unison.
Sohm'lan sighed,
but Mestor noticed the corners of his mouth twitched as if he hid a smile.
"Get off the floor and give me your dirty clothes. You are leaving a trail
of dirt everywhere."
Mestor did not
need to be told twice. He finally got Shaneva to let his tail go and he
stripped, sending the garments down the laundry chute. Then they were
instructed to clean up their mess.
"How long
before we can work in the kitchens," Azaes asked Sohm'lan as he dumped his
small pale of dirt into the recycle bin.
"You must be
seven summers," Sohm'lan replied. He hoisted Canry into his arms and sat
on a corner swing.
Azaes made a
disgruntled hiss. "Why so long? I want to help."
"You want to
eat sweets and learn how to make your own," Mestor countered, knowing his
twin all too well.
"By seven,
you will have better control of your tails." Sohm'lan's eyes narrowed when
it seemed Azaes would argue.
All Mar'Sani
earned merits through their own endeavors. Mestor was just as eager as Azaes to
earn status. It was how the people rose in station, everyone started at the
bottom and worked their way up. As heirs to the throne they were not allowed to
participate with the youths living outside the palace. Sohm'lan told them about
collecting trash in the streets when he was a summer younger than they were.
Sometimes Mestor and his twin would beg him for stories about the street
ruffians who tried to take his trash bags and claim his work as their own. At
five summers, their waterfather had been no stranger to battle.
"Look!"
Azaes exclaimed, running to Sohm'lan's swing. He turned around showing his red
ridge to his waterfather. "My spines are coming in."
Mestor grimaced
but moved in close. This was not the first time Azaes claimed his spines were
growing. Sohm'lan ran his fingers over this thick-scaled ridge that went from
the crown of Azaes's head and followed along his backbone, down to the tip of
his tail. Holes were set in the center of the bigger scales where the
retractable spines would eventually come through. The barbs were hard as bone
and grew to different lengths. Sohm'lan's retractable spines are big, but
Mestor's father's were longer. Father said it was not the size of the barbs
that mattered. All the Vondorians were poisonous and as such were able to hide
their spines. There were some Mar'Sani who could not retract their barbs but
could make them relax enough to lay flat against the body.
"Wait. Wait.
Wait," Azaes said, then hissed as he flexed. True enough, the heads of
three spines on his neck barely protruded from the holes.
Shaneva crawled
off her sleeping platform and waddled over to where Azaes stood showing off. She
would one day join the People of the Longing, Mar'Sani who could not leave the
Atlaintician oceans. Meme schooled Mestor and Azaes on what signs to look for
in other children. Webbing between their fingers and toes, and the tail
merging with the youngling's legs. The three appendages would eventually grow
into one powerful limb, making them unable to walk on land but perfect for in
the Waters of Poseidon. Those were the easiest indicators. Another was a
loss of scales that were replaced by thick, sharklike hide when the youngling
was close to leaving dry land permanently. Shaneva's legs were fused to her
short but still growing tail. She walked well but with a slight waddle when she
hurried. Shaneva moved to climb onto Sohm'lan's lap and Mestor helped her up.
Younglings in the
nursery did not wear clothes, even if they were taken out of the royal wing…
Well, that was the rule until recently. A visiting dignitary from a nearby
coalition made loud, snide remarks claiming they could not tell the males from
the females. Then mimicked Shaneva's particular waddle in such a way that
implied Shaneva was addled-minded.
Dignitary or not,
Meme grabbed spears from the nearby Basilisc guards and threw them to the vile
male and his two attendants, challenging the three of them for their breach of
etiquette and rudeness. The dignitary attempted to laugh off the challenge,
unwilling to sully his reputation by fighting a mere servant… until one of the
guards called Meme by her title. Their father had explained the visitors did
not expect to be greeted right away and thought they were surrounded by servants
who could not understand their language. Mestor had watched his meme with pride as he
hovered protectively over Shaneva. Meme beat the three in only five
devastating moves, leaving the dignitary unconscious on the floor. They were
escorted back to their ship and out of Atlaintician space. The vid of the
dignitary's arrival, his comments as well as the resulting challenge was sent
back to the coalition's counsel with a note that the trio were not allowed to
return.
"You will
need to be careful as your spines mature," Sohm'lan counsel Azaes, patting
him on the shoulder. "You will not be poisonous until the barbs are fully
grown, but you could accidentally stab someone if you do not control
them."
"Yes,"
Mestor added, looking for a spot on Sohm'lan's lap where he too could sit.
"Hitting people with our tails is nothing. Draw blood and suddenly no one
is laughing."
Canry was quiet.
His eye color was different than the rest of the family, more green than
yellow. He always watched everything as if he understood what was going on.
Mestor had asked his Meme about it once. He remembered some things from when he
was younger, such as his first time in the Waters, but most of his memories
were murky and unclear until he started walking on his own. His meme said Canry
did seem to focus more than other younglings his age, but then she said that if
he was more aware then he and Azaes would have to be on their best behavior,
eat what was given to them, and watch what they said. Canry could mimic them
and get into trouble. Mestor thought Mimi was sneaky, his twin on the other
hand, took her words to heart. Now they had to eat nasty greens so Canry would
eat them too.
Thank you for stopping by and reading!!
