Alice Blue #24, Screaming Green #8

Jun 11, 2012 15:19

Name: kay_brooke
Story: The Myrrosta
Colors: Alice Blue #24 (I don't know the meaning of half those long words, and I don't believe you do, either), Screaming Green #8 (no matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens)
Styles/Supplies: Canvas, Pastels to card prompt "the usual suspects"
Word Count: 834
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; no standard warnings apply
Summary: Jay goes on a field trip.
Notes: Sorry for the general uninspired-ness. Constructive criticism is welcome, either through comments or PM.


There were a few boat people in Kandel, though they mostly kept close to the eastern border and rarely ventured as far as the coast. Jay, having lived almost her entire life in or around Ttarren, had no practical experience with them. Once, when she was eleven, she and her training group had gone on a trip to see the River Callain, and they had stood on the banks of that vast river, awed by its sheer size. Merchant ships made their way up and down in the middle of the river and pleasure boats floated serenely closer to the banks. And in between, some as serene as the pleasure boats and some moving as purposefully as the merchant ships, were the homes of the boat people.

"They live on their boats?" Hever had asked their guardian for the day, a tall, Nikolean man in his early twenties named Get. What that was short for the younger members of the group weren't allowed to know. They wouldn't know the true names of any of their guardians or teachers until they were adults and accepted into the Nikolean tradition by ritual.

"They do," said Get. He looked even younger than he was, appearing hardly older than the group of children he was supposed to be watching.

"I want to live on a boat," mused Hever, leaning against one of the poles on the dock. "Riding up and down the river every day."

"It's hard work," said Get. "You see what they have to do when there's no wind? They row."

"Sounds boring, more like," scoffed Jay, but everyone was used to Jay making pronouncements like that, so she was mostly ignored.

"I'd still want to live on a boat," said Hever. "For one month. Jen says anything worth doing is worth doing for one month."

Jay rolled her eyes. "Look at them," she said, leaning close to Hever. "They're poor."

"They make their living off the river," Hever countered.

"It's a simple life," said Get, positioning himself between them. His superiors had warned him about the developing closeness between Jay and Hever. Once fierce rivals, the two had become even fiercer friends, and there were those who worried it would turn into something more as they entered adulthood. Get and the other guardians were tasked with making sure the whole training group stayed focused on their goals. It wouldn't do to have two of them fail because of personal relationships. The Sun Guard had lost more than a few that way--including Jay's own parents, who had decided to dedicate their lives to each other than to the service of the Empress. That didn't stand as a mark against Jay or her parents, because personal choice was a necessary part of becoming a member of the Sun Guard, but the truth was that the training groups grew smaller each year. Pure-blooded Nikoleans mixed with other races and raised their children in different cultures. Few dwelt in the temples anymore, and even fewer had an interest in the Sun Guard.

Personally, Get didn't think anyone had to worry about Jay being distracted. She had an almost frightening single-mindedness for a child her age, a wide competitive streak, and a burning desire to prove herself worthy of the Sun Guard. Hever wasn't far behind her in ambitions, either. If the two continued down the path they were traveling, Get had no doubt they would eventually become intimate. He did doubt that would be enough to sway either of them from their goals.

But he was young and new to the Sun Guard himself, and he was under orders, and someone could always be watching.

"It's a boring life," said Jay. "Simple is boring."

"You wouldn't do it even for a month?" asked Hever. He leaned around get to look Jay in the face, the older man's presence in no way a deterrent.

"No," said Jay.

"I bet that you're just scared of the water." Hever smirked.

"I am not!" Jay said, gripping one of the dock poles hard.

"Prove it."

"I will!"

"I don't think so," said Get, putting one hand warningly on Jay's shoulder, lest the girl decide to jump into the river. It seemed exactly like something Jay would do. "The two of you need to learn to respect other people's opinions. Just because one person would like to try living on a boat for a month doesn't mean someone else would." His little speech felt ridiculous. It was easy, sometimes, to look at these mostly self-sufficient children and forget that they were in fact still children, still prone to the emotional outbursts and petulant anger and gaps in logic any child would be prone to.

Jay clenched her jaw, but relaxed under Get's touch. "I'm not afraid of the water," she said.

"We all know that," said Get. "Right, Hever?"

Hever shrugged, his attention recaptured by the boats. He had always been better than Jay at knowing when to stop arguing.

writing: short story, the myrrosta

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