To the right of his plate sat a stack of teyor cards.This was what his life had become, filling his time with games, climbing, and the occasional maed work.What he should start was some sort of contest, pitting Qaldreth against Qaldreth.As entertaining as that thought was, suggesting such an event would be selfish of him.The number of injuries would increase…all to alleviate his boredom.
He snorted and sipped from a jar of hot water.
“What has you huffing to yourself?”Juunn asked, sliding onto the bench in front of Nenn.
“I need something to do.Got anything for me?”A weight lifted off his chest at revealing what he’d been struggling with since they’d left Ivoy.
Juunn chuckled.“Was just going to ask you if you wanted to spar?”
Nenn leaped to his feet.“Yes, please.”
Juunn rose, too, but he threw out his hands, palms outward.“Nothing too violent.We cannot afford to wound our only maed.”
“I do not find your warning funny,” Nenn said and grinned.“Where is Ulvus?”
“Sulking,” Juunn said, leading the way to the activities room.“Thank Osnir.His continuous ‘helpful’ comments are unbearable to endure.”
“The Ivoyans must have seen worth in the male to agree to train him.”Nenn ignored Juunn’s wide-eyed gaze.
“True, and to invest their med tech on his hand.Had I been in his shoes, I would be grateful for the opportunities offered to me.”
“All the udaps know who he is, though,” Nenn said.“Would they be able to name you or me?”
Juunn laughed.“Being a pain in someone’s backside is not the way to bring honor to your tribe.”
Nenn shrugged.“We cannot say he is not trying, no matter how controversial.”
Juunn paused in front of the climbing wall, a specific feature Zuphayr aac Gusin Taed had built for Nenn.From a meter off the floor to the ceiling, pieces of metal forming hand or footholds were scattered at reachable distances.Every now and then, he shifted them, changing the difficulty.The thoughtfulness swelled Nenn’s heart.That Gusin had done so without asking was more precious.
“I must admit,” Juunn muttered, “to reach the top gives me a sense of accomplishment.”He glanced at Nenn.“I have not been doing it as long as you have, but I have noted how it requires strength, agility, balance, and focus.”
Nenn grinned.“Next time we land somewhere, I could use backup.”
Juunn snorted.“After the last incident, that would be wise.”
“I thought you were going to fly into space all by yourself.”Caah chuckled from the wet pod, his head poking out the top.From the Awayar tribe, his skin was used to moisture.In space with the climate control, he suffered the most.
“I thought so, too.”Nenn laughed.“If anyone asks, I was testing the range of the power boots.”
“Indeed.”Juunn nudged his chin at the wall.“Gusin’s changed it, has he not?”
Nenn studied the placement of the notches and bounced on his feet.“Yes,” he said, eagerness tearing through him.
“Well, go for it,” Caah called.
“But…” Nenn gestured to the mounted weapons on a side wall.
“We can spar after we have mastered the new course.”Juunn toed the first foothold, his booted foot struggling to find grip.
Nenn unclipped his boots and set them aside.Barefoot, he nudged Juunn back and lodged his toes in place, putting his weight on the biggest of the four.He hesitated, learning where to crimp and when to do dynamic moves.Everything fell away; only the next hold mattered.When his head bumped into the ceiling, he snapped out of it and glanced at Juunn halfway up.
Nenn released his breath, his chest swelling with pride.“You are doing well,” he said, reversing his footholds.On the descent, he met Juunn, who’d scrunched his face in concentration.
When he passed, Juunn tossed out a smile.“Do not leave.I might need healing.”
“Fair enough,” Nenn said and dropped.
“This is foolishness,” Ulvus muttered when Nenn stepped back from the wall, his gaze on Juunn.
