He stood on the threshold and gazed at the carved walls made smooth over the generations that had come before him.Like Kimgi and Tugo’s home, a ledge with thick furs served as his bed.Shelves above a dead fireplace held pots, mugs, garments, and weapons.Benches were carved on either side of one corner for sitting and eating.And a tall pot housed fresh water he had to fetch every morning from the underground river.
Silence, darkness, loneliness poured into him.Gone was the warm welcome of his mother.Lost was the steadfast existence of his father.And he’d wanted to believe his father lived while Nenn traversed the stars.He sprawled on top of the furs and stared at the venai stones painstakingly embedded in grooved slots.The symbiotes replayed scenes from his day, showing Tugo hesitating, teetering, then leaping when he shouldn’t have.They revealed Nenn’s desperation to save his friend, from carrying his heavy ass to descending into Habqus Abyss.
All was revealed.
And none of it mattered.
Daysblurred.DumisbroughtNenn food he didn’t eat.Elder Qon checked on the injuries Nenn’s symbiotes were attending to and shared the progress of Tugo’s healing.Elder Lama informed Nenn he’d be traveling with the Ivoyans.When all this happened, what time or which day, he couldn’t say.
He rolled onto his side only to ease an ache in his back or to drink a ladle of water.
With his father’s soul cleansing, he’d hoped the symbiotes would reveal the true nature of his mother’s death.They hadn’t.And perhaps they didn’t know.He’d grown up understanding that what he did would be revealed to all; everyone guarded everyone, so to speak.Whenever he and Tugo got into trouble, the tribe had so severely chastised them on their way home that Father hadn’t bothered to discipline them.
In a way, he had many fathers.He sat up, the realization soothing a tiny portion of his grief.He had family even though they weren’t related by blood.He gazed at his home, at the stillness of it, at how things sat where his father had left them and, in some cases, where his mother had… Her dust-covered garment on the top shelf had remained untouched since her disappearance.
Pain crushed his chest so tight that he struggled to breathe.
He bolted, shoving the sheet out of the way to sprint up the carved steps.Many greeted him, but he didn’t stop.He needed the sky above him, a warm breeze on his face, the solidity of volcanic rock beneath his feet.
The suns were setting.
Heat traveled through his toes.He grimaced at his bare feet.
“Nenn,” Juirr said by way of greeting.“You cannot meet the Ivoyans like that.”
Nenn jerked back.“When—”
“This evening, when the moons touch the horizon, or so Elder Lama says.”Laec elbowed his brother.“I shall guard.Escort Nenn to the pools.”
Juirr nodded and tossed his spear at Laec who caught it from the air.With his arm thrown across Nenn’s shoulders, Juirr led him into the cave.
“But—” Nenn gazed at the sky with longing.
“You have our Giniiri honor to uphold,” Juirr was saying.
As much as Nenn had wanted a chance to travel off-world, losing his father had tainted his dreams.A season from now, yes, he’d embrace the chance to serve the Ivoyans.Now, not so much.It seemed…pointless.
Had he left with the Ivoyans last season, if he’d never come home, his father would have lived forever.Until he stepped onto Qaldreth.He slumped.There’d be no way to avoid grieving.He was foolish to try.A change in scenery might be what he needed.
“Bathe, dress, and eat.”Juirr shoved him toward the farthest pool, steam rising off the bubbling water.Alongside it sat a bar of soap and a stack of clean garments not his.
“And these?”Nenn asked, but Juirr had abandoned him.
He shrugged, stripped off garments that stank worse than a dead vibuy, then tested the water’s temperature with his big toe.It was too much to bear, even for a Giniiri used to heat.He hissed, then winced when he sank onto the carved ledge.
With the Ivoyan alderman’s arrival imminent, Nenn couldn’t waste hours.Laec and Juirr had been right to urge him to prepare himself.Should he pack?And if so, what?He had no idea what would be needed.He clutched the amulet around his neck.This, of course, he would take with him.
“I came to wish you Osnir’s blessings,” Panior said, squatting beside the pool.
The male was too perfect by any standard.His garments were clean and well-stitched.His orange-red hair, indicative of a Giniiri, looked combed.He was inches taller than Nenn, had prowess with sword, spear, and bow, and had outrun them all since they were young.
“May He bless you also,” Nenn said, as per their custom.“I must confess, I did not anticipate this…chance.”
Panior grinned.Even faced with disappointment at having to wait another solar cycle to leave this world, he behaved with honor.When all Nenn could hope for was to not bring shame upon their tribe.
“There is method to His blessings.I trust this will go well for you, Nenn.”He glanced over his shoulder at the hall.“My time will come.For now, I serve here.”
When he rose to leave, Nenn said, “Wait, do I pack anything?”
