People of the Nykia

Chapter Five: Blood and Violets

     The sun dipped closer to the horizon, tainting the Askari’s camp in warmer colors. Shyra stared blankly in the space in front of her, slouched against an abandoned house. The sky was draped in deep, deep streaks of red and blotches of purple. Some of the Desert Askari took a moment to awe at its glory. She watched as they muttered words of amazement, as if it such could flatter the sky. Some even called it a gift. She couldn’t see that.

     To Shyra, the sky looked maimed. Rather than roses and violets, she saw blood and fresh bruises. As the sun sank further, its stains only spread. “Who did that to you, dumbass?” she asked the sky. Maybe it was still bleeding from the missiles shot across it, or from the bombs that exploded before landing, or from the factory smoke that ripped holes in its skin. Olorun, deity of sky, probably gave up on trying to sew up its wounds. Shyra shifted in her position. The sky needed to bleed out already; no one needed to dwell on past harm that long. It was over, for hell’s sake. Pretentious fucking sky.

    “Are you ok, captain?” Xaria asked, suddenly standing over Shyra.

    Shyra extracted her black eyes from the horizon, tuning back in to the world. “That’s ‘queen’ to you. And yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” she replied, scooting over so her right hand man could sit.

    “Well,” Xaria said as she lowered herself to the ground, “you did just call the sky ‘dumbass’,  if I’m not mistaken.”

     Shyra scoffed. “It deserved it. The bastard killed my family back in the old’n days,” she joked.

   “And you’ve been plotting revenge ever since?” her partner responded, light reflecting in her light brown eyes. Xaria was an exquisite creature. Her dark skin was flawless, even in the crude red lighting. Even the slightest of her movements were executed with fluidity, even when preforming the most gruesome tasks. Everything about her was both sharp as a dagger and elegant as dancer.

    Shyra waved her hand. “Eh. I gave up on it after a while. The sky is just too fucking big”

   Xaria smiled to herself, accepting the fact that she would never learn the actual reason the Queen had called the heavens a dumbass. “The scouts from this morning should be returning soon.”

   “Thank the gods,” Shrya exhaled, not even attempting to shadow her relief. “I’d rather drink arsenic than eat one of Koeki’s monstrosities.”

  “Oh, come on. Don’t you think that’s a bit of an exaggeration? Besides, if you don’t like her food then assign someone else to cook while Waqar is out.”

   Shyra shook her head and laughed. “Hell no. Koeki’s cooking is shit, alright, but it isn’t poisonous. I can’t say the same about anyone else around here,”she turned to Xaria who smiled at the ground, her lips quivering with stifled laughter. “Don’t fucking laugh. I’m talking about you too.”

   “I’m fully aware, your highness,” she grinned.

   The sunlight began to drain from the sky, erasing the day’s shadows. The sky had begun to drape his dark arms over the the land, covering its bruised skin. Until tomorrow, Olorun. As the light faded, so did their smiles.

    Xaria swallowed. “It’s idiotic for me to be worried for them, but I am.”

    She didn’t have to mention any names for Shyra to know who she was talking about. Yes, Kamau and Majari were almost as skilled as they were, but it never made much of a difference. They would always be the children of the gang.

    “Yeah,” Shyra agreed, “it is pretty idiotic. Don’t waste your sleep fussing over them.”

    “Aren’t you even a little worried?” Xaria asked, failing to shadow the anxiety in her voice.

    Shyra brushed off her cargo pants. “No. Got no reason to. They’re not as incompetent as you’d like to think. If they couldn’t complete the job, then I wouldda made you do it.”

     “It’s just—”

    “The oblitine, right?” Xaria’s expression held the answer. “Don’t have an education like you, but if the Nykia has taught me anything, it’s how to read a face. And yours say you’re afraid of the oblitine being involved.”

     Xaria’s tone remained stern. “It’s a reasonable fear. That stuff isn’t something to be messed with.”

    You would know, Shyra remembered. She craned her head to stare at the empty night.“You’re right, it is a nasty one. Which is why we need to stop it before it spreads again.” Shyra said. She pushed herself off the ground, shaking off the dirt. “I’m gonna go wait on the the south border for our scouts. You know, give them a nice welcoming. Tell Waqar to get their ass cooking before Koeki even gets the idea.”

    Xaria began to rise. Shyra placed a hand on her shoulder and lowered her back down.

    “At ease, lieutenant, I can go by myself. Go get some sleep or something.”

     Xaria opened her mouth, then shut it again. “If you wish, captain.”

   “Queen,” Shyra corrected, turning on her heel. “And don’t worry about those dipshits,” Shyra called back, “have a little faith in them.”