Indarra: World Below

Chapter 2

Novice Indarra glared at the ground. Novice Ura, in turn, glared at her. She decided to hold her head up high. "I don't like you."

    "And I don't like you." She cocked an eyebrow.

    "At least that we can agree on." He was a tall, broad young man, probably popular, friendly, and from what she had seen, utterly shameless. In his eyes, she was likely one of the unfriendliest girls of the priory and completely undesirable, which was fine by her. After a moment more of staring, she huffed.

    "Pox! And I'm stuck with you for the next five years or so."

    "Ha! With your luck, it'll probably be ten! Or more, if we consummate," he taunted.

    "Who says we're going to consummate? Take a piss," she spat.

    "Gladly." Then he was gone, stepping away into the crowd.

    "Well, that went badly," Zuhaitz commented, stepping away from her cooking duties for the moment. There was humour in her voice, but sadness in her eyes. "You're really going, aren't you?"

    "Well...yes. I want to go out, see what the world is like in practice, not just in theory." She hugged the homely girl close. "I'll miss you a lot, you know." Her eyelids fluttered against stinging tears.

    "We still have a few hours." Zuhaitz pulled away, still grasping her shoulders. "How about it, eh? One last round to go into the books. Call it tradition." Indarra laughed weakly.

    "You're such a sentimentalist. One would think you use those skills of yours to be a soldier, or a peacekeeper, not for relaxation." She looked around. "Besides, this is supposed to be a party, not a practice bout."

    "But I was never even a candidate," she said with a rare spark of devilry. "I was trained, but my skills are supposed to be limited to manual labour. I can fight you whenever I want."

    "I picked the last location. It's your turn."

    "Hmmm. Rooftops, then. They're stable enough." She chuckled. "We'll likely attract notice, maybe get in a bit of trouble. Unless they're too busy eating to look up."

    "I'm not going to miss getting hungry like that."

    "I know. Lucky for me, I'm not a novice. I can eat whatever, whenever I want. Hey, let's- let's go. Sanctuary or the dorms?" She could tell by her voice that Zuhaitz was fighting back tears.

    "Oh, don't cry..." Indarra hugged her tight again. "I promise, when I come back- and I will come back- I said don't cry, damn you!" Tears were falling in earnest now. "Come on, fight me! Focus!"

    "But we're in the middle of the yard!"

    "Hand-to-hand only, then. They'll be fine." Sweet, kind Zuhaitz sniffled and wiped her crooked nose. Then she set her face and settled into a defensive pose. Indarra faced her with an answering stance. "One last time before I go."

    They ran at each other, and within minutes they were sweating and out of breath. A small group had gathered to watch them, but it was not a large affair. At least, it wasn't until Novice Ura shouldered his way through the bodies. A few recognised him, and subsequently, Indarra, as the celebrated younglings of the evening.

    A rogue cheer disrupted Zuhaitz' concentration, and she took advantage of the opening to temporarily disable her right arm with a quick jab just under her collarbone. She fell back, gasping, and held her shoulder tight. It would likely be sore in the morning. Then she grinned. "You haven't slacked in the least, have you? Not even after completing the training milestones."