A Place To Bloom

Not Mad

Davod sat over his breakfast with his hands over his face, rubbing his eyes and temples while Rock failed to get his attention.

Rock was trying to ask Davod if he wanted all of his dumplings. I couldn't blame him. They gave us smoked fish sauteed with onions, caramelized tomatoes, and dotted with specks of some herb that lent a bitter spice, and these fiery heaven puffs were balls of dough fried in orange-colored oil that were crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. Rock had torn his dumplings in half and used them to sop up the tomato gravy on his plate until not even a streak remained. When Davod didn't answer, he looked around and saw Jame nibbling gingerly at his and asked for an extra. Jame furrowed his brow and pulled his plate into himself, guarding it with his arm.

I laughed. Then I remembered the coffee he'd bought for me and gave him two of mine. Miyani smiled up at me and gave him two from her plate as well.

Rain clattered hard outside the mess hall. The quartermaster walked in alongside the elder bearded vita'o, carrying a hammered-copper pot with a hole barely larger than a fist. With streaks of water meandering down her wrinkled, dark-green skin, she gestured for Davod and Kylen to come join her at the center along with a tall, thin Herali with an elegant grace and a wolf-clan tattoo on his shoulder, a heavy-set Na'uhui sporting a crescent moon same as hers, and another Herali with no ink but years etched into his face.

I leaned into Gino. "What's going on?"

Tobi heard me from his seat at Kylen's table and answered me with enough volume for everyone to hear. "Two units get wall duty, three go out on patrol."

I felt Miyani's hand creep up along my back, so I leaned over and closed my eyes to smell the coconut oil in her hair again. She giggled and nuzzled her face in my arm as giant Kylen pulled a small, wooden tile from the pitcher and looked at it. He held it up and nodded at Tobi. "West patrol."

Jaysa and Rolf leaned in towards one another and started to talk quietly among themselves.

Then Kylen looked at my girlfriend and smirked. "Dibs on Miyani!"

His men chuckled. Rolf leaned back and grinned, crossing his arms. She furrowed her brow and lifted her face to me, "dibzz?"

Tobi smiled wide and gave her the word, "xʊðʊ."

"Oh," she looked at Kylen and shook her head in protest. "ki'i go'ude Carthia."

The elder Pu'iyo chuckled, smiling at her. "vʌ. vʌ ki'ise. gʊ sekɪwasedu xo'i."

The wolf guy reached into the pitcher and chuckled, "Ahmi's going to be pissed."

Pu'iyo smirked. "Ahmi can kiss my ass!"

The wolf guy laughed and showed his tile to his unit across the room. "Wall duty!"

The men exhaled and relaxed. One of them shook a fist in the air triumphantly and took another bite from his plate.

Davod was next. He'd closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, then groaned and tried to shake it off, dug his hand into the pitcher, pulled out a tile, and looked at it. He didn't say anything but blinked at it slowly, not quite opening his eyes all the way.

The heavy Na'uhui captain leaned in. "North." He turned to his men, "fifty-fifty, boys!"

Miyani looked up at me. "ŋoth?"

I smiled. "ɣaze. Point for me."

She opened her mouth wide and scoffed, and I could tell she fought off a smile.

Grass runners shot across the muddy courtyard. It was me, Geraln, Ales, Faren, Rock, Northstar, Jezi, Malchuk, Borel, Gino, Jame, and our glorious captain, Davod. Kylen and his unit of Tobi, Rolf, Jaysa, Wedsen the Goloagi runaway slave, the mixed dude from Carthia, the three noobs of the Orca clan, and the rest of his unit crowded around Blue with Miyani on his back. Kylen addressed his men in Uhuida, passing a glance at her every few words, and I approached.