Panterra: The Machinist

2: Wife

Ten days pass, and in the dark of the moon the matriarch refuses Christi's request. Queen Kayaleston has reigned for eighty years over one of the few kingdoms to stand up to the Leegan imperial conquest. When she was newly crowned, the twelve-year-old matriarch, barely old enough to have a litter of her own, became mother to a nation at war. She wouldn't be bullied by the emperor then, and she won't let one of her precious granddaughters bully her now.

For a week Christi sleeps apart, only letting Austin lie next to her. In the end she swallows her pride and returns to the group and her old self. Arlington leaves the subject alone as we steam out to the gulf to catch fish every morning and return home in the afternoon to see the preparations for the festival take shape little by little.

An iron hoop is raised two meters above the ground over the fire pit, propped up on four strong iron poles. The first ring of huts around the clearing is decorated with pots of late-blooming azaleas, and the first magnolia blossoms are cut and floated in large bowls, filling the village with a sweet heady fragrance. Drapes of honeysuckle and wisteria bloom around every corner. It's all familiar to us now, and rather than merely experiencing it, we're ready to take part. Arlington walks through the village barely noticed, part of the community, different but accepted.

The moon waxes toward full, and we head in early on the day of the festival. Austin steers us northwest on a humid early afternoon over the tidal bar and into the bay. The sky is cloudless and nearly white. The bay is gray and restless.

Arlington unlaces the thick sharkskin gauntlets the crew wears to protect us from the hooks and the heavy lines. The Teegans favor light cotton breeches with alligator leather on the thigh and seat and heavy cowhide vests. Arlington dresses the same, but while they go barefoot on the wooden deck, one too many splinters convinced us to make a pair of heavy leather boots with hobnailed soles.

Our arms are darkly tanned from long days at sea, well muscled, and scarred from stray hooks and rope burns. Always a skinny kid, Arlington now feels strong, and we contribute equally with the Teegan crew. Some things he excels at, like swimming, and our handgrip strength always amazes even the strong Dallas, who is easily twice our mass.

Waco is below deck watching the engine. It's been acting up lately, and he doesn't want Arlington's help solving the problem. Christi is securing the fishing lines and cleaning the hooks while Dallas and Denton gut and clean the two tuna we caught today. They use their claws for that kind of work, and whenever the claws are out, Arlington gets out of the way. He moves up onto the bridge to stand beside Austin.

The engine sputters, and Austin growls loudly. A city boy, he's always chasing Jacob, trying to prove his worth at sea. Jacob's crew has been fishing since they were young kits, and ours is a patchwork of people with no experience before the steamboats were built. Even Dallas, who can reach into the water and pull out a large tuna with his bare claws, grew up far inland herding cattle. Burdened by the undersized princess, a behemoth landlubber, two warriors, and a human, Austin is easily frustrated. He stomps his feet on the deck of the bridge and delivers a string of Teegan curses to the seagulls.

"I got it!" Waco yells back up from the bilge. A cloud of white steam erupts from the smokestack, and then the engine kicks back in as smooth as a purring kitten. Arlington smiles at Austin who gestures with a hand, palm up, claws out. It's an expressed desire to castrate the young Waco. He looks at Arlington with his almond eyes, returns our smile, and shakes his head. It's been a good day—two big fish on a short run. They'll add to the feast.

Waco sticks his head over the edge of the bridge deck and yells, "Hey, Arli! How's that baby sound?"

"Sweet music!" he yells back.