Will Of Infinity

Spin - Part 1

Working with clay tiles wasn't the same as working with slate. The weight felt different in her hands even as she balanced her feet on the beams, hooking one red tile after the other. They were lucky that it had stopped raining early enough, the wood dry and still intact from when she had checked it a week ago.

It felt like longer, replacing an entire stretch of the roof alone, with clear instructions to the others about not disturbing. That wouldn't last long with the kids but she could hold out hope, just a little while more.

"Oie!"

Or maybe not.

"I can hear you ignoring me!" Tejo sounded just as annoyed as she thought the pig-headed troublemaker would and she focused on the last ten tiles left, "You can't do that, it's not allowed. I had to eat lunch with Hasya, of all people -"

"Ahem"

"- and then Matamahim decided to grade my lessons while I was eating," the tone suggested a nightmare beyond comprehension and she hid a grin as her self-decided interrupter continued, "I have never hated lunch more and this is all your fault. Are you listening? Opa ! Saanjh!"

Saanjh pressed the last tile into place and knocked on it once lightly, leaning back on her haunches to see her work as a broader view. It wasn't so bad, the broken patches were refit, there were no gaps between sections, there wasn't any loose tile that would fall off under the first hint of rain - it was enough. Getting to her feet, she edged back carefully and eyed the ladder placed in the same spot she had left it while she had climbed up. Grabbing for the wood of the ladder, she adjusted her grip and began making her way down steadily, not bothering to hurry. It was one thing to climb up but the descent always made her believe that she would slip, an unseen stroke of bad luck making sure her foot would miss a step.

When she was finally on the ground, she let go of the ladder and pulled it away from the roof easily, balancing it against one hand as she turned to face Tejo.

"First, don't talk about Hasya that way with me, she's your chosen sister," she said with a hint of amusement creeping onto her face even as she made sure her voice was clear, leaving no room for refuting, "What do you do when I'm not here? She's the one who's always with you, isn't she?"

"Yes, but now you're here," Tejo insisted in that way which Saanjh remembered clearly from when she was a stubborn teenager herself. It was probably why the girl got away with half the things she did around Saanjh, if the pointed looks from the elders was any hint.

"Besides, I usually eat with Qari," Tejo now turned to squint at the roof, her right hand coming up to shield her eyes from the sun, "He's much better company and doesn't tell me to quiet down. I could have helped you with this, you know?"

"I know," Saanjh nodded to go along with the idea, "But since you didn't need to, now you can help the others with something else."

"You're supposed to be the fun one around here," Tejo reminded in a dry tone and Saanjh shrugged with an unrepentant half-grin but carried the ladder under her arm as they began walking back, "Is it true that Leader Gunshi will be coming back today? Or by tomorrow?"

"He should"

"And then you'll be leaving back for Swatan?"

"Yes"

"And I can come with you this time?"

"Sure"

"But I thi - wait," Tejo stopped and then jogged up to catch up, looping an arm around her free arm excitedly, "Really?!"

"Of course," Saanjh quipped without missing a beat, "All you need to do is get Matamahim to say that you've cleared the tests for this month."

The teenager buried her face in Saanjh's shoulder and muffled a frustrated yell that only got her a sympathetic chuckle.

Jevadhi was a dragonfly's paradise when the monsoon hit, the dropped wings dotting the porch of every home invariably. They would burrow themselves in shelter until the storm passed, waiting to get back to their earlier route, and Saanjh had learnt to let them be when the petrichor hit. It always annoyed those who had cleaning duty the next morning but she kept up a compromise by sweeping up the wings herself before it became a chore. It was a small price to pay for the curious creatures to have some reprieve. It wasn't much, considering their lifespan.

As they walked up the pathway to the back entrance of Ambaramanila , Saanjh heard someone yell from a distance. With Ambaramanila being the residential school of Jevadhi and Matamahim's ancestral home, it wasn't unusual for the occassional panicked shout or distress call. Usually it was one of the students having ignored a safety regulation before experimenting something or one of the cultivators there to complain about misbehaving cattle.

Saanjh wasn't particularly fond of handling the latter situation. She appreciated cows and all that they represented but - no.

She turned around to check that it was as she expected but then saw the young boy running towards them with a bruise on his forehead.

"What's going on?" she asked once he was closer, facing him completely and passing the ladder to Tejo without turning.

"We tried to stop - they were -"

"Take a second, gather yourself," she instructed in the tone she used on the juniors when she wanted absolute cooperation, "Now, tell me what happened and how long it has been."

"It's an elephant gone berserk," the boy complied, eyes still panicked but matching Saanjh's calm as she didn't let him break his gaze away, "A group of men were bringing it up in a cage and it woke up as they were passing our clearing. My sister - she -"

"How long?" Saanjh cut through his building spiral and he took a breath before replying.

"I don't know, I only saw it when I was bringing my herd back home and then I came here," he shook his head emphatically and Saanjh nodded once before turning to Tejo.

"Inform Matamahim and keep the other students from getting out," she said quickly, eyes flicking towards the entrance before looking back at the teenager who had lost all trace of amusement, "Tell them that we'll be bringing in some wounded, no known range."

Tejo nodded, no argument present this time, and Saanjh knew that she would get the job done. Turning back to the shepherd, she gestured at Tejo.

"Stay with her and get that wound treated, I'll handle the situation"

"But -"

"Brother, let's not delay her," Tejo interjected and Saanjh stepped around the boy to start running in the direction of danger, leaving the disciple to handle her instructions.

The shepherd watched Saanjh sprinting and followed Tejo with shaky steps but shook his head faintly as they entered Ambaramanila.

"She'll need help, won't she? Can she handle it on her own?"

Tejo smiled quietly at that and rang the hanging bell at the first pillar after the entrance.

"There's not much she can't handle," she informed and waited for the helpers to arrive at the call, "You don't have to worry about her."