Kat #1
The heat surrounding Rorga was stifling but Katrina loved it. She could feel streams of sweat pouring down her as she lifted up the heavy sopping cloth she was washing. Glancing over at the boys, she could see them wiltering under the heat as they practiced stances.
Damnit, why can't Papa see that I'm better than boys? Her resentment grew as she thwapped the cloth with a bamboo racket, swatting out dirt. She looked over at boys and saw that they were practicing the spread stance. It was rumored that some of the old-timers could stand like that for days and the burliest of men couldn't knock them off the stance. She had heard and seen her father countless times yelling at the boys her age, then walking up to some and with a hard blow, knock them over only to have them stand like that for another four hours.
Looking around, she confirmed that no one was paying attention to her and she stood with her feet spread apart, knees somewhat together in emulation of the boys, then swatted the heavy cloth hanging in front of her. It was harder than it looked. After a few minutes, her thighs were screaming at her to stop but she continued for an hour. When she finally unlocked her legs out of that position, she could hardly move them.
Gathering all the washings she had done, she turned to leave but felt a heavy hand drop onto her shoulder. She looked up; it was Papa.
"Well, you looked a sight, Kitten," he smirked.
Katrina shuffle her feet sheepishly, then said, "I was just copying the boys, Papa. No harm done." She looked up at her gigantic father who towered over her. Strange that both her and her brother turned out to be rather scrawny but one look at their mother told everyone where the kids got their bodies from. Her father had graying black hair, tied loosely in a ponytail. His beard where his mustache met on either side were grey, the rest was black. Since he had been coaching the youngsters, his beard was tied together in a loose knot as well to keep out of his way.
"Come on, I'll give you a ride." Without waiting for an answer, he scooped her up onto his shoulders, his arms carrying the wet cloths easily. "Well, Kitten. You know Rorga's rules. We're not allowed to teach the martial arts to the women; however, next time? Don't spread your feet so far apart."
A hug around his head that partially obstructed his view, told Oliver that his daughter understood. It was really a shame that they couldn't teach Katrina. She had been a natural athlete since she was born, unlike his son Alexandrios. He loved to tell the tale of when she had been born, she landed on all limbs, then snarled at him. An exaggeration, to be sure, but there was something different about her. That was why he had chosen the name Katrina and called her Kitten. The feline grace had been with her since birth.
Rorga was a military town. It was known throughout the realm as the place that produced the fiercest, most organized and most feared soldiers. Rorgans, male and female, were proud of their reputation, and did their utmost to upkeep the traditions that gave them the reputation. This, however, precluded training of females. In the past, if females wanted to learn to fight, they usually left Rorga for the wild tribes of Ibinia and Oliver had been expecting Kat to run off any day. Yet, Kat, though truly unhappy with the future Rorga held for her, showed little sign of wanting to run off. He wondered if he should broach the subject.
Arriving home, Oliver lifted Kat off his broad shoulders and set her down in the kitchen where his wife had been muttering over a cauldron of hot soup. Pecking Pertha's cheek, he dipped a finger into the soup only to have a spoon sharply rap his knuckles.
"I thought officers were supposed to display discipline and patience?" chided Pertha. "Alexandrios hasn't come home yet from his training. I suspect that he and his buddies found out about Lanka's new acquisition and they've gone to investigate. You two want to go find him?"
Shrugs were the responses so out came the broom and Pertha chased them out. Laughing, father and daughter raced to Lanka's dwelling and sure enough, a passle of boys stood around a miserable creature, all poking it with sticks.
"What's going on here boys?" Oliver's voice boomed out and three of the five boys jumped back, trying to hide their sticks behind their backs. "Nothing" was the chorus echoed about.
One tiny boy stood up slowly, beaming at them. "Papa, come look! It's real slimy! Kat, grab a stick."
Kat looked at the creature and glaring at her brother, she stormed over and snatched the stick out of his hands. "Alex! This is a living creature! How dare you and your friends...." Kat sputtered. She broke the stick in half then knelt down to peer into the creature's eyes. What she saw surprised her; there was intelligence behind those eyes - for a moment. A blink, and blankness shuttered the window into the creature's soul.
The creature was a thin, wispy thing, green and yes, her brother's description was apt, slimy. It seemed to be neither male nor female, and not a hair graced the body anywhere, not on the head, nor torso nor limbs. It blinked its huge eyes about, throwing each person a blank look, but the stiffness of the body indicated it was braced for more pokes.
Riveted, Kat tried a small smile but there was no reaction. She threw a look that pleaded with her father, and Oliver snapped out of his astonishment to sweep the boys out of the room. "But Papa..." Alex resisted, but Oliver was insistant. "Come on, son. Let's go find Lanka to see where he got this creature." Howls of agreement greeted this.
Alone with the creature, Kat sat down before it in silence, just smiling a little and trying to show that she meant no harm. The creature's eyes darted about still, as if expecting the others to return. She shook her head. "Papa understood that you didn't like what they were doing. They won't be back today."
The creature was a thin, wispy thing, green and yes, her brother's description was apt, slimy. It seemed to be neither male nor female, and not a hair graced the body anywhere, not on the head, nor torso nor limbs. It blinked its huge eyes about, throwing each person a blank look, but the stiffness of the body indicated it was braced for more pokes.
The creature's eyes betrayed a hint of relief, showing Kat that it understood her words. "I'm Kat. I'm sorry my brother and his friends are such melonheads. If you don't mind, I'd like to come back to visit you." The creature seemed to realize that it had betrayed its comprehension and dropped the facade, nodding. With a quick grin, Kat stood up and left.
Damnit, why can't Papa see that I'm better than boys? Her resentment grew as she thwapped the cloth with a bamboo racket, swatting out dirt. She looked over at boys and saw that they were practicing the spread stance. It was rumored that some of the old-timers could stand like that for days and the burliest of men couldn't knock them off the stance. She had heard and seen her father countless times yelling at the boys her age, then walking up to some and with a hard blow, knock them over only to have them stand like that for another four hours.
Looking around, she confirmed that no one was paying attention to her and she stood with her feet spread apart, knees somewhat together in emulation of the boys, then swatted the heavy cloth hanging in front of her. It was harder than it looked. After a few minutes, her thighs were screaming at her to stop but she continued for an hour. When she finally unlocked her legs out of that position, she could hardly move them.
Gathering all the washings she had done, she turned to leave but felt a heavy hand drop onto her shoulder. She looked up; it was Papa.
"Well, you looked a sight, Kitten," he smirked.
Katrina shuffle her feet sheepishly, then said, "I was just copying the boys, Papa. No harm done." She looked up at her gigantic father who towered over her. Strange that both her and her brother turned out to be rather scrawny but one look at their mother told everyone where the kids got their bodies from. Her father had graying black hair, tied loosely in a ponytail. His beard where his mustache met on either side were grey, the rest was black. Since he had been coaching the youngsters, his beard was tied together in a loose knot as well to keep out of his way.
"Come on, I'll give you a ride." Without waiting for an answer, he scooped her up onto his shoulders, his arms carrying the wet cloths easily. "Well, Kitten. You know Rorga's rules. We're not allowed to teach the martial arts to the women; however, next time? Don't spread your feet so far apart."
A hug around his head that partially obstructed his view, told Oliver that his daughter understood. It was really a shame that they couldn't teach Katrina. She had been a natural athlete since she was born, unlike his son Alexandrios. He loved to tell the tale of when she had been born, she landed on all limbs, then snarled at him. An exaggeration, to be sure, but there was something different about her. That was why he had chosen the name Katrina and called her Kitten. The feline grace had been with her since birth.
Rorga was a military town. It was known throughout the realm as the place that produced the fiercest, most organized and most feared soldiers. Rorgans, male and female, were proud of their reputation, and did their utmost to upkeep the traditions that gave them the reputation. This, however, precluded training of females. In the past, if females wanted to learn to fight, they usually left Rorga for the wild tribes of Ibinia and Oliver had been expecting Kat to run off any day. Yet, Kat, though truly unhappy with the future Rorga held for her, showed little sign of wanting to run off. He wondered if he should broach the subject.
Arriving home, Oliver lifted Kat off his broad shoulders and set her down in the kitchen where his wife had been muttering over a cauldron of hot soup. Pecking Pertha's cheek, he dipped a finger into the soup only to have a spoon sharply rap his knuckles.
"I thought officers were supposed to display discipline and patience?" chided Pertha. "Alexandrios hasn't come home yet from his training. I suspect that he and his buddies found out about Lanka's new acquisition and they've gone to investigate. You two want to go find him?"
Shrugs were the responses so out came the broom and Pertha chased them out. Laughing, father and daughter raced to Lanka's dwelling and sure enough, a passle of boys stood around a miserable creature, all poking it with sticks.
"What's going on here boys?" Oliver's voice boomed out and three of the five boys jumped back, trying to hide their sticks behind their backs. "Nothing" was the chorus echoed about.
One tiny boy stood up slowly, beaming at them. "Papa, come look! It's real slimy! Kat, grab a stick."
Kat looked at the creature and glaring at her brother, she stormed over and snatched the stick out of his hands. "Alex! This is a living creature! How dare you and your friends...." Kat sputtered. She broke the stick in half then knelt down to peer into the creature's eyes. What she saw surprised her; there was intelligence behind those eyes - for a moment. A blink, and blankness shuttered the window into the creature's soul.
The creature was a thin, wispy thing, green and yes, her brother's description was apt, slimy. It seemed to be neither male nor female, and not a hair graced the body anywhere, not on the head, nor torso nor limbs. It blinked its huge eyes about, throwing each person a blank look, but the stiffness of the body indicated it was braced for more pokes.
Riveted, Kat tried a small smile but there was no reaction. She threw a look that pleaded with her father, and Oliver snapped out of his astonishment to sweep the boys out of the room. "But Papa..." Alex resisted, but Oliver was insistant. "Come on, son. Let's go find Lanka to see where he got this creature." Howls of agreement greeted this.
Alone with the creature, Kat sat down before it in silence, just smiling a little and trying to show that she meant no harm. The creature's eyes darted about still, as if expecting the others to return. She shook her head. "Papa understood that you didn't like what they were doing. They won't be back today."
The creature was a thin, wispy thing, green and yes, her brother's description was apt, slimy. It seemed to be neither male nor female, and not a hair graced the body anywhere, not on the head, nor torso nor limbs. It blinked its huge eyes about, throwing each person a blank look, but the stiffness of the body indicated it was braced for more pokes.
The creature's eyes betrayed a hint of relief, showing Kat that it understood her words. "I'm Kat. I'm sorry my brother and his friends are such melonheads. If you don't mind, I'd like to come back to visit you." The creature seemed to realize that it had betrayed its comprehension and dropped the facade, nodding. With a quick grin, Kat stood up and left.
posted by resigned idealist @ 12/23/2004 05:58:00 PM
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