Sky Child

by Brenner, T. M.

  Silence.

  I walk through the crowd, assigning letters to the different families. I have a hard time remembering the order of letters, and I get stuck after the letter 'F'. Thankfully, Ebb whispers to me that the next letter is 'G'. From there I am able to remember the rest of the letters. Eventually though, I run out. It takes me a moment to come up with an answer.

  "The families that already have a letter will also have a color. Your color will be green. So the family that I said was family 'A' is now family 'Green A'. The families that do not have letters yet will use the color black," I say.

  I walk over to the next family that needs a letter, and point at them.

  "This family is now 'Black A'. The next is 'Black B'. Does everyone understand?"

  Silence.

  I continue giving families names, until I finish at 'Black O'. I go back to the front of the crowd.

  "I want you to stay together as a family, but spread out from the other families. Show each other what you are capable of. Big spears, show them how well you can attack and protect with your spear. Slings, show them how far you can make rocks fly. Sky spears, show them how deadly your throw is. Take turns, watch each other, and give advice. The only way we get better is to practice and to learn from our mistakes. Mistakes make us smarter, failure makes us stronger," I say.

  I turn to Helm, Mast and Ebb.

  "Helm and Mast, do you want to keep using big spears?" I ask.

  "I prefer it," says Mast.

  "I want to try a sling," says Helm, surprising me.

  "Ebb, which weapon do you want?" I ask.

  "I normally use a sling now, but I would rather go back to using a big spear," she says.

  "Ebb, hand Helm your sling. Helm, give her your spear. I will use the sky spear then. Ebb, can you show Helm how to use it?" I ask.

  "I will do my best," says Ebb.

  "I'm going to walk around and see if I can't help people that are having a hard time with the changes. Some people are using sky spears for the first time, and it isn't obvious how you should hold and throw them," I say.

  I spend time talking to each group, getting to know them, trying to learn their names. I am surprised by how many names I had already known. I make suggestions where I can, and I try to be positive. I want to help these people, not make them angry. It is easy to become frustrated and discouraged when trying something new, so I do what I can to make it easier for them.

  I take the people that have never used a sky spear before away from their groups. We walk far away from the other hunters, just in case something goes wrong. I show them the way that I hold the spear, and how I throw it. It takes a while, but I make sure that each of them know how to hold the sky spears, and that they each have at least one good throw. Then I send them back to their groups.

  I watch a while longer then spend time with my own group. Ebb is already very good with a big spear. Mast is the best I have ever seen with one. Helm though is having a hard time learning the sling, even with Ebb's help. It takes me watching a few throws to figure out where he is going wrong.

  "Helm, you want to release it earlier. Spin it around a few times and when you release it, watch how the rock flies. Keep changing when you release it, until you know when you need to let go. It just takes practice, but you will get it," I say.

  I watch as Helm tries a few more times. He does much better, and after a hands worth of tries, it seems like he has got it.

  I take the sky spear from my back and throw it a few times. I feel pretty comfortable with it now, and I hit what I am aiming at almost every time. I also practice with my knives. I like throwing them, because they feel dangerous in my hands. Like I could take down a wolf with them.

  "Okay everyone, we are done for now," I say to the crowd.

  Some people stay behind to keep practicing, while everyone else goes back inside the Crag. I notice that Flot is among those that stay, and he continues practicing with the sky spear.

  Out of the corner of my eye I see Plank running at me, as fast as she can, holding a sky spear. I put my hand on one of my knives, ready to pull it out of its sheath if necessary. Mast sees her and readies his spear. At the last moment she holds the spear out sideways and slows down. Mast relaxes his grip on his spear, and I pull my hand away from my knives.

  "Sam, thank you for lending me this," says Plank, handing me back my sky spear.

  "You're welcome. Next time though, do not run at me with a weapon in your hand," I say.

  Plank's eyes get big.

  "Oh, I am sorry! I did not mean to worry you. I just wasn't thinking," says Plank.

  "It's okay. Things are tense now, and we all have to be more careful," I say.

  She nods, but still seems worried. Maybe the worrying will keep her safer. I can only hope.

  I put the sky spear in the sheath on my back and walk to my room.

  40

  "Sam, wait," says Ebb.

  She catches up with me right as I reach the mouth of the Crag.

  "Everything alright?" I ask.

  "I just wanted to thank you for letting me use a big spear again. I've been bored with my sling for a while. I like dealing with things up close," says Ebb.

  "I've noticed," I say.

  "So why did you break everyone into groups like that?" asks Ebb.

  "It is a waste having all of the hunters attack at once. This way, if there are only a few animals to kill, we will not lose as many good throwing rocks, or break as many spears. It should also keep the skins we collect from being damaged," I explain.

  "That makes sense," says Ebb.

  "It will also make them easier to give commands to if we fight another dragon," I say.

  "Do you really think we will see one again? What if you killed the only dragon left in the world?"

  "Then I did it a favor. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be the last of my kind. It would be very lonely," I say.

  "That is very sad. I don't think I could be alone like that either," says Ebb. "So when do we start growing food?"

  "Sorry Ebb, but I have to do this alone. It will be easier for me to sneak around by myself than it would be if you came with me," I say.

  "But wouldn't things go faster if I help?"

  "Some, but it will still take many sunrises for the vegetables to grow. What I need is someone to protect Flot. I am not as worried about killers coming after him. I'm afraid he might still try and get revenge on Sickle and Scythe."

  "I will protect him then," says Ebb.

  I can tell Ebb is sad that I said 'no', but I really do need someone to watch over Flot, and I trust her. I also trust her not to tell anyone that I am leaving the Crag late at night. If Helm or Mast guarded our room, they would at least ask me where I was going, and the fewer people that know what I am doing, the better.

  "We should get some rest before the hunt. You haven't had much sleep, and I need to get some sleep now so that I can stay awake tonight. If you want... you could rest... in our room," I say.

  Ebb looks at me in an odd way. Her moon eyes are almost closed, and she only has a smile on half of her mouth.

  "Yes. I am okay with that," says Ebb.

  As we reach the room, I realize that Ebb won't have her own mat to sleep on. Jet's is still there, where it has always been. I wonder if I should offer it to her. Then I realize that it might hurt Flot to have someone else resting on it. So I decide it would be better to share my mat with her. It should be large enough for both of us, but just barely.

  "Where should I sleep?" asks Ebb.

  "Well, I don't think it would be a good idea to have you sleep on Jet's mat," I start to say.

  I can tell that hearing his name has made her sad again.

  "And Flot would kill me if we used his, so... I could share mine," I say.

  "That would be fine."

  My face feels very warm.

  I work on taking off my armor. Ebb helps undo some of the straps. Once I am out of my armor, I help her out of hers. Mine is now eas
ier to remove, thanks to the changes that Anchor, Jib and Stanchion made.

  We lie down on the mat together, and I pull my blanket over both of us. We both lie on our backs, next to each other. I close my eyes and try to fall asleep, but I can't. Ebb though falls asleep quickly. I can hear her breathing change, and it sounds almost like when Flot and... well... when Flot falls asleep. Her breathing is quieter, and a little faster than Flot's. I can tell that she is dreaming now.

  Ebb rolls onto her side and puts her head on my shoulder. I stay flat on my back, and I don't know what to do. I place my arm on her side and rest it there. It is more comfortable than I thought it would be. For as strong as Ebb is, she feels very light resting on me. I finally relax, and fall asleep.

  It feels like we are asleep for only a short while. I hear Flot's voice, as if he was far away. It takes me a moment to fight off the effects of sleeping in the middle of the day. Flot has come back from training finally.

  "Sam. Come on, wake up Sam," says Flot.

  "Go away, I'm sleeping," I say.

  "You have to get up, because you have to lead us now," says Flot.

  "What are you talking about? You just got back from practicing."

  "No, I came back here too. I took off my armor, rested for a while, then put my armor back on."

  I start to worry. I carefully shake Ebb. She seems startled by it, but she eventually wakes up.

  "Are we supposed to hunt now?" asks Ebb.

  "That's what Flot is saying."

  I pull the blanket off of us and start putting on my armor. Ebb stretches then stands up and starts putting her armor on too. Flot helps both of us get our straps tied.

  I look over at Ebb, and her golden hair is a mess. Before she fell asleep, she had taken out the thin strip of leather she uses to keep her hair pulled back. I kind of like her hair messy like it is, but she finds the piece of leather and ties it back again.

  I pick up my sky spears and place them in the sheaths on my back then do the same with my knives in the front. I am ready to hunt. Flot helps Ebb with the last strap of her armor. As soon as she is done, we hurry down the tunnels to the mouth of the Crag.

  Everyone is waiting. I feel bad, because it is obvious that I should have been outside long ago. Flot must have been worried when we didn't show up, and came back to wake us.

  There is still enough sunlight to hunt, but we should have left sooner. We will need to find deer quickly. Thankfully, the weather is warm and the sky mostly blue. We should be able to see animals from a very long distance.

  "Thank you hunters for your patience," I say. "We will leave now."

  I walk to the front of the hunters, and Mast and Helm both walk at my side. Ebb finds her way to me, and walks just in front. She carries her spear straight out, ready to protect me from wolves.

  I make sure that we walk to one of the better places for hunting. It is near a stream that the animals drink from.

  Sometimes when we hunt near water, it turns red from the blood of our kills. I am hoping that on this hunt we will be more careful with our kills, so that we do not cover the green grass and clover in red. It is a beautiful place, and seeing death there seems wrong. To me though, hunting has always felt wrong.

  As we near the stream, we see many deer drinking from it. The sky gods are smiling on us. I don't know if I remember seeing so many deer in one place before. I have the hunters stop. I try to speak loudly enough so they can hear me, but not so loudly that we scare away the deer.

  "All families, I want you to spread out by the letters I have given you. Green A should be on the left, Green B should be just to the right of them, and so on. Black O should be the family that is furthest on the right."

  I watch as everyone finds their place. I bring Mast, Helm and Ebb with me to the middle of the group, so that I can see everything that is going on.

  "The deer are lined up, just as we are. I want everyone to focus on a deer that you see. If you are on the left, find a deer on the left. If you are on the right, find a deer on the right. If you are in the middle, and you haven't figured out you should pick a deer in the middle, you should go home," I say.

  There is some laughter at my joke. Thankfully, no one seems angry by my words.

  "Those who have slings, move in front of your family. When I say 'now', I want you to fire your rocks."

  I watch the deer, and I wait for them to be spread out along the stream. Finally the moment comes.

  "Now!"

  I watch as many rocks fly through the air. Some of the rocks find their targets. Deers fall to the ground. Those that aren't hit by rocks scatter, running away from the rest of the herd.

  "We are going to try something new. I want all of the sky spear throwers to come together in front of our line, in the middle. Move!" I say.

  The sky spear throwers each leave their groups and head toward the center.

  "Big spears of families Green A through Green F, and Black A through Black F, I want you to surround and protect those that throw sky spears."

  Hunters break away from their groups and position themselves around the sky spear throwers.

  "This new group, which I will call Group Red, I want you to move forward until you are close enough to hit the deer, then stop. Throw your sky spears then come back and reform into your normal families. Go!"

  The hunters follow my commands, but the timing isn't very good yet. They aren't moving at the same time. Some of the sky spear throwers throw their spears too soon, missing the deer, and they end up retreating back to the big group early. But I want them to practice coming back to the big group, because once a sky spear thrower has used their spear, they are defenseless.

  Once the last of Group Red has returned, I yell out a new order.

  "To understand what comes next, I need a person from each group to see this," I say. "Sling throwers, circle around me."

  I wait until they have gathered near the patch of wet dirt I'm standing on. I take one of my sky spears and draw small circles. Then I draw a line to show them where the stream is.

  "I want families Green A through Green O to go toward the stream, but I want you to move away from the rest of the group, to your left, and come back to the kill place as you come near, like this," I say.

  I take the tip of the sky spear, and draw a rounded line from their group to the stream.

  "Do you understand?" I ask.

  Finally, someone speaks up and asks a question.

  "Why do you want us to do that?" asks a man named Row.

  "That's a very smart question. If you have ever been attacked by a pack of wolves, you know that they come at you from many sides. It makes your target panic, the way that we panic, because we feel surrounded, even though there are more of us than them. It also makes the attacking group spread out, so it's harder to hit more than one at a time."

  "Oh, okay," says Row.

  "Now I want Black A through Black O to come in from the right, curving from the right in the same way," I say, drawing another rounded line to the stream.

  "What about the rest of us?" asks a woman named Bell.

  "Another good question. Families Green P through Green Z should walk straight up the middle. That way we are coming at the deer from every direction we can."

  Most of the hunters nod their heads in understanding.

  "Go back to your groups, tell them what we are doing, and when I signal, I want you to do what I have just told you," I say.

  The sling hunters go back to their families and explain what my plan is. I can hear some talking, but it is mostly just questions to understand what we are doing. Once I am sure that everyone understands, I yell.

  "Now!"

  This time the hunters do a better job of following orders. They aren't perfect yet, but they are getting better. I have Ebb, Mast and Helm follow me behind the middle group, so that if I need to give orders, I can still be heard by both the left and right groups.

  Once we reach the stream, the big spear hunters put the few deer that
are injured, but not dead, out of their pain. Everyone pulls out their kill bags and collects their meat. There is enough to fill almost everyone's bag. We have had a good hunt.

  "Everyone, you have done well today. Back to the Crag!" I yell.

  I hear the hunters cheer. I can't help but smile a little. Mast comes up to me and hits me with his hand across my back.

  "Not bad, Sam," he says. "Not bad at all."

  My smile fades though when I realize that I am wishing Jet could be here to see it.

  41

  I let everyone get ahead of me. Ebb tries to stay behind. I think she can tell that I'm sad, but I really just need to be alone for a while.

  "Are you sure I shouldn't stay with you?" asks Ebb.

  "I just want to walk alone, but thank you. I will see you at the feast."

  "Okay. I will see you then."

  I watch as she walks off, making sure she catches up to the rest of the hunters.

  I stand there, surrounded by green in every direction. My eyes close, almost as if I am not the one closing them. I can feel the wind on my lips, but it is not enough, so I take off my helmet. The breeze kisses the sweat on my forehead. My body relaxes, and I start to feel at peace with myself.

  I think of Jet and remember. I think back to when their parents died, and I took them in. How they were so small they could barely feed themselves when they were given food. I had to tear their bread into pieces so that they wouldn't choke on it. How Jet would wiggle out of my arms when I tried to get him to do something he didn't want to. He was always a fighter, even at the end.

  It is hard to have Jet gone when I still see him in Flot's face. His eyes and nose and mouth. The same hair. Flot is a reminder of how badly I failed Jet. It isn't Flot's fault; I know that. And I hope I am not treating him differently because of it. Because if I do, then I have failed them both.

  I eventually decide that standing out in the field and being alone isn't going to help. Not really. I need to feel like I can change things. I can't change what has already happened, but maybe I can change what will happen from now on. I have to hope the rest of my plan works, because it is all I have now.