* * *
Cattalice and Quongun watched Catty poke her breakfast silently. Their Little One’s eyes were fixed on the morning’s fresh fruit like a magnet, but that was as far as she went.
Quongun nudged her plate closer to her. “Dearest, you best eat something. It would be best to begin the assessment with a hardy meal, yes?”
“I hunger not.”
Cattalice shook her head at her mate, signaling him to let the child be. She then placed her hand against Catty’s forehead.
“Your face chills with anxiety,” she said. “Would you like me to fetch a warm towel?”
“Nay, Mastra. My thanks.”
The parents looked at each other, both out of ideas of what to do next. A maid came by and grabbed Catty’s plate when she saw the untouched meal. Quongun was about to interject, but cut himself off.
“You did not say much when you came back to the house last evening as well,” he said instead. “Was your talk with Aly productive?”
“Not really.”
“Well, it was the three of you who decided to include her in your lineup, even though you know of the danger she may bring. Thus you must deal with whatever consequences are due for having a Sungstra on your team.”
Cattalice cleared her throat slightly before she broke some fruit in half. Perhaps a better time for such a lecture, she hinted.
“Yet I am sure the lot of you shall do quite well.” Quongun tried to sound excited. “I know this one has awaited this moment for many years. Perhaps you shall take this as a relief; the wait be over.”
“And I am not ready.”
Cattalice chuckled. “And I thought the same when I was to take part in the Evaluations as well.”
“If I may, Mammai, you said you were ten and eight when you took part in the test. At the very least, you were a Young One, yes?”
“Yet you are far more skilled in the arts than I ever was at your age. You have proven yourself to be the best in your class, and now you have the desire to prove it to the entire tribe. Yet fret not over such silly thoughts. Whatever is to happen, your pappai and I shall be no less proud of you as we are today, and so shall the tribe. I beg, just come back home in one piece, yes? And, by Truth’s Grace, take care of your teammates. Are they not of more worth?”
Catty smirked, perhaps sensing her parents needed her to pipe up for their sakes. “Indeed. Your words of wisdom are true to the core. I no longer need to battle myself as much as I do the others. Why should I care what others are to think?”
But she knew better, and they knew it too. Settling for less was what people who doubted themselves did all the time. Then again, that was what scared Catty the most, since she was having loads of doubt that instant.
“If I may, can I be pardoned from the table?”
Quongun nodded. “You may.”
Catty got up, went upstairs to her resting board, and shut the door. Quongun set his fruit down and shoved it away, having lost his appetite.
“Did we do something wrong?” Cattalice said. “Truly, to this point, we have always said everything we were supposed to say, yes?”
Quongun didn’t answer as he got up and took their plates. Cattalice placed her face in her hands, reviewing every lesson she gave and act she made in front of Catty throughout her life. The more she thought it over, the less confident she was in her self-analysis.
“Be damned, could we not have done more? Indeed, I think I could have. She be so concerned over winning, she ignores the dangers she is to face. By Truth’s Grace, why did we not correct her thoughts?”
“Her thoughts be her own, regardless of what we do.” Quongun scraped the food into a basket for the choulloos. “We may only say so much, yet in the end, a person’s own rationale shall always triumph over any other’s.”
“Truly. And such a triumph is a tragedy.”
Evaluations of the Tribe - Prossia Book 0 : A Coming of Age Space Opera Page 24
