* * *
They were both too entranced with their shared victory to acknowledge the tingle in their spines, and now neither of them could move. Aly’s ribs were too shocked, and Catty just wanted her bad arm to come off when she fell on its elbow.
Glani and Requai were too dumbfounded to move. At first they tried pointing out the direction of the shot, but then they spun around as the two downed mastras groaned.
“Truly, are you two well?” Glani asked as she crouched down.
Aly rolled from side to side. “I cannot budge.”
Requai held her still. “Be at ease, yes? I am sure you shall be mobile in a few moments.”
“By Truth’s Grace. I won.”
The four mastras looked up and saw Joquin perched on a tree. He fell onto his rear, covered his face, and laughed.
“What blessings this be, I did it! I won! Truth’s Grace, I am thus the lone victor!”
Catty’s jaw dropped. “What? Nay. You ran back to the tribe and forfeited.”
Joquin cocked his head to the side. “Pardon? I would do no such thing! I have kept a safe distance from you lot, ever since you dismantled my team. I have merely awaited for an opportune moment.”
Aly covered her eyes and moaned out loud, cursing and swearing at how unfair her life and everything around her was. Catty just lay still, too numb to do anything else.
Joquin dangled his legs over the branch. “Still, I must say you lot did quite well. Truly, I would have suffered dire trouble if I tried bouting the four of you at once, as you did each other. And no worries. I shall be sure to tell Teacher how grand of an effort the lot of you made. Surely you deserve extra credit for your efforts, at the very least, yes?”
Requai closed her eyes and breathed through her nostrils. “Extra credit. Spare the extra credit, Master. Truly, you shall not get the chance to tell him such.”
“Pardon?”
“I-am-going-to-kill-you.”
“What?”
Glani stepped forward and popped her knuckles. “Not unless I catch him first, Mastra.”
Joquin shrieked like a five-year-old as Glani and Requai chased him through the trees. And so Aly and Catty remained, stretched out across the old forest, too sore and worn to move, side by side. They both stared at the treetops, still having the same shocked grimace on their faces.
“So,” Catty eventually said, not moving. “At the very least, we can get some treats at your pappai’s store again, yes? Ooh! And I still owe you two––”
“Just shut up, Catty.”
* * *
Evaluations of the Tribe - Prossia Book 0 : A Coming of Age Space Opera Page 35
