Blood, Sweat, and Tears.
A Mandalorian novel by
Latts Razzi
Jate'Kara Ononae was fifteen now, and her birthday wasn't exactly turning out as perfect as she had hoped.
She had expected a new weapon, some better wrist gauntlets, or perhaps even paint to cover the nasty yellow on her shin guards. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Now, as she crouched behind the tree from the sly enemy unarmed, she realized how hopeless it all was. The only safety was high up, and the trees were inaccessible with their rotting branches. She could dash for the nearby hut, or surrender. If she surrendered her captors would be completely unmerciful.
It was a dash for the hut.
The second she began her sprint, she could hear shrill voices behind her.
"There she is! After her!" Jate'Kara knew she was doomed and tried to duck the water thrown at her.
With only one stumble, all six of her baby-sitting charges pounced upon her, and soaked her completely.
"We gotch you, 'Kara!" Six year old Tracyn laughed. He was usually the ring leader, even though the oldest, Meshuroc, was eight. The youngest, Kyr'yc , was only two.
"I surrender." Jate'Kara sighed pathetically.
"Yaaay! We win! Oya!" Meshuroc shrieked happily to her younger brothers.
"Oya!" repeated Kyr'yc. Everyone but Jate'Kara laughed.
"Fantastic. Could you get off me now?" They replied by jumping on her. Slowly, she struggled to her feet.
"OW! Would you get off—Hey! Let go of my hair! Purjai, you too. I said stop—STOP! YOU LITTLE RASCALS, GET OFF ME!" With two toddlers draped around her neck, two on her left arm and one on her right, and Tracyn with a death grip on her ankle, Jate'Kara realized that until she agreed to their terms of surrender, she was going nowhere.
"Okay, you won already! What do you want me to do already?" There was a moment of silence as her captors considered the options.
"Tag!" Shouted Purjai, a seven year old with dark hair.
"Tag, tag, we want tag! Tag, tag, we want tag!" They chanted.
"Fine, but only hide and go seek tag. You silly ade are driving me crazy!"
"Hide speedy-quick!" Tracyn advised his minions.
"One, two, three, four,…" Jate'Kara counted. When she reached forty, she quit and went inside to change. They wouldn't realize she had tricked them and hide for hours.
With a heavy sigh, she stripped from her soggy attire to something dry. What a day. Why was she always made baby-sitter? Her parents went out hunting with other older members of the clan, and she and a few other guys and girls her age took turns with the role of "buir" for the day. Sometimes she received the better of the three groups, but today, her birthday, she had the worst.
Collapsing on the sofa, she heard a small giggle from her bedroom. She had told them a million times not to go in there! Scowling, she yanked open the make-shift door. The precariously balanced bucket of water fell squarely on her head. It was not going to be a good day. At all.
"TRACYN! I-WILL-KILL-YOU!" She fumed, ripping the bucket off of her head. She dove under the bed and dragged Tracyn out by his ankle.
"Jate'Kara?" He whimpered in his tiny little voice.
"WHAT?"
"I wuv you."
"Aw, such a darling little ad." His mother sighed as she walked in.
"You're back." Jate'Kara said flatly.
"Yes I am, 'Kara, and so are the other buire. Thanks so much for taking care of the ade for a while. Did you have fun?"
Jate'Kara stared in stony silence.
"Okay. They behaved themselves, right?"
More stony silence. The other parents stepped in.
"Have you seen Meshuroc?" One asked.
"Yes, or Purjai?" Questioned another.
"They're probably out in the woods somewhere, hopefully dying." She grumbled.
"SURPRISE!" The other five popped out of the laundry basket.
The adults all laughed, said how cute it was, and wished her a happy birthday.
Jate'Kara just wanted to lay down and die herself.