___Chapter 25___
The first to hatch was generally the quickest learner (it worked in reverse too), and so it was with the twelve under Katass. Noone except the adults noticed or cared that Oboe was any different. The only differences the children noticed were the positive things- like how fast she was, or her optimistic manner.
Time passed, and it was nine (namekian) years later. Sanchiro would visit whenever he had the chance. All the children had gotten better at everything they tried, and Oboe has been taught to use her earrings (and warned that there would be severe punishment if she used them to play pranks). But of all the children, the two eldest were pushed harder, for Katass knew the kind of abilities they had inside. The twelve had started talking after a year or so. The language was inborn into them, so it was only a matter of time before they tapped into that knowledge and used it.
Oboe glanced around, making sure noone was watching, before she ran off from the main field, and into an area not too far off, surrounded by rock.
"YES!!!" a voice shrieked victoriously, "You're LATE for once!" Palidor laughed, a big smile on his face.
"Aw, stopit!" Oboe said, a mock pout on her face as she walked past her brother to the tree, where another form sat in absolute silence.
Oboe giggled, knelt down, and shook his shoulder, saying "Damaiou, wake up!!"
His eyes twitched, and snapped open. Oboe laughed out, saying "You're ALWAYS first aren't you? And you're always meditating when I get here! Why?"
Damaiou smirked, saying "Yes. Why are you always so perky?"
"Because."
"Well, that's my answer then!" he said, his hands on his hips as a triumphant little half-smile crossed his mouth.
Oboe slapped her face, shaking her head. "Ok, you won that round." she walked off a few feet and lie on her back amid the flowers, giggling as the grass tickled her nose.
"So, what are we doing today?" Palidor asked from his favorite perch on the tree.
Damaiou shook his head.
"So, it's the usual- goof off." Palidor said, a smirk lighting up his face as he swung down, holding onto the branch with his hands before doing a flip to the ground. (note- this is an actual tree, with a real trunk and branches and leaves and such, not one of those craptacular green-ball-on-a-stick things you usually see on Namek. All the other trees are the same. This one's just special //_^ )
Oboe laughed, but sat up suddenly as she got an idea. "Hey, Palidor!! How about you spy on Katass and anoco?"
Palidor smiled slyly, and saluted. The other two couldn't help but laugh.
"Ready for duty, 'mam!" he said giddily as he leapt over the rocks with ease, running the fifty feet or so to where the adults were.
---
Damaiou shook his head, laughing as he said "You two are hell on wheels when you're together!"
Oboe shot him a 'guilty as charged!' smile, and was about to speak when her ears perked up. "INTERUDER!!!!" she called out at the top of her voice as she raced toward a crack between some of the rocks, which someone was crawling through.
"Ifrite! What's the password?" she said, hands on her hips as Damaiou's youngest brother's face flushed purple.
"Was I... that obvious?" he said, stuttering as he poked his fingers together.
Damaiou pushed away from the tree, walked up to Ifrite, and said "You know this is OUR fort. There's no reason for you to come here."
"Well.... I felt like it."
"Well, maybe we don't."
"That's mean."
Oboe sneered, and shoved her face in his, saying "What was MEAN was when YOU tripped Palidor because he was beating you in the race a couple weeks ago! You broke his nose, baka!! Now, GET OUT OF HERE!!!" She finished by flashing her claws in his face, and Ifrite raced off with a shriek.
Oboe crossed her arms and made a "humph!" noise as she jumped up to the top of the tree. Damaiou stared for a second, and started laughing.
---
Palidor reached the building Katass lived in with ease, and crawled to a spot under one of the windows. Sanchiro and Katass continued speaking, not knowing they had a 'spy'.
"He is an extremely intelligent child. I don't hesitate to think he may be the one top take my place when my time is done." Sanchiro said, "He and Oboe seem to be of the same intelligence."
Katass nodded, and answered "I'm going to begin instructing him today. He could become one of the greatest leaders our people have ever had." Then Katass' voice fell lower, and said more quietly "But it disturbs he how much of an interest he shows in fighting."
"That was your specialty, Katass."
"I know. It WAS. Not any more. Not since I almost killed one of my friends in a spar."
The room fell silent. Palidor had to fight hard to remain that way.
"I don't want his intelligence wasted, or anyone to be harmed."
Sanchiro waited till Katass finished, and then said "It's easy to see what most of the other children will do, with the exception of my two eldest."
"Palidor? Come-on, you know he's going to be perfect for helping me with the children someday. Almost all the younger children look up to him in awe. Whether it's his personality, or just those screwed-up eyes of his, I don't know." Katass said, laughing.
Palidor stifled a laugh, and settled with a grin.
"Very true." came the reply, "But then we come to Oboe. I'm not sure quite what to do with her. According to the legend, her path and decisions will be her own."
"*sighs* that's one story I never believed in. I didn't even understand it until I saw her. Then it made sense. Everything it has said so far is true. Except there's been no sign of the..."
"Future telling dreams." Sanchiro said, finishing the sentence for him.
Emotionlessly, Katass then stated "But the legend says the prophecies she has will be of bad things to come."
"If so, you cannot blame the child for what she may see. It's not her fault." His eyes went a bit harder, and he continued with "The way you say it makes me think you will hold her responsible for the acts her visions will be of."
"I would NEVER accuse her of anything. That girl's soul is as pure a one as I have ever seen."
Palidor had heard enough. He crawled a sufficient distance off, and flew at top speed away.
He had left a bit too soon to hear the rest of Katass' statement.
"I only.... don't like the idea that the visions will be of things irreversible."
The first to hatch was generally the quickest learner (it worked in reverse too), and so it was with the twelve under Katass. Noone except the adults noticed or cared that Oboe was any different. The only differences the children noticed were the positive things- like how fast she was, or her optimistic manner.
Time passed, and it was nine (namekian) years later. Sanchiro would visit whenever he had the chance. All the children had gotten better at everything they tried, and Oboe has been taught to use her earrings (and warned that there would be severe punishment if she used them to play pranks). But of all the children, the two eldest were pushed harder, for Katass knew the kind of abilities they had inside. The twelve had started talking after a year or so. The language was inborn into them, so it was only a matter of time before they tapped into that knowledge and used it.
Oboe glanced around, making sure noone was watching, before she ran off from the main field, and into an area not too far off, surrounded by rock.
"YES!!!" a voice shrieked victoriously, "You're LATE for once!" Palidor laughed, a big smile on his face.
"Aw, stopit!" Oboe said, a mock pout on her face as she walked past her brother to the tree, where another form sat in absolute silence.
Oboe giggled, knelt down, and shook his shoulder, saying "Damaiou, wake up!!"
His eyes twitched, and snapped open. Oboe laughed out, saying "You're ALWAYS first aren't you? And you're always meditating when I get here! Why?"
Damaiou smirked, saying "Yes. Why are you always so perky?"
"Because."
"Well, that's my answer then!" he said, his hands on his hips as a triumphant little half-smile crossed his mouth.
Oboe slapped her face, shaking her head. "Ok, you won that round." she walked off a few feet and lie on her back amid the flowers, giggling as the grass tickled her nose.
"So, what are we doing today?" Palidor asked from his favorite perch on the tree.
Damaiou shook his head.
"So, it's the usual- goof off." Palidor said, a smirk lighting up his face as he swung down, holding onto the branch with his hands before doing a flip to the ground. (note- this is an actual tree, with a real trunk and branches and leaves and such, not one of those craptacular green-ball-on-a-stick things you usually see on Namek. All the other trees are the same. This one's just special //_^ )
Oboe laughed, but sat up suddenly as she got an idea. "Hey, Palidor!! How about you spy on Katass and anoco?"
Palidor smiled slyly, and saluted. The other two couldn't help but laugh.
"Ready for duty, 'mam!" he said giddily as he leapt over the rocks with ease, running the fifty feet or so to where the adults were.
---
Damaiou shook his head, laughing as he said "You two are hell on wheels when you're together!"
Oboe shot him a 'guilty as charged!' smile, and was about to speak when her ears perked up. "INTERUDER!!!!" she called out at the top of her voice as she raced toward a crack between some of the rocks, which someone was crawling through.
"Ifrite! What's the password?" she said, hands on her hips as Damaiou's youngest brother's face flushed purple.
"Was I... that obvious?" he said, stuttering as he poked his fingers together.
Damaiou pushed away from the tree, walked up to Ifrite, and said "You know this is OUR fort. There's no reason for you to come here."
"Well.... I felt like it."
"Well, maybe we don't."
"That's mean."
Oboe sneered, and shoved her face in his, saying "What was MEAN was when YOU tripped Palidor because he was beating you in the race a couple weeks ago! You broke his nose, baka!! Now, GET OUT OF HERE!!!" She finished by flashing her claws in his face, and Ifrite raced off with a shriek.
Oboe crossed her arms and made a "humph!" noise as she jumped up to the top of the tree. Damaiou stared for a second, and started laughing.
---
Palidor reached the building Katass lived in with ease, and crawled to a spot under one of the windows. Sanchiro and Katass continued speaking, not knowing they had a 'spy'.
"He is an extremely intelligent child. I don't hesitate to think he may be the one top take my place when my time is done." Sanchiro said, "He and Oboe seem to be of the same intelligence."
Katass nodded, and answered "I'm going to begin instructing him today. He could become one of the greatest leaders our people have ever had." Then Katass' voice fell lower, and said more quietly "But it disturbs he how much of an interest he shows in fighting."
"That was your specialty, Katass."
"I know. It WAS. Not any more. Not since I almost killed one of my friends in a spar."
The room fell silent. Palidor had to fight hard to remain that way.
"I don't want his intelligence wasted, or anyone to be harmed."
Sanchiro waited till Katass finished, and then said "It's easy to see what most of the other children will do, with the exception of my two eldest."
"Palidor? Come-on, you know he's going to be perfect for helping me with the children someday. Almost all the younger children look up to him in awe. Whether it's his personality, or just those screwed-up eyes of his, I don't know." Katass said, laughing.
Palidor stifled a laugh, and settled with a grin.
"Very true." came the reply, "But then we come to Oboe. I'm not sure quite what to do with her. According to the legend, her path and decisions will be her own."
"*sighs* that's one story I never believed in. I didn't even understand it until I saw her. Then it made sense. Everything it has said so far is true. Except there's been no sign of the..."
"Future telling dreams." Sanchiro said, finishing the sentence for him.
Emotionlessly, Katass then stated "But the legend says the prophecies she has will be of bad things to come."
"If so, you cannot blame the child for what she may see. It's not her fault." His eyes went a bit harder, and he continued with "The way you say it makes me think you will hold her responsible for the acts her visions will be of."
"I would NEVER accuse her of anything. That girl's soul is as pure a one as I have ever seen."
Palidor had heard enough. He crawled a sufficient distance off, and flew at top speed away.
He had left a bit too soon to hear the rest of Katass' statement.
"I only.... don't like the idea that the visions will be of things irreversible."