Chapter Nine- Swords and Stars
He was a well built squirrel, but Shade could tell he was a bit older then mid-seasons. He had four friends on the sidelines, three hares and another squirrel. Two of the hares were Dauncy and Ferdimond. The other was Dutty. Shade could understand why he was able to look on the fight with any enthusiasim- he'd seen it before. The squirrel Shade didn't recognize.
As Tam readied his blade, Shade decided to rush him, instead of letting him rush her as he had his other opponets. He seemed surprised, and blocked her blade at the last minute. The crowd around the ring was quiet as the two tried basic offense-defense moves. Shade didn't even have to think about them, they were like all the sequences she'd practiced with Lightningstripe. Things became more intense slowly, a quicker reaction here, a more difficult move there. Tam was tired from before, Shade could tell. She decided to try wearing the older squirrel out, toying with him. If he rushed her and tried something complex, she could dodge and move about, baiting him. Tam just continued to slowly get more difficult, Shade matched him move for move.
"I can see this won't be a quick victory." Tam said.
"Slow or quick- doesn't matter." Shade responded.
"Oh really?" Tam accented his words with the same flourish that had disarmed Tager. Shade allowed her wrist to be turned uncomfortably and did a summersult to get away. She stood up and held her blade pointing at him. Tam looked confused, like the countermove had never occurred to him.
"Who trained you?" Tam asked.
"Lightningstripe." Shade answered.
"Oh." The 'oh' was like he suddenly realized he was not up against a beginner. She had learned a lot from Lightningstripe, he had trained her in a lot of the moves that were more advanced then her age group.
Shade quickly ducked a horizontal slash and summersulted, kicking her powerful legs up. Tam was knocked back and Shade continued to summersult until she was upright. She then moved forward quickly, but Tam had recovered enough to defend himself at a kneel. Shade was relentless, throwing out nothing new, but throwing it out rapidly and not allowing Tam to get on the offensive.
"Enough!" Tam called out. Shade stopped, but wondered what the squirrel was up to.
"You're a good warrior, you can take the title." Tam said. Shade glared at him. She should've been thrilled, but she hadn't won, the other person had given up. It was like the opposite of Kuri- he wouldn't engage and Kuri wouldn't yeild. Shade threw the sword down so it flipped before landing point-first in the ground. She was let through the crowd that had gathered around the battlefield and stormed off. Footsteps pounded behind her.
"Shade! Wait." Came a voice. Shade turned, expecting Willow. It was Kuri.
"Discovering we aren't the queen of the world." Kuri asked.
"You ran after me to ask that? Now who's immature." Shade asked.
"I was asking a genuine question- you answer." Kuri asked.
"I never expected to be." Shade said. Kuri snorted as Shade answered. Shade gave one of her 'I'm thinking evilly' smiles. "Besides, your supposed to be the teacher- teach." Shade said, giving a mock-curtsy.
"I'm telling Tona." Kuri said.
"Sure, run to Tona, that's getting old." Shade said.
"So is your attitude." Kuri said.
"So avoid me." Shade said, turning to leave.
"I can't. Look, you are a lot like my brother, that's all." Kuri said.
"So?" Shade asked, looking back at Kuri.
"So I don't want you making the same mistake." Kuri said. "After we fell down the river, I was seperated. The others guessed I was dead. Pello was crushed. We were close siblings, and he had no idea what to do. He wouldn't eat for days- or so Dutty said. He felt like because he was the one in the group to always have the answer, nothing could go wrong. Well, he was wrong. He thought that having a sword in your hand could make troubles go away or avoid you. He was wrong. He thought that knowledge and power was all he needed, well it isn't." Kuri said.
"So what happened?" Shade asked, interested.
"Why is it that when I tell part of the story, you get interested?" Kuri asked.
"Because it's interesting, now what happened?" Shade asked.
"He became weak, barely ate or slept and was in danger. Dutty and the others had to try to get him somewhere safe. Luckily, they ran into some gosuim shrews. Who tended to my brother, convinced him of his duty, and gave him another chance to preform it." Kuri said.
"And you meanwhile?" Shade asked.
"Another time." Kuri said.
"Why is it you ruin a story by telling it in separate sections?" Shade asked.
"Because it leaves a bigger mark." Kuri said, then walked away. Shade shrugged, then headed over to where a few creatures were gathering to stargaze. As Shade looked up at the magnificent dots of light in the black sky she smiled. She saw the moon, about three-quarters full. It was a beautiful sky. The sort of sky you want to seal into your memory and lock away forever to cherish. Suddenly, Shades view was masked, as a creature stood in front of her. Shade looked at the face.
Treestar.