Chapter 2
The meeting stone was worn hollow by ancient currents of seawater rushing in and out from what used to be cave at sea~level. The booming tide had carved the living stone for thousands of years before ocean levels rose worldwide and submerged the cave. Now it served as the meeting place for tribe elders and council members.
The Outcast dolphins twittered and chirred with each other, their quiet conversations buzzing in the tense waters. Wide dark eyes caught the meager light as the sun set and filtered its dying rays past the shifting waves. Several were silent, their hearts torn and spirits dulled.
Taniel was one of the quiet ones. He felt empty now that his dark responsibility had been fulfilled.
When he told his father what had happened he did not know what to expect. His guesses were hollow and he had no desire to fill them. His father had at first said nothing, only staring at him with a questioning look, searching his face for a sign of hope or…some kind of joke. Then his mother had appeared, and Taniel made as if to speak but his father had silenced him with a sharp glance. He swam to Taniel's mother and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes narrowed and she clapped her teeth in question, but she followed her mate into the next room, out of Tanial's sight.
It was not long before a horrible keening noise cut the water and sliced Taniel's heart to the core. His emotions shattered, and soon his cries joined his mother's in torturous lament.
Now he was spent and felt empty, a husk drifting among the waves. It all seemed unreal, for it was not but that morning that his brother had left, grinning, saying he would forage something special for Mama and Papa--perhaps bring some light to their dull and weary eyes. He always was thinking of others. Now he was dead, too soon, too cruel. Taniel stared above him, watching the mosaic of motion above him. Light danced like fluid stars as it changed from pink to yellow to pale orange red.
The whispers and buzzing stopped abruptly and brought Taniel to attention. The Council Elders were slowly making their way through the crowd. They reached the center and faced out, tails down and heads up. There were 9 of them, all old and wise, their ear dimples puckered and wrinkled with age, and bodies slightly bent. Five females and four males looked all around them, meeting the many dark eyes one by one. Their own eyes were blank and clouded, shrouding whatever they themselves might be feeling. One of the Elders rose slightly higher than the others.
"It is with a heavy heart that I call this meeting," said Affela, the oldest of the council and the matriarch. "A terrible crime has been committed and it is the duty of this council to plan a course of action. For those of you who may not have heard, we lost a member of our pod today. Young Heytcha was killed by a Clan member early this morning. He is survived by his parents, Li and Ly Kep, and his older brother, Tanial, who has joined us tonight in place of his parents, who are to grief stricken to leave their home." She gave a quick nod in Tanial's direction. "It was Tanial who witnessed the murder." Many whirs and chirps sounded at that, but quickly died down as Affela continued her speech. "Li~Taniel says that he heard his brother's cries for help, but was too far away to save Heytcha. He says that by the time he had arrived at the scene, the Clan member had already killed Heytcha and there was nothing he could do."
Affela sank as N'yil, one of the male Elders, rose. "However difficult this may be, we must first surmise why the Clan dolphin attacked in the first place. Was it provoked? Did Heytcha inadvertently anger the beast? What drove it to kill?"
"I'll tell you what!" one of the dolphins in the crowd yelled. "They're bloodthirsty killers that's what!" Several voices murmured in assent.
Another female of the Elders clapped her beak. "Now be quiet! We are civilized phins here and we will not tolerate such brashness."
"No!" cried Tanial, unable to control himself. All eyes focused on him and he became acutely self conscience.
N'yil opened his beak to silence him but Affela waved her flippers. "Let him speak." N'yil sank into place and Tanial dutifully rose.
"I saw this Clan monster with my brother. I saw its eyes. It took pleasure from his pain. It tortured him to death! My brother would never have done anything to anyone. This was cruel, pre-meditated murder and the Clan should take responsibility for its actions!" His voice cracked.
"And what should we do?" said Affela. "Go to the Clan's Exalted Ones and demand justice?"
"Yes!"
Several sharp whistles and hisses met Tanial's vehement reply.
"Do you realize the absurdity of that suggestion? Do you really think that we can just swim into the city like we have any right to do so? We are Outcasts, young one, and that title holds meaning. We are banished forever from Clan society. We are invisible to them."
"If we are so invisible then why don't leave us alone?" cried a distraught female. "This is not the first attack, nor will it be the last!"
"What can we do?" said Tanial. "Why isn't there any way to combat them?"
"Should we flee?"
"No! We've lived here for generations. We can't just abandon the cove. It's out home."
"Well we can't fight them. They are killing our children! What will we do when a whole army of Clan beasts invades our village? They'll do it someday mark my words."
The whole council was buzzing with fear and anger. They ignored the Elder's sharp clicks for order. Tanial heard someone calling his name very close to his ear. He turned to see Affela, N'yil, and another Elder male, Sertway.
Affela's dark black eyes swept Tanial's face as she spoke. "You've caused quite a mess here Tanial. Follow us to the center."
He felt a sudden flare of pain. He clicked angrily as he saw where Sertway had nipped his flipper. He glared at the old one.
"Move," Sertway grunted.
The Elders told him to stand up tall so he could be seen. From his vantage, he saw his kind squawking and whistling at each other, all torn and frightened. Several scuffles had broken out and they were butting and nipping each other. He thought of his brother. They had beached his body on the sandy shores not far from the village. There he could rest free of sharks and breathe the sweet tropical air for all eternity. If only he had not been killed, he thought sadly. What would he want them to do? Protect each other for sure. But look at us! He thought dismally. Fighting amongst ourselves. That's what the Clan would like us to do. Then they could move in and kill us all.
"Listen to us!" Affela shouted over the din. "Here we have the victim of the beast's attack." The conversations died off as she continued. "Here we have the loudest voice for justice. Here we have the one who will go to the city and plead on our behalf."
Tanial felt his heart skip. "What?!" He looked down at the nine elders.
"Shh!" hissed a female, Friell.
"Tanial has volunteered to meet before the Clan and discuss punishment for the perpetrator of this crime. He leaves tonight and will be at the gates by dawn. If any of you are as brave and have the same strong beliefs, you are welcome to join him."
The sun had finally set and a sudden darkness washed the through the water. Dozens of glittering eyes stared at him in awe and disbelief. His heart hammered in his chest and his gills worked furiously. What were these old crones up to? He cast them an angry look but said nothing. Not now. Not in front of everyone. He pressed a tight smile and nodded at the group.
Whistles of approval broke out amongst the group. "Bravo!" "He's so brave." "Amazing." "What will become of him?"
What will become of me? he wondered as he as he dropped out if the spotlight and followed the Council out of the Meeting Place and listened to the crowd disperse. Affela and Friell flanked him. He kept giving them sharp glances and small, angry buzzes. They ignored him, and they all swam in silence to the far edges of the village. Two other dolphins, neither of which he knew very well, were waiting for them at the entrance of the Council's hut.
Their flippers flared for a moment as they noticed the group's approach. The two swam up to greet them.
Taniel felt their dark eyes pass over his body before they dipped their heads to the Elders and chirped respectfully. Several Elders slowed to speak to them and Taniel was going to do the same, but Friell and Affela pushed him forward, nuzzling him firmly into the hut. Before he was out of earshot, he heard the two speaking to the three Elders that remained outside.
"We are here to join Taniel…" they began.
Join me…He pondered this for a moment while he was ushered into the stark room of the Elders.
Without warning, Friell flipped and clubbed Taniel across the face with her powerful tail. Black dots and red spines lanced his vision and his echo-vision was thrown off. Disoriented, he struck out with concentrated bursts of sonar and charged.
His actions were met with fierce blows from several sharp snouts. Each jab felt like fire and made him even angrier.
"What are you doing!" he yelled, his eyes squeezed tight and his body curling to protect his delicate gills. "Stop!"
To his surprise, they did stop. Gills fluttering rapidly, he cautiously opened his eyes and snapped his jaws together, a dire threat. Snaps filled the room as the other dolphins did the same.
"You…were…out…of…line, brat!" growled Friella. A sharp clap of teeth and hard rostrum punctuated each word.
N'yil swam close and brought his knobby muzzle close to Taniel's. "You had no business stirring the pod up like that," he said. "You have jeopardized the delicate balance of this situation. Now they demand some form of justice. Do you realize how ridiculous that is? Justice?!" His sharp eyes glittered menacingly. "We are left alone for the most part, and they will continue to do so if we abide by their rules." He nipped Taniel when he saw him open his beak in indignation. "Some casualties are to be expected…"
"Casualties?!" Taniel lost control of himself. He lunged at N'yil and bit him as hard as he could, just below the left eye. N'yil's scream of pain and rage reverberated in the room and Taniel had the grim satisfaction of seeing fear flash in the old one's eyes. Perhaps you feel a little of what my brother felt, he thought grimly.
In an instant, there was chaos. Elders surrounded him and he fought with tooth and tail. He didn't care who he hit or where, he simply attacked. Buzzes, whirrs, and squeals filled his ears as he sought for a way out. At one point a dolphin backed away from him, shouting at him, and he rammed his snout against his flank, then bit his dorsal ridge and fled past him. He swam as fast as he could out of the Center and into the open water. He had planned to head for his parents hut and be free of these bigots, but several sets of teeth fastened onto his tail, slowing him enough so that more jaws were able to clamp onto his flippers and dorsal ridge. His rage left him as abruptly as it had come, along with his strength. He listed in the water as the Elders again surrounded him.
Affela had somehow avoided his attack and remained unscathed. Her eyes however, were scathing. Her flippers were flared wide and her head was low and cocked to the side. All three were signs of extreme anger.
"How dare you attack the members of the council!" she said.
"How dare you attack me!" he yelled back.
"You are under our jurisdictions. You have violated several most important laws, laws that bind this community together…"
"My brother was part of this community! He did everything for this shithole! He is not a 'casualty' or statistic."
"Silence!!" Affela practically roared. The vehemence in her voice surprised everyone.
"Taniel, your actions this evening are inexcusable. You almost created a riot back there and went even further in provoking them by suggesting that someone go speak to the Clan, endangering more lives! So it is you Taniel, that are to go to the gates. How could you presume that someone else would run such a foolish errand? You will go, and you will not come back. We cannot sustain troublemakers in this community." She turned away from him, leaving his mind full of one phrase: You will not come back.
Exile.
He swallowed and looked from one face to the next. Most were hard and resolute, but some held pity, as well as…shame? He wasn't sure in the dark waters.
Exile.
He would have to leave his parents, his family, his friends. He wouldn't be able to say goodbye. Their faces swam in his mind. Faces he had seen since he was a calf. Faces that had connoted trust and security. Some of those faces were ones of the Elders, who had betrayed Heytcha and himself. He felt his heart harden and his blood run cool. Such is life…
He looked around one last time, feeling an emptiness that was worse than the grief that had held him so tightly in its grip not but an hour before. At least grief was something. This was nothing. A void.
He swam away into the darkness of the waters, feeling eyes on his back the whole time. Not even a slight chirp goodbye was said, and the coldness intensified.
Taniel swam past the outer rocks of the village. Despite himself, he looked back. The village lay in serene, moonlit waters. The coral trees' gentle arcs and swirls added to the tranquility. Quiet buzzes and dream songs permeated the aqua stillness. Taniel sighed heavily.
Such is life…
A polite click caught his attention. He faces the sound and saw the two dolphins who had volunteered to join him on his "mission."
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Li-Taniel," said one, a pale green dolphin with black spots freckled across his back. He was obviously nervous for his gills were erratically working and he kept cocking his head. "We came to help you speak to the Clan dolphins."
Taniel scowled. "I'm not going to see the Clan. I was banished. I'm an Exile."
The other dolphin nodded. "Yes, we know. The Elders told us there was to be no mission since you were considered a troublemaker. We did not believe them, so we went into the Center regardless of what they said."
"We entered the room and we saw you going ballistic!" Admiration filled his voice. "I've never heard of anyone attacking the Elders before."
"Aye. What a scene! You are a remarkable fighter." The pale one slid forward and Taniel saw thin trails of blood.
"Did…did I do that?" he asked.
The wounded dolphin nodded. "Aye. But, it isn't all that bad. It will heal. The damage done by the Clan will not." His eyes clouded over. "Pacifism is not always the answer," he muttered.
The other, a small dolphin with yellow streaks behind each eye, nuzzled him. He looked at Taniel out of the corner of his eye, his eyes telling him not to ask.
"Well, what do you want with me?"
"We already said! We want to go into the city and speak to the beasts."
"They won't listen."
"If the do not…we will have to make them listen."
Taniel frowned. Make them listen? Why would they listen to us…we are mere Outcasts, deemed unworthy…His mind tripped over itself. He had to change his ways of thinking. Wasn't Haytcha's life just as important as some Clan member's? Of course it was, and more! Heytcha only cared for phins, not hurt them. Why shouldn't they be listened to? They had a voice! They had pathetic lives while the Clan lived in luxury and grandeur. Why the hell should they live in such poverty? Because the Clan said so? Who were they to run their lives?
The more he thought, the angrier he became. His anger felt good for it filled the dangerous void. They would make them listen. And if the Clan refused…Taniel thought about his fight with the elders. It was the first time he had ever attacked anyone, in defense or offense. Yet, he had almost managed to escape. He had managed to wound several Elders. The thoughts gave him hope, a small, tiny hope.
He looked at the two. "What are your names?"
"Mell," said the dark one.
"Derin" said the small one.
You really want to follow this through? Actually go to the gates and demand to be let in?"
Both nodded and clicked emphatically.
"You know we might be killed."
"We do not care," said Mell. "We have nothing to lose." Taniel wondered about that, but chose not to ask.
He turned and faced the open sands. The city was beyond the low coral and sand. If they swam without stopping, they could make the gates a little after midnight. They could then rest and get some sleep.
"Let's go."
End Of Chapter 2
