Disclaimer: You know the routine by now. I own nothing – it's all Misty's.
A/N: Yes, Layven is Lavan Firestorm from Brightly Burning. Kudos, congratulations, and e-cookies to Queen's Own being such a discerning reader and picking that up! This is a reincarnation fic, meaning that I'm exploring the boundaries of reincarnation far beyond anything Misty's attested to (so far as I know), so Kira is also Kalira reborn. Now, wait and see what the plot bunnies can do with that…
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Chapter 6: Classes
Kira awoke to birdsong as the sun touched the horizon with color. It was a beautiful morning, made ten times more beautiful by the loving presence of the Companion next to her.
:Thank you, love. You're very poetic,: he told her, nuzzling her hair in a way that gave the impression of a hug. She stood up to wrap her arms around his neck. They stood still for a long moment, not bothering with words.
:I hate to have to say it,: Layven told her at last, :but the dawn bell is going to ring a few minutes, so you probably want to head back to your room.:
:Thank you,: Kira told him fervently – she had no desire to be late for anything on her first day here! With one last squeeze, she released him and gathered up her blanket, shaking it out and folding it neatly.
:Have fun in class,: he told her with a mental grin. She smiled back, but nervousness started to eat at her at the thought of how confusing this day was about to be.
:Don't worry,: Layven assured her. :I'll be with you the whole time. You'll be fine.:
The reassurance helped, and she gave him one last hug. Just then, an extremely loud bell tolled. :That's the dawn bell,: Layven told her unnecessarily. :You'd better hurry.: He didn't have to tell her twice; she ran across the Field to scurry up the tree back into her room. She had just enough time to put the blanket away and change into a fresh uniform before a knock sounded.
"Hi, Kira," Shandi said as she opened the door. Then the older girl yawned. "Oh, it's too early!"
Kira wondered what time the girl was accustomed to getting up; among her Clan, sleeping until dawn was sleeping late. Maybe she just doesn't like mornings, she thought to herself. "Hi," was all she said aloud.
"Let's go to breakfast together, OK? I feel strange, being in a new place and not knowing most people. In my home village, I knew everyone, even the traders who only visited irregularly."
"I feel the same way," Kira told her. At home, I knew who was dangerous and what I could and couldn't say or do. Here, I have no idea.
:No one here is dangerous!: Layven sounded almost affronted. :Don't worry, I'll tell you if you start doing something inappropriate, but I doubt that will be a problem.:
She Sent him a smile of thanks, but underneath doubt still lurked. No one was dangerous? She decided that since he was in the form of a horse, he probably didn't know these people that well. No one could make that sort of generalization about a group unless they didn't know any better.
:Trust me,: he urged her, and she knew he had caught her doubts, even if he didn't know exactly what she'd been thinking. She would have replied, but at that very moment Shandi pushed open the door to the dining hall and any thoughts on the subject disappeared at the sight that lay on the other side.
A huge crowd of people sat around long tables – more of the weird Valdemaran love of right angles, some strange portion of her brain thought – producing enough noise to drown out a waterfall. Seeing so many people gathered in one place was enough to make her pause in the doorway. But when she saw that half of them were boys, she could scarcely prevent herself from turning and fleeing.
:What is it?: Layven asked urgently. :I don't understand why you're so upset.:
She fought to control her initial reaction. :Males and females eat together here?:
:Yes…: Layven was still confused. :It's not, like, against your religion or something to eat at the same table as men, is it?:
Kira had to think about that for a minute. In all their studies of the gods, she could not remember the Priest ever saying that it was wrong for males and females to eat together. It simply wasn't done. :I don't think so… I think it was just custom.:
She felt a mental sigh of relief from Layven. :Are you all right now?:
:Yes,: she told him, ignoring the real reason for her fear. Meals had always been a safe time, a time away from the physical attacks of the boys. The girls were mostly content with simply excluding her. Here, she didn't have that protection. But after what Layven had said about none of these people being dangerous, she didn't want to tell him that. It sounded like she didn't trust him.
Their mental exchange only took a moment; Shandi was only a step or two ahead of her when Kira hurried to catch up. Shandi lead the way over to a crowded table, where people moved aside to make room for them.
"Hi, everybody," Shandi said with a smile. "This is Kira, Layven's Chosen."
"Layven's back?" a boy sitting across the table and a few seats down queried. "I guess that means we'll be starting Orientation today."
"Right after breakfast, Herald Tamara informed me," Shandi answered. "Kira, that's one of our year-mates, Kaleb, and the guy sitting next to him is also our year-mate and his cousin, Tannor."
The sandy-haired boys grinned and chorused, "Hello, Kira."
"Hi," she answered, hoping that that was the correct response. It seemed to be, because conversation started flowing around her. Kira scrunched herself down in her seat and tried to eat quickly while keeping watch for any danger. However, none came. Every once in a while someone noticed her and addressed a comment to her, which she answered as shortly as possible. She had no desire to be the center of attention. But that was all that happened. She was grateful for that.
She finished her meal of porridge and fruit much more quickly than Shandi but remained sitting at the table, having no idea as to what to do next. Layven kept up a running translation of the Valdamaran words she didn't know into images and concepts, and she tried to remember as much of it as she could. She was grateful that he didn't try to push her into the conversation.
At last Shandi and the others finished; in a seemingly rehearsed movement, they scattered from the table like a flock of birds. In moments, it was empty. Kira followed Shandi to their first class, the Orientation that the boy had mentioned.
Like everything else so far, it was nothing like what Kira had expected.
Not that she'd truly been thinking very much about what these classes would involve, but in the back of her head she'd simply assumed that they would be similar to the instruction she'd gone through with the other children of her Clan. The instructor lectured and the students memorized. She'd simply never considered the possibility of another way to learn.
As they sat down in the classroom, which displayed yet again the right-angle symmetry Kira was beginning to associate with the essence of Valdemar, she studied the instructor. Dressed in the same white uniform Herald Tamara had worn the day before, this woman presented a clear contrast. About the only thing the two had in common was the pale kallis-skin of everyone she had met here. While Herald Tamara had been young, this woman's grey hair and wrinkled face clearly showed her to be one of the oldest women Kira had ever seen. Herald Tamara had been tall, with straight brown hair to her shoulders and bright blue eyes; this woman was only a hand's width taller than Kira and her hair covered her head in tight curls. Despite her age, her brown eyes snapped with life, and she seemed just as energetic as Herald Tamara had been.
"Welcome to the Collegium, Trainees," she said with a broad smile as they sat down. "I hope you've enjoyed your bit of free time; now's when the hard work starts."
Her year-mates grinned back at the woman; feeling out of place, Kira turned the corners of her lips up in a smile as well.
"Well, introductions are in order. I'm Herald Wrynne. I grew up down by Lake Evendim, and I used to ride circuit on the Border Sectors until my old Companion got too tottery on the legs for that kind of thing." Her eyes unfocused momentarily and her grin broadened. "Of course, Tranil claims that it was my old age that got us retired to this post, but he's just trying to make himself feel better."
Kaleb and Tannor laughed, and Herald Wrynne joined in. "Get used to arguing with the pretty ponies; at some point you'll probably be able to Mindspeak them, and most of them have a sarcastic streak a mile wide."
:She's just teasing Tranil,: Layven told Kira, who was aghast at the thought of calling the Companions "pretty ponies." :He does get very sarcastic, as she said, so she answers him the same way. You'll hear some Heralds joke like that all the time, while others don't. It just depends on the personalities of the Herald and Companion.:
"Anyway," Herald Wrynne continued, "the point is that Teren got himself made Dean of the Collegium, the poor man, so they called me in to teach you kids the first things about being a Herald. So, as soon as you all introduce yourselves, we'll get started on that." She nodded to Shandi. "Ladies first."
Shandi smiled at everyone. "My name is Shandi Alder. I'm 14. I grew up in Errold's Grove, a small village on the very edge of Valdemar that most of you have probably never heard of. My family owns a farm, but my sister Keisha's a Healer. My Companion's name is Karles." She looked questioningly at the instructor.
"Thank you, Shandi." Herald Wrynne nodded at Kira. "You're up."
Kira took a deep breath and tried to remember the Valdemaran introductions she'd had to learn. She'd never really used them, and she was afraid her accent would render them unintelligible. "Hello. My name is Kira. I have twelve years. I come of Hardorn. My – my Clan is on the mountains. My Companion is Layven."
She sighed with relief when the Herald nodded to her and turned to the boys, who sat on Shandi's other side. :You did fine, love,: Layven told her supportively. A slight smile creased her face at the warmth he exuded.
The boys' hazel eyes twinkled with mischief. "I'm Kaleb," the one on the right said.
"I'm Tannor," his cousin, slightly taller and leaner, added.
"We're cousins."
"And we grew up here, since our parents are instructors at the Bardic Collegium."
"We were Chosen at the same time, in the middle of an outdoor concert."
"My Companion's Lianne, and his is Alphia," Tannor finished, pointing to Kaleb.
Herald Wrynne cocked an eyebrow at them. "You're cousins? You sound like some of the twins I've had the misfortune to know."
Both boys grinned. "Everybody says that," Kaleb said. "But Tannor's a year and a half older than I am. I'm only thirteen."
"We're double cousins," Tannor continued. "My mom is his mom's sister, and my dad is his dad's brother. And we grew up together."
"Obviously," Herald Wrynne said with a grin. "I hate to think the kind of mischief you two are going to be up to." The boys exchanged looks, and Kira resolved to stay far away from them whenever possible.
:I doubt you're going to be the butt of any of their pranks,: Layven told her, but she didn't alter her decision.
"Well, it's nice to meet you all. Now, let's get down to business."
* * *
Kira's head was whirling by the end of the class. What kind of class was it, when the teacher and students were supposed to carry out a conversation on the subject the instructor was talking about? Beyond the format, the information on what exactly Heralds did was bewildering. Yet again, she had to wonder why Layven had Chosen her, of all people.
:Because I need you,: Layven answered again. :Besides, you're going to be a great Herald some day.:
Kira had trouble believing that, but she couldn't argue with him. Her thoughts were interrupted as Herald Wrynne dismissed the rest of the class, but asked her to stay. She flinched inwardly. She'd been worried, all through class, about her ignorance of the customs here. Obviously, she'd made some mistake.
:She's not going to punish you!: Layven's Mindvoice was aghast. Before he could go on, Herald Wrynne began speaking.
"I think Herald Tamara told you that you were going to have language classes, Kira," she said briskly in Hardornen. Kira only nodded. "Well, since I speak Hardornen fairly well, I'll be your instructor for this course as well." She set a book down on Kira's desk. "I'm sure your Companion is filling your head with vocabulary, so we're going to work on grammar. That seems to be difficult for the ponies."
Kira couldn't smile, though she thought the Herald was expecting her to. Having such an important person talking with her privately was nerve-wracking.
:Calm down,: Layven advised.
:It's not that easy!: she snapped in response, without thinking. Immediately, she cringed back in her chair, ashamed of having reacted so strongly and rudely.
To her surprise, Layven did not respond angrily. :It's OK, hon,: he said lovingly. :You're allowed to be upset. I hated talking to teachers one-on-one too, when… when I was younger. But just try to relax, OK? She won't hurt you, I promise.:
Kira tried to obey, concentrating fiercely on the lesson. At the end, to her shock, Herald Wrynne told her, "You learn fast. You'll be fluent in no time."
Kira almost stared at her, just barely stopping herself from being so rude. No one in her Clan would have ever said such a thing!
:We're not exactly like your Clan here,: Layven told her. :Besides, you do learn fast. Especially with my help…:
She couldn't suppress a small mental smile at his joking arrogance. He Sent a mental grin back to her.
"You've got lunch now, and then Weapons. Your year-mates can show you where that is." Herald Wrynne rose and stretched. "And I need some lunch myself. I'll see you tomorrow, Kira."
* * *
At least, Kira thought, Shandi seems as confused as I am. I'm not the only one who's totally lost. They were standing on the edge of the training field, watching the organized chaos going on. There were at least a dozen young people doing warm-ups and clowning around in the small area, waiting for their lessons to begin. Tannor and Kaleb had abandoned the girls as soon as they arrived; as the children of Bards, they had trained on this field for years and knew exactly what they were doing. Shandi and Kira, on the other hand, had no clue.
To make matters worse, Layven wasn't there to help her. Kira hadn't realized how much she'd come to rely on him in the course of the last twenty-four hours. :Rolan says he really has to talk to me,: he had told her uncertainty as lunch ended. :Will you be OK on your own for a mark or so? I can tell him no if you want me to.:
:I'll be fine,: she had assured him, and sensed his relief.
:If you need me, call really loud and I'll hear you,: he'd promised. Suddenly, she was wishing she hadn't been so confident of her abilities to handle this strange new place on her own. But she wasn't going to interrupt whatever important thing he was doing.
At last, an adult came toward them. This woman did not wear the white uniform that all the adults Kira had seen so far sported; instead, she was dressed in grey leather. Kira wondered what that meant.
"So, you're the new Trainees." She made it a flat statement, looking them over. It was much harder to understand Valdemaran without Layven's help, but Kira thought she had the gist of the statement.
"I am Herald-Captain Kerowyn." This meant nothing to Kira, but Shandi gasped, looking slightly frightened. Apparently, this Kerowyn was well-known in Valdemar.
"Calm down, I don't bite," she told Shandi with a brief smile. "Now, they tell me that neither of you have any formal weapons training. Is that correct?"
The girls both nodded.
"All right, then, let's check your reflexes." Without warning, she whirled on Kira, a fist lashing out.
Startled, Kira locked herself in place. What did I do wrong? she wondered briefly, but dismissed the question. She was obviously being punished, and trying to dodge the blow would only get her into more trouble. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact.
Instead of hitting her face, the fist passed by, a hairsbreadth away. Now completely confused, Kira opened her eyes again. The Herald-Captain's face was perplexed and slightly annoyed.
"Why didn't you dodge?" she demanded. "I know you saw that coming."
Kira didn't understand enough of the statement to follow its meaning. She simply stared at Kerowyn. The woman stared back for a moment, then said something, more to Shandi than to Kira, and turned away.
"Are you as confused as I am?" Shandi inquired, looking puzzled. Kira could only nod. She had no idea what was happening.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed Kira's shoulder. In talking to Shandi, Kira realized with a hint of panic, she'd ceased to pay attention to the other kids on the training field. Instinctively, Kira spun and kicked out at her attacker. The grip on her shoulder loosened; Kira threw herself backwards, wrenching free, and rolled out of the way. Coming to her feet, she ran for a tree. Leaping for the lowest branch, she swung herself up and was halfway to the top before she her brain caught up with her muscles and she realized who had grabbed her: Herald-Captain Kerowyn.
Idiot! she told herself in horror. You just attacked the WarLeader. The thought terrified her. She'd never been an obedient child in the Clan's opinion, but she'd never done anything this bad. Undoubtedly, she was in for the worst beating of her life. She began to tremble.
I wish I could just stay up here, she thought, but she knew that she was being absurd. Trying to avoid her rightful punishment, experience had shown her, only made things worse. As it was, she'd probably be unconscious by the end. If she tried to evade her chastisement, she'd have to count herself lucky if she even survived. Slowly she climbed back down the tree and returned to stand before Kerowyn.
"Well, you've obviously had some experience, haven't you?" the Herald-Captain said. "Bullies at home? We'll work on street fighting with you, since you've got some experience, and probably knife work as well."
Kira stared blankly up at the woman. The words didn't make any sense. She wished that Kerowyn would just get it over with. Waiting for a beating was almost as bad as the pain itself. The tremors shaking her body grew more powerful as she remembered what had happened when she had been rude to the Priest, two moons ago. This would be much, much worse. She fought to hold herself still and expressionless.
Suddenly an arm wrapped around her shoulders. "Leave her alone, Herald-Captain!" Shandi ordered. "Can't you see she's upset?"
"What's wrong?" Kerowyn asked sharply.
Layven abruptly came alive in Kira's head. :What happened?: he demanded, worried. :I knew I shouldn't have left! What's the matter?: In an instant, he seemed to acquire a knowledge of the previous events. :Oh, Kira…: His voice was sympathetic, and he Sent her a mental hug that was far more comforting than Shandi's physical one. She relaxed into his mental embrace.
:It's not like that here,: he told her after a moment. :We don't beat Trainees, no matter what. And you were supposed to do that; she wanted to see if you know anything about fighting and how you respond reflexively to an attacker.:
:But…: She couldn't manage to get out more than that single word. There was no way to express, even in Mindspeech, how strange and alien such an idea was. She couldn't get her mind to accept it.
Before Layven could go on, Shandi and Kerowyn had maneuvered Kira's trembling body over to a bench and sat her down. "What's the matter?" Shandi asked, feeling Kira relax slightly. "What happened?"
"I am sorry," she apologized, blushing hotly as she realized that she had totally ruined the beginning of the class. "It is well now."
:Don't lie,: Layven advised, just as the Herald-Captain fixed her with a gimlet glare.
"I know there was something wrong," she told Kira flatly, leaving no room for disagreement. "Now tell us what it was. Would you have gotten in trouble at home for doing that?"
Kira nodded reluctantly. She didn't realize that she was running her fingers along the scar on her cheek until Shandi caught her hand.
"What's that?" she asked. The scar had faded until it was scarcely noticeable against Kira's dark skin. Apparently, Shandi hadn't seen it before.
"That's from a whip," Kerowyn said, her voice harsh, before Kira could frame an appropriate response. "And you nearly lost that eye to it. How did that happen?"
"It was my fault, Herald-Captain. I moved," she admitted, hanging her head in shame.
"You were being whipped, and when you jerked away, it hit your face." Kira couldn't read the Herald-Captain's tone of voice. She simply nodded.
Shandi looked horrified. "Whipping a child… That – that's barbaric!"
Kira was startled into glancing at her, surprised by her reaction. These Valdemarans seemed stranger every minute. How did they punish people here?
:Generally simply by a loss of privileges,: Layven told her. She caught an undercurrent of bitterness against her Clan in his Mindvoice, but he was suppressing it. :Extra work to do, less free time, that sort of thing. We would never beat a Trainee.:
Kira didn't try to think of a reply to that. Her head was already whirling enough. Instead she snuck a glance at the Herald-Captain.
Kerowyn was rubbing her temples. "Why me?" she wondered under her breath. She opened her eyes and faced Kira. "Look, I know many of our customs are unfamiliar to you, but trust me on this. You will never be punished for doing what I tell you to do, even if that's sparring with me. On this field, if someone attacks you, your goal is to defend yourself, and you will not get in trouble for it. And no matter what, we do not whip people here. Can you accept that?"
"Yes, Herald-Captain," Kira responded obediently. She did her best to hide her confusion. If the Herald-Captain wanted her to believe that, then she would try to do so. Resolutely, she put everything else out of her mind.
For a moment, it looked as though Kerowyn was going to say something else, but she stood up and moved back into the open. "All right, then, let's get started."
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A/N: Yay, that's pretty much the end of the boring description-of-the-Collegium chapters. Next chapter things get interesting again. Hee hee hee. Why do I love torturing my characters so much? I'm not sure, but you can all wait and see what bad things I can heap upon Kira next. Poor kid. I hope to put up Chapter Seven within the next week. If I don't feel, free to send me evil threatening e-mails.
And I decided to do Review Responses. Just because other people do them and I don't. So I'll start at the most recent and work backwards.
Dephanie: Thanks for all of the reviews! I'm working on yours, I promise! I especially appreciate the advice on describing people. I tried to do that better in this chapter, but I don't have all of the books handy, so I can't describe Shandi or Cap'n Kero. If anyone has Owlsight and wants to tell me how Misty described them, I'd appreciate it! Thank you so much for all of the compliments. I'm working on developing my skill in writing humor; that's something I really admire in your work. Hopefully now that I'm done with this chapter, which I don't like too much, the next few will go up faster!
aeslynn: Thanks for the compliment! I do plan to continue; I just get unmotivated periodically. As I mentioned above, threats and nagging tend to get me moving again. But the next few should go up fast.
Yami Bite Yumi Me Chan: Thanks! I love reviews; they tell me that people are actually reading it.
OCEANMATE: Here it is, at long last! I swear the next ones will be faster! Sorry for the delay!
wizard116: Thanks, I plan to! And more quickly in the future!
Queen's Own: Yay for you! You were the first to realize who Layven was (discounting Dephanie, who knew from the beginning because I told her). Congratulations! And thanks!
Hawk Sister: I've never read anything by Jean Auel, but now I want to. This story reminds me of Talia, too, but I'm trying to avoid that as much as possible. Her Clan lives in the middle of a nearly impassable mountain range; very few people bother going in there. As far as I can tell, they were a Northern barbarian Clan that wandered down a very long time ago, and their ideas just got weirder as they lived in isolation. They're an interesting bunch, that's for certain. I'm just glad Kira got out of there.
Kathleen McCrory: Thank you! I do plan to continue, even if you couldn't tell because of the delay. The next chapter should be up within a week, though
Terryie: Since Kira didn't know his name, I didn't tell the readers either. It was logical in my mind, but I'm going to reread it and see whether I want to introduce his name earlier, or leave it for a while.
Yay for all of my reviewers! *hands out microwave popcorn* Please come again!
