Chapter Five
Verdict
"So,
bubble breath," the crashing voice of Uton snarled as he circled
the pair of Sage and Elli, the mimic Bria mirroring his movements as
she usually did so. "Rumour has it, that you are still to be
banished pod for the accident that happened…"
Sage
circled away, refusing to look at the rival eyes, in the fears his
anger, pressuring within him as a geyser of hate building up, erupted
into a volcano of fury and caused a true crime for Sage to suffer
from. Instead, he cast his gaze to the moon, lingering towards the
edge of the world; it's curved face sliding away as light began to
illuminate the conflicting horizon. Mist shielded the heavens,
lingering over the surface and causing Sage to feel depressed and
worried at his choice to accept fate.
The adults had remained far
from the young ones, debating the fate of one of their own for long,
long hours in the darkness. Every so often, one would remove
them-selves from the dispute, to check upon the calves and relay some
news to the worried Sage and Elli. Only Ngau was allowed to the
meeting alongside her mother, for her young age.
"Shove it
Uton!" Elli snapped, her usual sweet songs tainted by her anger and
hate of the cousin of death and deceit. Over the night, Elli had
questioned Sage over and over, to confirm he had made the correct
decision to leave the safety of the pod. "No one wants to hear your
hateful tunes."
"You will accept and listen to whatever the
master of the seas sings. It is an honour he even sings to
insignificant minnows like yourself," Bria laughed, her voice near
identical to that of Uton now. Sage glowered towards her; to him now,
she was nothing but Uton's doppelganger.
"You will not last a
moon out there on your own," chuckled Uton darkly, circling closer
and driving daggers with his cold eyes. "I figure I'll one day
eat you second-hand from the belly of a hungry one…"
At this,
Elli exploded into an epidemic of wordless, raging tones. Chittering,
chattering and squeaking, squawking and clacking jaws, the nonsense
babble of an incensed youngster terrified the larger male, as he
back-finned to her approach, the lust for fatality glinting in her
eyes.
"Stop it! Elli, stop it!" Sage pleaded, getting between
her enraged body and his enemy. The red fury ablaze in Elli's eyes
frightened him, more so than it struck fear into the heart of Uton.
"Please… Elli, stop it… Calm down and…"
"So, the
murderer has feelings for the big baby…" Uton snickered, cutting
Sage off, a smirk crawling across his face, mutating the fear-filled
face into the usual dark master of lies. Bria sided next to Uton,
ready to provide assistance for Uton, if he chose to attack. "Well,
if murder, lying and acting like babies wasn't enough for the two
of you, now we have incest going on…"
Giving a shrill cry of
outrage, Elli broke past Sage as she bolted for Uton, her eyes fury
and rage full. She rammed her head hard into his melon, sending him
reeling back, as Bria back-finned in shock at the sudden advancement.
Giving a shocked cry, Uton looked up to ready him-self…
A swipe
of a single tooth, the fury bottled within powering the one tooth,
tore open the flesh from blowhole, along the length of his body.
Crimson warmth flooded the waters, with Uton giving a shocked gasp.
The wound was far from lethal, but the thought of being struck
surprised Uton, to the degree he began to cringe, his flukes and
pectorals drooping as his eyes flashed fear.
Chattering in her
infuriated gibberish, Elli rounded to attack again, clacking her
jaws. Before she could launch another assault, another moved first.
Elli rocked and wheezed as she felt the air forced from her lungs,
and she wheeled around to face her attacker…
"Stop it! Just
stop it Elli!" Sage snarled, baring his teeth, with a determined
look to his eyes. He had charged Elli, causing her rage to be
suddenly flushed with confusion. "Enough blood has been spilt on
his account. Don't spill anymore for him…"
Elli blinked in
confusion, before tilting her eyes to the cowering Uton and
frightened Bria. The scar torn by her own teeth glinted in the rising
sunlight, the yellow shining through the crimson. Uton's fear
melted into hate, as he barked, "You'll pay for this!" as he
and Bria turned, hurrying off in the distance. Elli back-finned in
fear, her eyes and song trembling, afraid at what she'd just
done.
Bursting into tears, Elli buried her-self into Sage, weeping
her tears to him. "What have I done?" she sobbed as she nuzzled
Sage, wiping her tears to his bulk. Surprised at first, Sage mellowed
to her actions, allowing her to comfort her-self with him. "I'm
just like him… I became just like that monster…"
"No…
You are nothing like him…" Sage reassured her, back-finning away.
He gazed to his playmate and cousin, seeing the fear in her eyes.
"Never sing of that Elli. You will never be Uton, as he will never
be anyone but him-self…"
Before either Elli or Sage could add
more, a call flew across the waters. A call of summoning to Sage, his
fate having been ultimately determined. A sense of dread flooded the
waters, the sorrow been forgotten. With so many emotions flooding
through him, Sage was unsure of what to do, but his body seemed to
own a separate determination, as it carried him to the adult
orca.
Before Sage's confusion registered his location, he was in
the centre of the assembly, all adults staring around him, watching
with sorrow, wonder, fear and some even stared on, void of all
emotion. It was Kiera who addressed the assembly.
"Sage, you
have been condemned with the guilt of unintentionally causing the
death of one of our pod, your fellow calf, Aris. Death by accident is
not a serious offence, but it does come with penalties. This is your
last chance to admit any guilt that you have hidden from us… Use it
well, before we pass sentence…"
Sage glanced about the members
of the assembly. His mother Keeki stared with her eyes, wanting Sage
to stay, but accepting that he must leave. Nibiu looked on in sorrow,
the loss of her child still fresh and haunting in her eyes. Gol
looked on in determination, ordering Sage to follow the words he'd
spoke of beforehand. Okura and Kiera watched, their faces devoid of
feeling. And Elli, who'd joined the assembly uninvited, watched,
the most sorrowful face in the entire assembly.
Blowing in a sigh
his eyes and heart breaking, "I have nothing else to say, that I
have not already spoke of…" He glanced about, hearing the
whispering songs of the pod, as they debated the answer provided by
Sage. Keeki's body seemed to sag, as did that of Elli. A sparkle of
triumphant glittered the eyes of Gol, with the honour towards Sage
radiating from him.
Okura sat for several moments, eyes closed.
Finally after many moments of silence, he opened his eyes, and spoke,
"We understand Sage. The punishment of killing a pod member, by
accident, is to follow the pod as a humiliated member for as long as
it is thought required. However, such a sentence to a calf forever
scars the young mind, and we have debated a new punishment…
"Sage,
you will leave the pod for one year. You can ask the aid of other
pods, unlike total banishment prevents, for you are not banished for
good. To one year from now, you may return and be welcomed back into
the pod, but until then, you will be ignored by all…" Okura blew
in a sighing fashion. Sage was one of his closest relatives, and he
had to send him away. "Your punishment begins from now… Members
may sing their final songs to Sage if they choose… This assembly is
over."
Slowly, the conclave of orca broke apart, members
floating away. Watching as they slunk away, Sage sensed the tension
in the waters, many wanting his leaving to not be, but accepting it
as so. Few passed by him, granting luck and singing songs of
demanding safe return. Even Nibiu approached Sage, stating, "Aris
was a close friend to you. I know you will honour his memory, and
make him proud. Please return Sage, for it is better to lose one, and
spare another, than both to perish."
"I shall try to the best
I may," Sage nodded, his heart pounding in protest.
After
several long moments, only five were left. Okura and Kiera approached
Sage, the pod-masters who gazed down in longing and hope. "Your
song is loved by all Sage," Kiera commended, her notes sweet and
concerning, as she watched with great interest. "Share your song
with all, and allow it to grow from exposure to songs of
other."
Okura watched for a moment, before adding, his face
flat, "There is an orca pod near the warmer waters, near the land
masses of the west. The pod-master is known as Wind, and he is a
close friend of mine. Any problems, seek him out, and mention my
name. He will aid you to no ends." His eyes suddenly lit up, "Good
luck Sage… I know you are more than capable of surviving…"
"Thank
you," Sage smiled. He couldn't believe the pod-masters were
helping him. "Thank you for your help. I will use it…"
As
the pod-masters took their leave, Gol approached. Nodding he simply
said, "Here is your chance now Sage… Use it wisely, and the role
of song-master shall be yours as soon as you return." Then, the
elder song-master took his leave.
Sage noticed his mother floating
off, seemingly in her own little world. He approached her, but was
cut off by Elli, who was near tears at what Sage had agreed to.
"Sage…" she sobbed, near uncontrollably. "I know that we are
cousins… But you must return… You must, Sage… I… I…"
As
Sage watched her struggle, he understood what she was going through.
The inner conflict to release her true feelings to him, although they
seemed wrong to her, raged within her. "I love you too Elli. I love
you more than simply between cousins… You are like a sister to me…"
he nuzzled his face to her, embracing her in the way he had only ever
done before with his mother. "I promise Elli… I will
return…"
Sniffing slightly, she nodded. "I know you will…"
Nuzzling her playmate back, she smiled, "You are the greatest
singer of the pod Sage. My songs may have the power of sound, but
they lack the motivation and passion that you sing with. Your songs
will echo throughout the seas one day… I just know they
will."
Smiling, Sage broke from the embrace, whistling a
farewell, and then Sage approached his troubled pregnant mother,
Keeki. She floated, anxious, her mind swimming in a storm of turmoil.
"Mother?" Sage asked as he drew near. "May I ask some song from
you, so that I carry you in my heart as I travel?"
Turning,
Keeki watched with upset eyes. "You will not see the birth of your
sibling, nor will you hear the moment it sings its song for the first
time," she turned her tear filled eyes away, closing them. "I
have never lost a calf to these traditions before as you are my
firstborn, but I am proud that you are to do such a undertaking of
honour. Your song will grow, as will you. Whence you return, you will
no longer be the Sage that left, but no matter what… I will always
love you my son…
"Take this song, and sing it in times of
uncertainty, and it will aid in the healing of your pain," Keeki
turned, brushing her bulk lovingly against her child, knowing it may
be the last time she would for a long time. "Life carries on,
just like the tides, a mother holds her children's gaze for a
while, but forever, their hearts… I will not stop singing of
you, nor will I stop loving you. No matter how long gone fro my sight
and song you are, I will always hold a place for you in my
heart…"
Tears in his eyes, as he buried his head into her
stomach, where the life of his brother or sister grew, he felt an odd
comfort. Sighing, he pulled away. "I promise mother, I will come
back as soon as the year is over, and I will bring songs of pods
across the world, to marvel and awe upon. It will be my gift to
you…"
"The greatest gift my Sage," Keeki smiled, as she
gently bumped his nose. "Is to see you return, happy and fulfilled.
Simply seeing you happy, is the greatest gift I could ever receive…"
Glazing over, her eyes ventured out to sea. "It is time my son… I
will await your return…"
"As I will await to see and hear
your song again," Sage nodded, before his eyes turned to face the
open blue, southwards to warmer waters. The mists had faded, the sun
was high, while the moon was dead and the waters glistened with the
dawning of a new day…
And the beginning of a new life, as Sage
pushed his way out of the pod, hailed by the farewell songs of Keeki,
Elli and Gol, with more voices joining into a magnificent chorus of
tidings of goodbye, good luck and wishes of return.