It was the first time Onya had seen a nervous Kassy.
For some reason, she found it very amusing. She would never admit it, of course, but she couldn't help it; the sight of Kassy nervously wringing her hands, her slate under her arm, was just absurd. She had stood up to the greatest warriors of Heda, insulting their 'Big-ass forehead'. Yet she now seemed buzzing with nervousness at the thought of facing a bunch of children.
"What if they don't like me?"
They were crossing the streets of Polis, heading for the training grounds of the Natblidas. Onya rolled her eyes.
"They won't be the first."
"No, but like, seriously, what if they absolutely hate me and they don't listen to me and everytime I try to speak, they laugh at me?"
Onya gave her a questioning look.
"Has this happened before?"
"No…"
"Then, what are you whining about?" Onya sighed, rolling her eyes.
"But what if?! What if it happens, Anya?!"
Onya paused, wondering what was happening to her. Yet she dreamed of getting back to teaching.
"What if Azegeda attacks, what if Leksa dies? What if the world ends again? What if an annoying and reckless white girl falls from the sky, uh?"
Kassy seemed to think, then rolled her eyes. Onya preferred not to notice her insolence.
"Yeah, okay, I see your point."
She sighed, rubbing her face as if to drive away her anguish.
"Look," Onya interjected, grabbing her wrists to pull her hands away from her face. "I know the Natblidas. They might be fierce and strong, but Leksa taught them to be kind and to love their people. They won't hurt you."
"I know."
Of course she did. Onya knew she wasn't afraid of the Natblidas per say: she was afraid they would remind her of her daughter.
Finally, they crossed the hill beaten by the wind and arrived in the small valley protected from the coolness of late autumn. The children pranced about everywhere, brought together by a group of warriors on a small meadow surrounded by trees. Some were quietly sitting in the grass, others were trotting in the clearing.
Onya stalked down the side of the hill, grabbing Natshana's arm as she slid down the grass. The Natblidas stopped their conversations when they saw them coming, staring at them with wide eyes.
"Natblidas!" Onya announced, catching the attention of the few children who hadn't seen them coming.
The Natblidas were a good dozen, ranging from Aden, the oldest, who was twelve years old, to Nova, who was three. Vega was still with a nanny until he was old enough to walk. They immediately regrouped in the center of the clearing, some hiding behind the others. Onya almost smiled when she saw that her authority was still respected.
"This is you new teacher, Kassy." — The woman waved— "She will teach you things about her people, about Skaikru."
A dozen pairs of eyes locked on Kassy, who gave them an uncertain smile.
"Hakom ste em hogeda bounkola?" Asked a boy, Toni, looking Natshana up and down.
Onya was about to answer when Kassy interrupted her, taking the lead.
"Ai don set bilaik disha," she said in their language, not a bit bothered.
A whisper ran through the group of Nablidas, who were watching Natshana as if she were some mystical creature they had never met. Obviously, they didn't expect her to understand their language. For some reason, Onya felt a pang of pride settle in her chest.
"Why were you born like this? Are you really the Moon's Daughter?" Aden asked.
Kassy raised an appreciative eyebrow. Aden had already started learning the language of the warriors several years ago, and, despite a bad accent and broken words, he was doing better than the other Natblidas.
"No," Kassy replied, shaking her head. "My body just doesn't have any color. It's a thing called albinism."
"Al… Albi… Alibisnm," Nova attempted.
Kasy smiled.
"You're almost there, little one."
"Are you Wormana's wife?"
Onya nearly choked, giving an offended look to Toni, who didn't seem to understand why Wormana seemed to want to murder her. Still, Natshana didn't seem bothered and gave the young boy a smile.
"Nah. She wishes I was, though, but I'm too pretty for her."
The Natblidas burst out laughing, as if they didn't believe a word of it. In a second, Kassy had managed to turn the situation to her advantage, making the children laugh and relaxing at her presence. Onya rolled her eyes at Natshana's mockery but, to her surprise, Natshanagada gave her a smile. And she winked.
Onya almost shocked on her own breath.
"Come on," Kassy announced as she stepped into the clearing. "We're gonna play a game. Osir laik na plei raun pleiplei."
The Natblidas followed her like a litter of chicks following their mother, Onya stayed behind.
"It's called the 'name game'. You're going to tell me your name, and I'm going to try to guess what it would sound like in Skaikru's accent. Who wants to start?"
A wave of hands rose in the air, accompanied by shouts; 'Me, me!'.
Deciding that Kassy could do just fine without her, Onya turned on her heels and set off in search of Tris.
When Onya returned in the late afternoon, Tris trotting behind her, the clearing was filled with cries of amusement.
The children were divided into two lines, facing each other, Kassy's scarf between them. Aden was stationed next to Kassy, who was overseeing the merry bustle, a smile on her face. As soon as she saw Onya, she gave her a smile and a wave.
"Hey, bestie!"
Onya didn't even notice the stupid nickname as she approached, Tris hot on her heels. The Natblidas were heckling on their lines, pushing each other, smiles on their lips and cheeks rosy from running.
"What are you doing?" Onya asked.
"I'm teaching them numbers, wanna see?"
She leaned down to look at Tris.
"Tris, wanna play? They're an uneven number, but if you play, Aden can play too."
Tris cast a longing look at the children, then turned to Onya, her face grave, as if to ask her permission. Onya hesitated.
"Go. I'll allow it just this once."
"Great!" Kassy immediately exclaimed. "Aden, you're on the left side, Tris, you're on the right."
The two children hastened to join the two sides that Kassy had designated for them, mingling with Natblidas' merry uproar.
"What exactly are you doing?"
"You'll see," Kassy said before clearing her throat and shouting loudly, "Soldiers! We have two new players with us! You know the rules, each of you chooses a number between one and… seven. Don't forget it!"
The children hastened to confer, each choosing a number, the older ones helping the younger ones. Kassy let them do it for a couple of minutes, hands behind their backs.
"Are you ready?"
The children lined up again, Onya met the confused gaze of Tris who had been explained the rules. Kassy leaned towards Onya.
"Choose a number between one and seven," she whispered.
Onya shrugged.
"Four," she replied, quietly.
"A'ight."
There was silence, the children were restless on the spot, waiting for Kassy's instructions.
"I call… Number four!"
Immediately, two children began to run, on each side of the camp, rushing to the scarf placed between them under the encouragement of their friends. The older girl was the first to grab the scarf and immediately turned around, running towards her team as the little boy chased after her. She crossed the line formed by her team and cries of joy were heard.
"Alright, left team wins!"
The left team cheered, the little girl put the scarf back in its place while the little boy returned to his team.
"See? They're learning numbers by remembering theirs. It's a game we used to play when I was little. In French, it's called "a béret", after the French hat, because that's what was used instead of my scarf."
"It's a weird game."
"Wait, you'll see. Alright, choose another number."
"One."
The children lined up again, silent.
"I call…Number one!"
Toni and another boy rushed forward, but both arrived at the level of the scarf at the same time, and each stood on one side, one hand behind their back. None dared to take it first, Kassy explained that if one of them caught it and the other managed to tag them, the point went to the other team.
"Ha, that's a tough one. Choose another number."
"Six?" Suggested Onya.
"I call six in reinforcements!"
Tris and a girl named Angel rushed forward, but Angel ducked between her teammate's legs, grabbed the scarf, and ran off to the screams of both teams. Kassy was screaming with laughter as Tris chased her, and the girl managed to catch up with the other, touching her arm.
"Alright, Tris' team wins! Sorry Angel, that was a good one! You did great!"
Angel returned to place the scarf, each child returning to their team. Despite the fact that they had lost, her team congratulated her, with smiles on their faces, for her magnificent stunt.
"And now," Kassy whispered, leaning towards Onya, "the big show. My favorite card. Watch this."
It had calmed down, Kassy took a deep breath, mouth open, as if thinking about the number to call. The tension was unbearable.
"Salad!"
To Onya's amazement, all the children threw themselves forward in a chorus of cries and laughter, trying to get the scarf first. Eventually, Nova slipped between the players' legs, grabbed the scarf, and Aden lifted her into the air and ran to their team's line.
Everyone was too busy laughing to be disappointed that they had lost.
"Good job, Aden, that was a good one!" Exclaimed Kassy between two bursts of laughter.
Nova was almost choking on her own laugh, sitting on the floor, the scarf in her hands.
And even as Titus arrived and started bawling that this was no way to learn, no one was listening, too busy laughing.
This was the first time Onya had seen the Natblidas acting like children.
Hakom ste em hogeda bounkola: Why is she all white?
Ai don set bilaik disha: I was born like this