Chapter 16: Understanding
Chapter 16: Understanding
Renno departs the workshop into the alley for The Table. The breeze causes Renno only some discomfort shielded from the worst of it by the tall buildings close on either side. Once he reaches the main street the situation changes drastically. Sheets of powderized snow and ice torn free from rooftops blast him in the face. He raises his arm to shield himself from the cold. His eyes squinting he stumbles his way down the street. His Anoran clothing, meant for the indoors even by their standard is not nearly enough to keep the wind from penetrating his fur. Trying to shield himself he mistakenly walks right into a Rohean woman with her child.
The woman pulls the child close to her and takes a step back. She lets out a disapproving. "Hmph" as she shields the young one from Renno. Over her mother's forearm, the child smiles at him staring intently with fascination.
Arriving at The Table Renno recalls the scene he made last time. He pauses at the corner of the building. However, the dark narrow alley leading around it seems particularly uninviting. He takes a moment to look feeling shame that he is expected to walk around back.
At the front door, a young Anoran woman hangs new lanterns replacing the old dim ones low on fuel. She notices his presence and turns to him. "It's you." she says.
It takes Renno a moment to realize she is talking to him.
"Come on, this way. Don't bother going around." She waves him to her.
Much taller than Kyra the woman is dressed more like the children with a long sleeved shirt, a hood, and long pants. Although in this weather most of the Anorans Renno did manage to see through his squinting eyes were much more dressed than before. I guess they aren't totally immune to the cold after all. He thinks to himself as he approaches her.
She puts her paw. The gesture catches Renno off guard. Cautiously he accepts taking hold.
In the warm glow of the lantern lit room there is hardly a spot left for any stray Anoran to occupy anywhere if they hope to be seated. This time they pay him much less attention. Many look, but the fact he is being led seems to dissuade them from making a scene.
This time a band of musicians occupy the small raised platform under the staircase. The band is comprised of four members. The most ordinary is a male Ieza playing a stringed harp-like instrument. Paws and claws work in unison to make a wide variety of sounds. Beside him, another Ieza Anoran plays a much smaller stringed instrument, a sort of Lyre.
Renno hardly takes notice of these two members his attention drawn to the singer. Counting her long slender ears she is barely taller than Kyra. A female Thono sings in a soft but high pitched tone. The words of the song come across to Renno in the Thono's native language, untranslated. The syllables are soft and flow smoothly from one to the other. Though he can't understand a word he is left with a serene feeling. The composition of melodies having a grand sweeping trend to them but are punctuated by short punchy accents from the lyre allowing the song to still have a homely folk like sound to it. The language is nothing like the much more rough and guttural language spoken by Kyra when he first met her.
A Thono? Here? At The Table? After his experience last time this wouldn't have even made the list of things he would not expect to see being omitted for being too implausible. Beyond her, in the back, the fourth member of the ensemble nearly escaped Renno's sight. This band member was different. Smaller than Renno the final member, a drummer, playing a wooden drum with slats cut in it to make a variety of tones when struck. This member of the ensemble was a new species to him altogether. They had a pointed nose, long white whiskers, round thin ears with little fur, and a narrow fur-less whip-like tail. The tail, in particular, being put to good use tapping the floor to keep time with the other band members.
Renno caught frozen in his tracks feels a tug from his host.
Once past the stage, the young woman leading him calls out. "Mother that Notol you called for his here."
Keeta leans out from the doorway to the kitchen. She waves the pair over to her. Once in the kitchen, Keeta corrects her daughter in her familiar kind tone. "Thank you, dear. He's not a Notol. Please tend to the guests in the dining hall, we have much to discuss."
The woman nods and departs the kitchen closing the door behind her.
Renno looks around the kitchen, unlike Brown Harth, there are few Anorans staffing the kitchen, only about three or four by his count. Most of them tend to large steaming pots of stew. Each of them stirring and pouring bowls when called upon by the bartender through a small window.
Keeta invites him to sit a small table for two out of the way around the corner in a secluded area. "So, you made it all the way here. I expected Kyra would have brought you in."
"No mam." He nods his head to her. "Kyra never came back from her bath."
"Don't be so formal. Come, talk to me. Tell me about yourself." She sits sideways in her chair her back to the wall and the table to her right. She leans closer to him with her legs crossed completely and totally relaxed.
Renno looks around the room and hunches forward to speak candidly across the table at her. "I um, I lost my memory. I told everyone my name is Renno, but-"
Keeta chuckles and turns to face him. She picks his paw up off the table. "Renno, there is nothing to be afraid of. Just talk. I don't bite I promise."
A brief moment of terror passes over Renno as he recalls the conversations with Tharen on the topic of food causing him to recoil pulling his paw out of her hands.
Keeta smiles at him and returns her arms to her side of the table, resting her head on her paw. "I don't mean anything by it. Just an expression."
Renno finds her demeanor disarming. "Okay, sorry. As I was saying. I don't even know if Renno is my real name. It just felt right. That's all I really know."
"Really now? Kyra has told you nothing in all this time?" Keeta's skepticism is targeted at Renno rather than Kyra.
"That's not what I mean. Kyra told me pieces but I don't have a complete understanding of my situation. She told me I'm in a place called Attria. Tharen told me about the bracelets and about..." His eyes dart about the kitchen and his ears pivot towards the cooks. "You know, about the food."
She leans forward ignoring the implication of his last statement. "Then tell me. If you know all that what is it exactly you want to know?"
"Well, you don't know what I am, do you?"
"No."
"And so I suppose you don't know where I'm from?"
"No."
"And I don't suppose there's a known cure for memory loss?"
"There isn't." Keeta remains upbeat yet brutally honest. It is not her intent do disappoint Renno but little can be done to avoid it in these matters.
"Then I suppose," I suppose I didn't think what to ask before coming here. Why did I let my self believe it was going to be so easy. That I would simply, walk into the front door and just move on with my life. "Then I suppose Kyra was right."
The confusion is genuine. "Really? About what."
"That I would be stuck here for the winter."
Keeta finds this satisfying, in large part due to Kyra making an astute observation rather than encouraging Renno into a dangerous journey.
"I need to understand how to survive."
The lack of context catches Keeta off guard. "In the wild?"
Renno can't help but let out all of his concerns in a disorganized fray of thoughts as they come to him. "Tell me. What is this place? I mean really. What is going on here? Why does everyone hate me so much? Why is Minetz living in an enormous workshop? Why do you have Thono on your stage? Why aren't you more worried about Rozen? Why won't Kyra let anyone help her? What happened to her parents? What happened to Minetz's parents? What is the whole story behind you and Anora? I need to understand!"
Keeta grabs hold of his paws with both of hers. "Just calm down. I'll explain everything as best I can. Just, one question at a time."
He freezes. "Okay."
"Good, 'Where are you?' let's start with that?"
Renno nods.
"This is the Anoran territory. We don't define our nation by any official title. Our land has remained largely uncontested. Very few other species could live here even if they wanted to. Outside our territory, others call us 'Aht-'," She struggles for a moment to get the words out in a way they would remain untranslated. 'Aht'rha Torin Ve' or Cats of White and Black Markings. Sometimes they simply refer to the region 'South Attria'. We consider all Ieza, Rohean, and Airet, to be 'Anoran' and all the territory occupied by each tribe to be under our collective protection.
Renno cautiously interrupts her. "Kyra told me most of this."
"Yes, perhaps, but I want to make sure you understand completely. You want to travel away in the spring don't you?"
Renno nods.
Keeta traces out on the table a basic triangular shape lightly scratching the rough surface with her claw leaving a thin outline. "Our most defined border is the White Forest far north of here. There we border the Tanoi. Slightly west of that is the tribe lands, and the rest is ocean. It's a fairly large peninsula, with the west and south covered by nearly impassable mountains."
Renno mutters. "Tanoi."
"Yes, the Tanoi also occupied much of our territory south of the forest in ancient times. Some still live in the area to this day, actually, it might surprise you to learn even more have been moving into the area since the war. It's believed over the years the different species have been retreating into smaller and smaller territories leaving large portions of the continent to the scattered uncivilized tribes too suborn to see the way the world is going." He taps her finger on the map to the northwest. "The wildlands."
"I thought you said the Anoran territory was uncontested?"
"It is." she states confidently.
"Then what about the war you mentioned?"
A distant cheer rises from the dining hall as one song ends and another begins.
"Well you see, the war was never over territory. By now you know, I assume, that the Tanoi are more than just our neighbors. They are our food."
Renno firmly slaps his paw down against the table top. "But why?"
"Why? We can't survive without them, without meat. We can eat plants for a while, but eventually, we get sick. I couldn't tell you why the watchers made us in this way. We are not alone either. The Bhanta, Ahttan, and Torine all eat meat as well. The Tanoi, and others like them such as the Thono, Notol, and Leah say it's because we enraged the watchers and they cursed us. That we were the first to murder and this is our punishment."
Renno shakes his head. "Is it true?"
She rolls her eyes and falls back in her chair. "By Miran don't ask me. I couldn't tell you if any of it's true. Miran's teachings say nothing of a curse. It's a myth as far as I'm concerned."
A moment of silence befalls them as Renno collects his thoughts. The mirth and music of the dining hall a soft murmur emanating through the building. The warm damp atmosphere of the kitchen, that soft homely feeling you get wrapped in the smells of an old wooden structure envelops him. "You never did explain the war."
"Well yes, the war... As you can imagine the Tanoi do not particularly like being eaten. They decided under the 'Burned King' that they would be better off without us. We were a young nation then, we are still a young nation. So they tried to rid themselves of us."
Renno shuffles around uneasily in his chair. "I..." What can I say really? I can understand why the Tanoi would feel that way, but I can't believe they would go to such lengths. "So what happened?"
"What happened? War happened." The warm expression Keeta normal exhibits now vacant from her face. "We were totally unprepared, we didn't even have a formal army yet. We are natural hunters the idea of being invaded by the Tanoi was simply not considered a possibility. The tribes had been living in peace for at least a generation at that point."
She turns her paw upward and curls her claws exposing them. "But war, on the scale of the kind the Burned King brought to us, was something we never experienced before. Sure, the tribes fought among each other before but the Tanoi- You have to understand they outnumber us in population ten to one, possibly a hundred to one or more even. Their territory is vast and stretches all the way north to the great divide."
She closes her eyes. "Aht'Regania was the capital in those times. The Tanoi marched across the white forest south into our territory. They did take heavy losses especially at first. One on one they are no match for us. We are superior in this way to them. We have the teeth, the claws, the agility, and the mental fortitude for violence. But in terms of sheer numbers, they outmatched us."
Keeta looks away from Renno towards the back door to the alley. It seems as if she could peer right through it out into the city. She sits and stares thinking back on her life. "They reached Aht'Regania in early winter. You have seen the buildings around town have you not?"
"Yes?" Renno sounding meek unsure her aim feeling somewhat intimidated. Worried that he has hit a nerve and asked a question she is uncomfortable answering.
"The city was built at the dawn of the nation, which was just a little over a century ago. We have learned to build stronger and large structures from cut stone since then. Everything you see that is cut angled stone is rebuilt from the damage left by the siege."
Renno thinks back to his first night in the town. The realization of just how much damage, nearly every building having some amount of restoration done to it begins to sink in. The entire top of the wall. Nearly everything was touched in some way. Something about her story has gripped him. For now, the questions about his past can wait. He feels he must know more. Perhaps it is that he has never heard a war story before, at least none he can remember. He clears his through and presses onward despite his fears. "Yet your people survived?"
"We did. The wall limited the Tanoi to fight at the gates. There the numbers could be controlled. I wish it could be said the walls were built to protect us, but originally that was not the point. They were built as a windbreak, to protect the town from storms. You saw what the weather was like out there. Regardless, they served the purpose and when it became clear to the Tanoi their actions only served to feed the city they retreated. The built catapults and began to bombard us. In those days there was no defensive position on top of the wall. We had no way to fight back. At night men would form raiding parties and assault the camps in the hope to bring home food. They were often unsuccessful. The Tanoi fortified the gate on the outside. Other times the men would climb over the wall but couldn't manage to get back in with bodies before being caught and slaughtered. Many people began to starve to death."
She pauses to take a deep breath and collect herself, her voice strained and cracking. "But then the winter wind and storms started late into the siege. The Tanoi began to freeze to death. Once it was clear they were weakened the citizens took arms and killed them. Killed them by the tens of thousands. I wish I could say, it was because we were stronger. That we fought with honor against immeasurable odds. But no, most of the Tanoi left alive were too weak to fight. Many tried to surrender, but after everything that lead up to this point.
She wipes a tear from her fur before she continues. "As we broke the blockade it became clear the Airet had brought their own army from 'Coast of Gails'. They joined in the assault. As I said before, few species are made for the cold as we are. The Tanoi are not designed to travel quickly in the snow. We do not farm the lands as they do, they were low on food, shelter, everything. Meanwhile, our militias grew stronger every day feeding on the slain. To this day if you walk into the meadows in the summer you can find evidence of the bloodshed. The bodies were collected for food, but their tools, their weapons, and armor were all left behind. Their High Seer had failed them. Lead them to their deaths, and after what they set out to accomplish. There would be no quarter given by the Anorans who fought back. Then, as now, I can only have pity for the Tanoi."
Renno now beside himself makes the connection in his head. "You lived through it didn't you?"
"Yes, I was 15 at the time, Kyra's age forty years ago. I lived here in the city. I have my entire life."
"What happened after that?"
Keeta now more collected speaks with more confidence. "Well, we rebuilt the city the Tanoi High Seer known now as 'The Burned King' was caught and put to trial. After his execution, Kiana and his son Gethon reached a peace treaty."
Renno speaks up. "I don't mean to be rude. But I have to know. How could there ever truly be peace if you have to eat them to survive?"
"The terms of the peace, put simply, stated that hunting of the Tanoi would be outlawed, so long as the Tanoi provide us with enough meat to survive. They can meet this demand by whatever means they choose to provide it. As to the rest of your question about what happened after the war. There was a time of peace and rebuilding until Kiana died. Meidah took over as Arbitor and moved the capital north."
Keeta pauses tapping her claws on the table contemplating the events of the past. "Then the plague hit. The city never really recovered after that. Everyone either died or left for the new capital. That's how your little friend Minetz ended up where he is now. There is nowhere else for him to stay. There is no need for that old building. Anyone who wants a space for engineering has many other better options."
"How did Minetz end up all alone?" Renno asks.
Keeta gives him a blunt answer. "His parents were traders from the far west. They were hunted and killed. Illegally might I add."
"Illegally?"
Keeta looks directly at Renno. Her expression tells him the next part is to be taken quite seriously. "Yes, even when hunting was legal, and for the Thono it still is, there are still rules. Never take an only child. Never take both parents. Do not overburden a single village. Do not attack merchants, traders, bards, diplomats, and other travelers abroad for business or political purposes."
In a rare moment of clarity Renno grasps the purpose. "I guess it doesn't pay to eat the people who want to trade with you."
Keeta smiles warmly. "I'm glad you understand. I was afraid you wouldn't."
Renno scratches at the table nervously. "What do you mean by that."
At first, Keeta seems to ignore him and asks. "I hope you don't mind but I have taken the opportunity to have some vegetable soup made."
"So, you know." Renno answers nervously.
Satisfied her point has been made she still clarifies. "Tharen told me."
"Right," he sighs "Tharen."
"Renno, I'm not going to pretend you should just accept the way we are. The way the watchers or nature made us, whatever you choose to believe or not is fine. But do at least try to understand. We don't get a choice in the matter. Is it wrong we must sentence others to die so that we may live? Perhaps, but is the answer really to sentence us to die for something we have no control over?"
Renno strains to come up with an answer rapidly tapping his claws on the table he lunges forward but stops finding no words with which to express a satisfactory argument. On the surface, it seems so clear, without the Anorans or other predators so many more would get to live. How many must a single Anoran eat in a lifetime? But then he remembers Kyra, Tharen, Rozen, and the other he has met so far. Those that have been kind to him. Do they deserve to die? _No._Of this much Renno is certain. There must be a better way.
Keeta stops him. "It was a rhetorical question relax. So tell me, what else did you want to know?"
Renno collects himself and settling back into his chair. His expression drains away staring down at the table he speaks softly. "Why does everyone here hate me so much?"
"Oh dear," Keeta reaches across the table and grabs his paws with hers. "I'm sorry it feels like that. I know, it has to be difficult to understand, especially without your memories. The people here, it's not their fault. We are an isolated nation. A young nation. A nation whos contact with the outside has brought us plague and war. After everything, we have lived through... The people here learned one of three things. To fear, to hate, or to empathize with the hunted. Far too many learned the first two."
Unsatisfied with her explanation he brings up his main point of contention for the last few days. "How does that apply to Kyra. She didn't live through the war. Kyra from what I understand saw little of the plague as well. What's her excuse?"
Keeta sighs and leans back into her chair and crosses her arms, her gaze drifts away into the ceiling above. "Kyra deserves a better life than whats written ahead of her. Her honor was effectively stolen from her. I didn't know her parents very well but I understand they were good people. Kyra wants to be accepted. So she looks to the nation, to our customs, to Miran. She puts too much concern on the 'idea' of what an 'Anoran' should be, rather than on what a good person should be. I don't mean to say she isn't a good person, she is. She's a hard worker, and if you ever catch her alone with Minetz you will see her differently. But I'm afraid as her sixteenth birthday closes in..." her words trail off and she takes a moment to collect her thoughts. "After my own daughters, I really thought I could help Kyra."
Her sincerity has eaten away at him. Guilt washes over him for having pressed the issue. "You don't think you can help Kyra?"
Keeta shakes her head. "It's out of my hands now, shes at that age where she needs to make up her own mind about who she wants to be."
Renno taps his claws nervously. "Can I ask?"
Keet looks at him. "Ask what?"
"About your daughters?"
For the first time in the conversation, she seems caught off guard. "I suppose I shouldn't have said anything."
"You don't have to talk about them if you don't want to." He fears what tale of heartbreak might lay hidden. Did they die in the plague? He wonders anxiously.
She smiles at him reassuringly. "It's nothing too serious."
Renno hardly hears the words but its enough to snap him back to reality. "Oh, I was worried."
"Don't be I have made my choices and things have gone well enough for us."
Renno being for too timid to push the subject sits silently hoping for at least a brief distraction. His mind clouded both by his hunger and by his new found knowledge. Keeta, unwilling to oblige this unspoken request and sits quietly across from him. Distant applause saturates the silence.
Keeta raises her head and looks around the table towards the dining hall as if she could peer through the kitchen wall. "It would seem the performance has ended."
Renno leaps at the opportunity to move to a lighter subject. "So tell me, why do you have a Thono here? After everything I have heard and experienced so far this is the last place I would have expected to see something like that."
"The Thono are known for their singing voices. They often travel the world as bards."
Renno says jokingly. "Kyra had me taken to this underground chamber where I swear I was nearly drowned. Ever since I could understand everything. Why couldn't I understand the singer on the stage?"
Keeta smiles and leans on the table casually. "The language a song is written in is considered important. The best bards are never treated at the wells. Because of this most Thono are not exposed to it until a much older age. Minetz, as you might then imagine is a rare exception. Once it became clear he was stranded here I arranged to have him exposed. It was, difficult."
His ears perk up. "Difficult?"
"The decision to expose him, and convincing that miserable old bastard to let him in."
Renno stifles a laugh seeing Keeta break her polite demeanor so abruptly. "You know that reminds me, do people really fear you. Earlier when you were at the workshop you made it sound like you were important. You even said you knew the Arbitor."
Keeta holds her paw up in the dim light and looks at her bracelet. "My family used to hold the position of Ieza Cheiften. Even when we are not in power we have always held positions of significance. When my father died he upset my family and left the majority of his wealth to me. My brothers were furious. I have done little to change that. They invested in the capital while I invested in the rebuilding of Aht'Regania. They have put money into the palace and guard while I have put my money into the people. Giving them food and shelter and keeping my doors open when I can to the poor and honorless. My brothers are loyal only to the tribe. I am loyal to the Anoran people."
She laughs for a moment. "You should have seen their faces when I married Rozen. Don't misunderstand me, I love my husband I do, but even if I didn't it would have been worth it just for the look on their faces." Keeta smiles and nods her head a moment she embraces her self with her arms and leans back in her chair. The unsettling feeling of loneliness washes over her briefly as she acknowledges to her self that Rozen has now been in jail longer than she expected. "I really should look into the situation going on with Rozen."
A meaningful sense of friendship begun to develop between them. Keeta's kind manor doing much to put Renno at ease that it isn't simply a facade of kindness as she has upheld her demeanor and promise to answer all his questions.
Relaxed he asks. "Did Rozen fight in the war?"
Keeta breaks the mood between them. "No, he's not quite old enough for that. His father was killed in the war however, so he left home to work and support his family. They died in the plague."
"Oh I see," I should have known better than to ask again about the war. He looks up at her. She seems unbothered now. Renno on the other hand, can't help but feel guilty. Hearing about others that were not so lucky to survive as he now assumes he has.
Keeta continues talking. "He has our daughters to worry about now. I think he is at peace with that."
Renno can't help but ask for a second time. "You mentioned your daughters earlier."
Keeta takes a more proactive stance on educating Renno. "Ah, yes, that reminds me. It's not something you asked about but you should know about the tribes."
"Kyra told me a great deal about the tribes already, about how they f aught, about how Anora united them." the pieces start to come together for him and he sits forward his eyes wide. "Your family was chieftain? Does that mean they would have been there?"
"Yes, quite correct but that's not what I want to talk about. I wanted to tell you about the 'stained'."
"Stained? What does that mean?"
Keeta waves to the kitchen staff, who up until this point seemed not to be paying them much attention.
One of the staff comes to see to her needs.
Keeta politely asks him. "Please, get my daughter, tell her I would like to see her."
The cook nods and wanders off without saying anything.
Keeta smiles and leans close to Renno, and says in the most collected and kind voice Renno would have the pleasure of hearing since his memory was lost."Please, for your own good, I would like you to eat."
"Okay," he lets out a long drawn out sigh. "I guess it's no use is it."
She reaches across the table and messes with his hair. "Good, I don't need a son to look after as well. You come here any time and I will have something made for you."
Nervously he asks. "And what would you like in return."
"Oh well, I actually hadn't planned on anything. I already make food for Minetz so I thought if I was already going to take the ire of the dining hall for that I would spare anyone else the trouble. But, if you insist, there is someone I owe a favor and it would be quite something to have you pay the debt for me."
Renno looks at her smiling, something tells him she is being a little less honest with him this time. "Well, I don't have any money."
Nonchalantly she leads him into her plan. "You won't need any money, I just need to know how good you are at climbing."
Excited to prove himself he takes the bait. "Climbing is something I feel I can do quite well."
Keeta reaches forward and takes his paw. "Excellent, before watchers light go to the town square. You will see men gathering around one of the smokestacks. Tell them you're there to ice break and that I sent you."
Renno nods in agreement.
Stepping around the corner from the kitchen the young woman Renno had met on the way in makes her presence known. "Yes mother?"
"Ah, Meidah, come here. Say hello to Renno."
She nervously comes closer. "Hello."
Renno looks up at her from the table she's still dressed hood, cloak, long sleeves and all.
"Meidah," Keeta gently grabs hold of her arm. "would you mind showing him."
"Mother!" She recoils pulling her arm away from Keeta.
Her mother insists. "Come now, please, I want him to learn."
Meidah rolls her eyes at her mother but complies with the request. She takes hold of her sleeve and pulls it up exposing her fur. The pattern on it is a mix of spots separated by stripes.
"Thank you dear. Now, if you don't mind go gather the vegetable stew I had made."
Meidah nods.
Keeta takes her paw and holds it to her face and kisses her knuckles. "Thank you dear."
"Yes ma'am." Meidah bows courteously to them and heads off to the kitchen.
Once she leaves Renno asks Keeta. "So that's what it means to be stained?"
Keeta explains to him in a tone bordering on sarcasm. "What it means to be stained is that you have no tribe. No affiliation. You are unable to be relied upon to side with your fellow countrymen."
She frowns and expresses how she truly feels. "It's ignorant. It shouldn't mean anything. We are united as a single Anoran nation. But, you know how it is, the old ways die slowly. Meidah is considerably more self conscious about it than her sister. The customers are always either too curious or rude about it. You know the type, or maybe you don't having lost your memory. Some people just can't be helped and make crude remarks just loud enough to be heard."
"That's awful." Says Renno.
Keeta self satisfied in the defense of her daughter. "Yes, I suppose it is. But that is why I help them anyway. To set an example. To show the people that there is a better way and for the most part, they respect me for it."
"That's why they look at you as a leader?" This is the third time Renno has asked this question.
Keeta looks at him with skepticism sure that shes explained it enough times now. "That, my wealth, my family name, and my friendship with the Arbitor."
Renno is left feeling somewhat embarrassed scratches his head and smiles. "The Arbitor, isn't her name Meidah as well?"
Keeta laughs out loud. "I was waiting for you to realize that. She was so angry. It's normal for us to name our children after the Arbitor or Cheiftans. I don't know if you noticed this yet but her mother was Kiana, I am Keeta, you know Kyra and Kota. It's not a coincidence."
He hadn't noticed. "Heh, I guess your right."
Keeta sighs. "Things have changed so much. I think I mentioned this before but I feel I must explain. Kiana nearly every day would come to the square and feed the birds. She would just sit and talk with anyone who wanted to see her. The children loved her, she would pick us up and tell us wild tales of monsters and great warriors of the past. I remember," she laughs. "this one time in the spring a kid threw a snowball and missed his friend. It hit her right in head. She lost her balance and fell into the fountain pool. He came running over in horror. When he got close to help her up she pulled him in with her. We all jumped in together and played in the warm water."
"The Arbitor. Played in the fountain. With the children?" Renno, skeptical and shocked.
"Yes, she was just another person like anyone else in town. Even the chieftains were little above the common Anoran. Of course, it's not like that anymore."
Meidah returns with the soup.
Renno reluctantly takes his first bite. He tells himself _Behave!_but finds he can't help but relentlessly consume the well cooked meal.
"Don't tell me, 'it's the best soup you have ever eaten.' That would be the starvation speaking, let me know in a week or so when you finally get bored of it." Keeta smiles and enjoys the moment.
Renno nods back at her and continues eating, now more slowly.
Keeta stretches and yawns. The noise from the dining hall has died off quite considerably. "So tell me, any more questions?"
He swallows what's in his mouth and asks. "What happened to your friend's mom? Ki- er, um, the old Arbiter?"
"I-" normally quick to answer she pauses as the question sinks in. "Well, she became I'll and died suddenly." Keeta stares off into the distance. Her words faint, lacking the commitment she had shown earlier.
Renno starts to see a pattern. "Why do I get the impression there's more to that story as well?"
Keeta shakes her head. "That's all I'm going to say on that subject, if you want to know more you will have to ask Meidah herself."
Renno smiles. "Me, ask the Arbiter? Like that's ever going to happen. I suppose it doesn't matter anyway."
Several minutes of quiet pass. They each shared uncomfortable truths with one another and forged a bond. They let the moment live on taking comfort in each others presence and the knowing that there is at least one other person who shares with them some small vulnerable part of their experience. Renno's bowl is empty and the kitchen has wound down to only a single worker cleaning.
Keeta is first to break the silence."Renno?"
"Yes?"
"Do me a favor would you?"
He confidently says. "I know, show up in the square early in the morning."
She leans on her paw and looks away from him. "No, not that. It's about Kyra, just do me a favor and let me know if I need to be concerned."
He nods.
She turns to him. "Good, now get some rest you're going to need it."
End Chapter 16