Chapter 5
2029 Words
Neelu stood beside me and looped my arm around hers, holding it in place with her other hand.
“Feel the Ralahin all around you,” she said. “Around me.”
Ralahin “I feel it.”
“Now, just give in a little to the pull in front of us.”
I felt the Ralahin almost move me, then I felt Neelu go—and I was going with her! It was so fast! At first, the trees were a blur as we went past them. As I got more used to it, I could see everything clearly with the Ralahin. The trees and bushes and rocks. A deer looked up as we passed, but we were gone before it could even see us.
RalahinRalahinAs we went, the Ralahin began to take on more detail for me. I wouldn’t describe it as layers, really, but there was definitely more than just one dimension to it. I saw how it wound through everything, connecting everything. How it was everywhere and going everywhere at the same time. I could feel how Neelu was letting one flow pull us along as the strand extended out further and further ahead of us.
Ralahin We went through valleys and over hills, between trees and around meadows filled with pixie gardens. Then we stopped. It was sudden, but there was no momentum at all. We simply stopped.
“We are close now,” Neelu told me. “We should walk the rest of the way.”
“That was incredible! I didn’t know you could go so far at one time!”
“Most can’t,” she admitted. “I have put more time and study into this. I am able to go faster and further than any other Ulané Jhinura I know.”
Ulané Jhinura“I could feel what you were doing.” I thought for a moment. “I think I could do it, too. With a little practice.”
“Did you notice what I did to stop?”
“No.”
“Until you know how that part is done, you aren’t ready. It’s too dangerous.”
Oh, yeah. Stopping. I could see how that might be important.
We walked for a few minutes and stepped through a break in the trees. I saw the buildings of the Ulané Jhinura village, tucked up against the base of a steep cliff face. Neelu put a hand on my arm to stop me.
Ulané Jhinura “It would be better if you did not mention I am teaching you to use the Ralahin.”
Ralahin“Is that against the rules or something?” I asked her.
She looked uncomfortable. “Nothing so specific, but our way of connecting with the Ralahin is very intimate for us. It is not something we share with outsiders.”
Ralahin “We would be in trouble if anyone found out?”
“Let’s only say, we would be under much greater scrutiny. That’s not always pleasant.”
I made a zipping motion with my hand across my lips. I laughed at Neelu’s quizzical expression. “I won’t say anything,” I explained. “My lips are sealed.”
We approached the first building, and I got a better look at it. Instead of being cut into planks or logs, it was as if fallen branches and trees had somehow been melded together and formed into the structure of a building. It reminded me of driftwood sculptures I had seen. As my eyes traveled up the wall, I could see that many different types of trees had been used. One piece flowed into another with no gaps or seams. In some areas, the bark was still on, giving it a rough and shaggy look. In other areas, the wood was bare and smooth, exposing the colors of the grain. The roof seemed to be covered with branches that were heavy with leaves, but these were also melded together. Probably to make it waterproof. This was very different from the rough hut Neelu had used in the forest.
A shaggy section of wall swung out, and one of the Ulané Jhinura stepped through. She turned left and walked towards another building without noticing us. I looked back at the first building with this new information and saw that the rough patches probably represented doors and windows.
Ulané Jhinura “These are amazing! Is that a house? A cabin? What do you call these? How are they…I mean, how do you—”
“This is another way that we use the Ralahin,” Neelu explained. “The wood is reformed to our need, while still honoring its true nature.”
Ralahin“Will you be teaching me how to do that, too?” I looked at her.
She shook her head. “No. That is outside of our agreement, and much more difficult to do.”
She led me further into town to a building that stood with its shaggy door open. We went in, and I could see it was some kind of shop. There were shelves with different materials and a stock of various household items. There was a counter near the back and an Ulané Jhinura woman looked up from what she was doing. I had wondered if Neelu was short, but she and the woman behind the counter were about the same height. I felt a little awkward towering over them both at five-foot two.
Ulané Jhinura “Neelu’u,” the woman smiled, then her copper eyes turned to me and her face clouded with uncertainty. “What have you brought me today?”
“Hello, Felora.” Neelu approached her. “This is my friend Mira. She has recently arrived and has no wardrobe but what you see on her back.”
“I see,” Felora replied, looking over my pink sweats. Her eyes rose to mine. “And what sort of clothing do you need?”
The question surprised me, and I looked back and forth between the two of them. “I don’t know,” I flustered. “I guess something like what Neelu has?”
Neelu wore tight-fitting leather clothes of dark green and brown. This was in contrast to the work-dress that Felora wore. The dress was light and pretty, but probably not suited to hiking—or flitting—through the forest. Still…
“I think a dress might be nice, too. Is that too much trouble?”
Neelu was nodding. “A dress might not be a bad idea, but Forester gear would be more practical for now.”
“Come this way.” Felora led us into another room, all traces of uncertainty gone. “You are larger than most of my customers. Take those garments off so I can get a good measure of you.”
I stripped down to my underwear and she looked me over closely, walking around me to see from every angle.
“Yes,” she said. “I can do this. Will you be needing footwear as well?”
I looked over her shoulder at Neelu, who nodded.
“Yes, please,” I answered.
“I’ll speak to Gylan. These undergarments look very efficient,” she said, tugging at my sports-b*a and the waistband of my panties. “You will be needing more of these, too, I imagine.”
Embarrassed, I just nodded.
She picked up my sneakers and examined them, then did the same with my sweats. As she lifted them, the knives fell from the pile. Finally, she nodded and I put my clothes back on.
“How soon do you need it?”
Neelu answered for me, “As soon as you can, Felora. She’s been wearing the same thing for days now.”
“Here,” she grabbed a couple of items from the shelf and handed them to me. “You can use these wraps for now. They will be a little shorter on you, but they will work.”
She also grabbed a wide leather belt from a shelf and handed it to me.
“You can tuck your knives into this to carry them easier. Come back the day after tomorrow for the rest. Until then,” she added with a glint of humor in her eye, “maybe some swimming would be in order.”
Neelu went to the shelves and found a cloth pouch, into which she put a hairbrush, what looked like some sort of toothbrush, and a few other items. She handed me the bag and I added the wraps and the belt, along with my knives.
“Put everything on my account,” she told Felora.
“Do I stink?” I asked Neelu, once we were back outside.
“Not too badly.” She smiled.
“That’s…reassuring.”
“Neelu’u.” The voice brought my attention to someone I hadn’t realized was standing there.
“Veeluthun’u,” Neelu answered him. “Looking for Tesia? I didn’t see her, but I’m sure she’s around.”
He seemed to blush, but met her gaze.
“No, I heard you were back. And Mother would like to see you.”
“Well, be sure to send my regrets. I was just back for a moment and I’m off again.”
His violet eyes shifted to the shop we had just left. “Felora is making something for you?”
“For my friend, yes.”
His eyes narrowed as he looked me over.
“Now, brother, I have to go.” She took my arm and started us back in the direction of the forest.
“Very well,” Veeluthun’u called after us. “I will be sure to collect your items from Felora for you so you can pick them up when you come to see Mother on your return.”
Neelu didn’t seem to want to talk as she led me briskly back into the forest. Once we were back under the canopy of leaves, she seemed to relax a little.
“I had wanted to show you a little more of the village,” she said as we walked. “But I thought we’d have more time.”
“That was your brother? What did he want?”
“It’s not what he wants, it’s what my mother wants.”
“Which is?”
She sighed. “She wants me to be a good little princess and stay out of the forest and attend to more official matters.”
“Princess?” I was surprised. “Then your mother…”
“My mother is Astrina Ulané Poloso, queen of the Ulané Jhinura.”
Ulané Jhinura“Of your clan?”
“The Su Lariano clan is the ruling clan for all Ulané Jhinura. And now, my brother will make sure we have to see her when we go back to pick up your new clothes.”
Ulané JhinuraThat stopped me in my tracks. “I have to meet a queen?”
Neelu hadn’t stopped, so I hurried my step to come back to her side.
“Maybe I could wait at the hut and you could go back without me?”
She shook her head. “She’ll have heard about you by then. She’d just send me to get you so she could meet you for herself.”
“I have to meet her in two days?”
“No.” She smirked at me. “That’s when the clothes will be ready and my brother will collect them. But Felora gave you a couple of wraps. We can hold off a little longer before going back to pick up the rest.”
“I take it you don’t want to talk to your mother?”
Neelu continued walking without answering me.
“Okay,” I walked along with her. “What will we do in the meantime?”
“Train.”
“Are we going to flit again?” I asked hopefully.
“No. You will also be learning to fight, and that means you need to be in shape. Let’s go!”
- Writer
