“How many people in the world do you think have truly been happy?”
“I don’t know,” I said, “but maybe a lot. Maybe the special thing isn’t being happy but being aware of it.”
“You know, Spec, the world’s an interesting place. There’s the hive and Newbury and Nanash and there’s me and I’m all three and there’s you and you’re something else. And Kaolin and Valasca. We’re all different, but we need to breathe and we need light and food and water.”
It was the most insightful thing he had ever said and I wondered if Cotta always had such thoughts but kept them buried deep within his mind or if our journey had created something new within.
Some more time passed and Valasca deemed Cotta a Nanashi warrior and his commencement was to take place later in the day. First, he was to have his front teeth shaved down, and then he would swear an oath of allegiance toward the clan. After the oath, there would be a village-wide celebration.
Cotta had taken to the Nanashi much like he had the Newburyians. As a warrior, he would go out on patrols in search for food, bringing back any forms of sustenance he found.
Kaolin and I accompanied Cotta as he participated in the teeth-sharpening ritual. He was held down by two NaNas, Beadurinc and Eyvindur, as one of the older female NaNas (Toril) held a couple instruments to Cotta’s mouth. One of the instruments was a blunt object, the other was rounded on one end and sharpened on the other. Toril placed the sharpened side to one of his teeth, held the blunt object a few inches above, and then slammed it down on the rounded end.
Cotta screamed as a piece of his tooth chipped into the air and landed on his cheek. Valasca grabbed the sliver and placed it into a bowl. Toril moved the sharpened edge to the other side of the tooth. She raised the blunt object again and slammed it down. Cotta screamed and struggled to get free as the sliver of tooth flew in the air and back into his mouth. Valasca quickly reached in and grabbed the piece, placing it into the bowl beside the other.
The process continued a few more times until Cotta’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. He was still breathing, but he had fallen asleep. Toril finished chipping away, then took the sharpened tool and shaved the sides of the teeth, making them as sharp as possible.
It wasn’t until some time later that Cotta awoke. He slid his tongue through his new teeth, glaring them at us.
“How do they look?” he asked.
“Sharp.”
“Raging!” he shouted with a big smile. “Now I just gotta practice my growl.”
“Are you excited about the celebration?” Kaolin asked, pricking his teeth with her finger.
“Oh, definitely. They’re sacrificing a caged-one for me so there’ll be a feast too.”
Kaolin and I left Cotta with Valasca while we got ready for the night’s festivities. We were given a pair of ceremonial clothes, but they were nowhere as ornate or elegant as those in Newbury. I looked over at Kaolin after she had dressed for the occasion and she was as beautiful as she had been the night of the ball. It didn’t matter if several people worked for hours to make her hair shine or if she just patted it down, she was beautiful, simply beautiful.
“When do you wanna do it?” she asked, glimmering beauty.
“Afterward. For Cotta.”
“Are you sure you wanna do this?”
I thought about her question instead of mindlessly responding like so many others. She and I had decided awhile back that we were leaving Nanash. I went back and forth in my mind whether to tell Cotta or not, whether to bring him along. He had been the happiest I had seen him lately, and although I might’ve convinced him to leave, he would only be doing so for me and wind up less satisfied than had he stayed. How quickly things change in life. One day I’m preparing a journey with Cotta, trying to abandon Kaolin, and now here I was, absconding with her while leaving my closest friend behind.
It was the end of the day and the entire village united at the Zone (the open area near the center of the village). Cotta stood on a tiny platform made of bone and flesh and recited the Nanashi oath of allegiance. When he finished, he raised both arms to the ceiling and roared, glaring his newly sharpened teeth. The crowd erupted in a celebratory chant that shook the walls, forcing loose grains of dirt to crumble from the ceiling down to the ground.
Cotta came down from the platform and greeted a slew of NaNas by placing his hands on their shoulders and tilting his head. He spotted us and gave Kaolin and I a Nanashi greeting. Valasca appeared and kissed him for several seconds.
“You were great.” Valasca turned to the crowd and made a high pitch noise.
Several Nanashi appeared, wielding a variety of instruments concocted from the unused parts of their conquered remains.
One of the large warriors slammed a stick down on a rounded bowl, flesh pulled tightly around the top. A thump emanated from the instrument. He slammed the stick down again and there was another thump. And another. And another.
The beating echoed through the village and vibrated my bones, a crushing rhythm tingled down my spine. The other instruments joined in, and a music unlike I had ever heard blasted deep within me.
“Let’s dance!” Valasca screamed to Cotta.
He smiled and put his hands out. She stared at him, confused.
“No, I said dance!” She pulled him into the Zone and joined the rest of the NaNas as they “danced” in a way that would cause an uproar in Newbury. They were jumping up and down, shaking their bodies and grinding on another as if a crag had crawled into their ears and they were desperately trying to get it out.
The music and emotions were overwhelming. Kaolin and I joined in and for a moment, we forget about our ambition. We forgot about tomorrow and just saw each other. I felt her warmth and we basked in our love.
I turned and saw that the others had stripped naked, relinquishing their garbs and celebrating without restraint. By the edge of the Zone, a NaNa pinned another against a hut, kissing the back of her neck, grasping his arms around and thrusting behind. In the middle of the dance floor, a few NaNas had taken to the ground, groping each other and thrusting. Cotta and Valsca had joined in the celebrating as well and the majority of dancers quickly moved from their feet to the ground.
The music continued to reverberate throughout the village, mixing with the moans and roars. Kaolin and I embraced like we had in the body of water so long ago. We were surrounded by dozens of others but it felt like we were all alone, floating amidst the stars. The world went dizzy and I felt her heart beat into mine, I felt my blood circulate with hers, our flesh melting into one.
I looked over to the edge of the Zone and could see the caged-ones locked away, watching us all celebrate. Jennifer was curled up, tears smattered across her face. I wanted to free her. I wanted to free all of them, but where would they go? Would they just find another cage to get locked in? If I unlocked their restraints, would I be put in their stead?
The music got louder and the space got hotter. Sweat dribbled down my forehead and our bodies dampened. We breathed in the heat and exhaled fire; our beings became enflamed, engulfed in the everything around us, the all that forever resided within.
And as my body tingled, I noticed a red trail by the nearby huts. A puddle of blood that had not been there moments before. Valasca stood before her village, Cotta beside her. She chanted and raised Cottas arm in the air.
I saw it before I heard it. It was an object spiraling nearby. I had only ever seen it as it traveled away, never beside. As it passed, I could hear the air around me get sucked and warped toward the object’s trajectory.
The knife sped past the NaNas, toward Cotta and Valasca and then struck. I looked back and saw Bryan with his arm outstretched, eyes wide open, behind him, several Newburyians holding their swords up high.