The final days leading up to The Siren ceremony were always the busiest days for Kaara. Only ten days remained, and Kaara had any time to herself between hunting, dancing practice, fighting for Deka, and cooking.
She was glad that a certain bat drake had found its way to her. She didn’t know if she would have been able to push through all this work if she hadn’t collected herself.
She thought about all the children who had taken part in previous Siren Ceremonies and what they must have gone through. All of the older children who had left her behind. Kaara knew as well as any other Tibur that once the Siren Ceremony was over, the remaining children would be splitting off from the main tribe. There was a choice to be made once they experienced the terror of a Malaki.
They could live a peaceful life in the city far removed from their influence, or they could continue living as Tibur and accept the duty to hunt them down.
She had seen older children leave and return two years later with a completely different look in their eyes. It was never a bad look, just… different. She knew not everyone returned, but a part of her always hoped that it was because they chose to live a peaceful life rather than having fallen to a Malaki.
Two years was such a long time, and yet it was so short too. Depending on how that time had been spent, it either felt like a fulfilling eternity, or a hollowed blur. Kaara was thankful it had not been the latter, but it hadn’t exactly been the former either.
She wanted to keep living in this moment. She wanted to believe that she still had one year before it was her turn. It scared her, but the thought of never seeing her friends again scared her more. At least she would not be going through the Siren Ceremony alone.
She wanted these final ten days to last forever, even if she knew it was impossible. Regardless of what happened, she would always remember these days. There was no telling if she would ever see her friends and family again.
Knowing that someone she loved might die in the Siren ceremony only made it more important to ensure that their final days had been filled with happiness.
That was why the Siren Ceremony was a festival. It was a celebration of life. An example of its ever-present beauty and persistence. Kaara did not fear death and she never had. If someone died, she believed she could see them again in some way. From the animals she hunted, to her best friends and beloved family. They all returned to unlife and were reborn in some way. That idea brought her comfort, but knowing that she would never see someone as they used to be once they died festered a hole of sadness within that comfort.
Kaara remembered the life she had lived within the span of a few minutes. Had everything been for nothing in the end? When she had lived her life out she had completely forgotten she was dreaming. For years she had been a mother whose name she could no longer recall. Just as she had forgotten who Kaara was, so too had Kaara forgotten who she was. Maybe it was her past life that she had experienced again?
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
She did not know if that life had been real, but even if it had not been real, for some reason it still mattered to her, and she did not know why. She did not even know if having thoughts like this was normal for a girl her age, or if it was a side effect of having grown up, and died in a different life.
In ten days, they would all be marching off into the woods to kill and be killed so that other children in the world never had to. That was the truth of it. That was the answer Kaara had not fully understood until now.
She wondered if her parents understood that. Why would they send their children into danger like this? For what reason?
“...aara. Hello?”
Tiksu flicked her horns, “Oi, you feeling alright?”
Kaara blinked. She had almost forgotten where she was. She had been helping with this evening’s meals, “Hm? Oh, sorry, was spacin’ out.”
“That’s pretty obvious, you’re usually pretty fast when it comes to butchering. What’s on your mind?”
Kaara shook her head.
“It’s about the ceremony isn’t it?”
Kaara nodded. Tiksu wiped his hands and pat her head, “I understand. If you don’t feel like you’re ready for it, you can always try next year.”
“But if I do that, then Rorik and Arik and everyone else will leave me behind.”
Tiksu sighed, “So that’s how it is, huh? You’re worried if you don’t do it on the same year as them they’ll die right?”
“Yeah…”
“Can’t say I blame you, and knowing them they’re not gonna wait another year even if you tried to convince them.”
“Rorik’s not in the right mindset for this either. He lost to one of the noble kids even though he rested and everything.”
“Ah, you mean Anitus right? The one he fought when we visited Yvian? Must be tough.”
“I’m giving him his space for now, but I’m worried about him the most.”
“Rorik wouldn’t want that.”
“I know, but it’s not like I can help it!” Kaara remembered the fight. While Rorik had his moments, Anitus was always a step ahead. By the end of it Rorik had done enough to get Anitus’s acknowledgement and respect, but Kaara knew that just made it sting more for Rorik.
“I get it. He’s really competitive and it hurts when he loses to someone he doesn’t like. He’s got more than his pride that he’s fighting for, though, so don’t worry too much about him.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not the only one who’s thinking about the Siren Ceremony. Besides, I think it’s weird to put so much stake in duels. That’s a noble’s territory in the end. A Tibur is at their strongest when they fight monsters, not people. All of his training has been toward killing beasts, in the end. I say he was doomed to fail from the start.”
“That’s harsh.”
“Is it? I don’t think failing is a bad thing. Someone like Rorik might hate it, but that’s exactly why they always learn so much when they fail. You’re all still young, so what you learn from these fights is far more important than the outcome of them.”
Kaara pushed a pile of cleanly butchered meat, “Here you go.”
“Oh, that goes to the hotpot end. Gornax!”
The large four-armed Noxa perked up behind them, “Meat’s ready?”