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M Y N S H A K A 'S . C H A O T I C . P A T H

ONGOING

M Y N S H A K A 'S . C H A O T I C . P A T H

ONGOING

Shaka awoke to the sound of shrill chattering and the feeling of something crawling over him. Grumbling to himself he swatted whatever it was away and opened his eyes.
At first his brain didn’t register what he saw above him, then he frown and focused on it. A creature, shelled and with too many legs was crawling on the ceiling. He levered himself to one arm and looked around. There were lots of the critters everywhere. Crawling over the old ramshackle furniture and through the cracks in the walls and ceiling. On top of that there was rain seeping through… again.

He gave a groan as he saw the leaks. I thought I fixed that already! He thought to himself. He reached out to grab a nearby tiny creature and picked it up by it’s shell to get a closer look at it. He’d seen these in the tidal pools when he was younger.. what were they called again? Siliens? Sirens? Sirenns!
“Wonder iffn yer edible?” He muttered to himself. If nothing else it was a pretty shell! He grabbed a bag and began to capture as many as he could. But some just managed to scurry into places he couldn’t reach.. and by the sound of battle going on down a few of those holes… the creature already living there was making a meal out of the invader! He chuckled and hoisted his bag. He’d managed to grab at least twenty of the little colorful things. Now how to cook them or get the shell off without damaging it?


He didn’t know, so he trotted out into the rain, unconcerned that he was only wearing his sleeping shorts. Knocking on the neighbor's door he grinned when Alayeye answered it. She blushed when she saw he was not dressed at all and the rain was making what little he had on cling. Alayeye was only a year younger than him at fourteen or so, and she was just starting to become a woman. With long thick hair braided into a long tail and threaded with shells and beads, a narrow face with full lips she had a pretty face. She was not gorgeous by any means, but her easy smile and happy go lucky attitude made up for any lack in physical beauty. Her lean gawky teen figure was showing hints at the curves she was to grow into. She was also very conscious of her changing body and the changes in others… especially now that she was no longer the only teenager in town. Alayeye’s parents had managed to keep her safe and hidden from the slavers… which gave her a very innocent view on life. One Mynshaka found refreshing.

“Hey Alayeye~” He said with a saucy grin. “Buch’o sirenns invaded the home…. are they edible?’ He lifted his squirming pack.

She rolled her eyes at him and motioned for him to enter. “Really Shaka? What’s t with food and you?”

He chuckled and swaggered in. “Ah’m a growin’ and Ah need food! But seriously… can they be eaten? Or at least is there a way to get the shells off? Ah like the colors on some of e.”

She smiled and nodded. “Boiling them is the best way.” She handed him a towel and pair of pants from the large chest off to the side. “Here, dry off and put those on. My brother’s outgrew them and we were going to give them to you anyways.”

She hurried off and Shaka, without a care that he was near a window, stripped. Having lived with other slaves and no privacy whatsoever for over five years had done a lot to get rid of any worries he had about skin… it had also gotten rid of a lot inhibitions and knowledge of how civilized people acted…

oblivious, he folded his pants and toweled off.
Alayeye walked in and gave a small screech before quickly twirling around.”SHAKA!”
“What?” He said, innocently holding the towel.

“Why are you naked?”

“Ye said to change--”

“Not in the doorway! You can’t just strip without warning!”

he laughed. “Awww.. is Yeye embarrassed by my body?” e finished drying off and picked up the pants, examining each pair before deciding on one.

“It’s improper!” She sniffed and Shaka smiled, glad that she at least hadn’t been hurt by the obans. Alayeye had been one of the few to escape slavery, her parents hiding her any time the mere hint of an oban was heard or seen.

“Proper smoper. Nothin’ wrong with some skin!” He said as he finally put some clothes on. “Alright.. Ah got some pants on now.” He chuckled again and poked the blushing girl’s back with a thick finger. “Show me how to boil some sirenns iffn ye can’t stop yer blushes!”

M Y N S H A K A 'S . C H A O T I C . P A T H

(the first bit of this solo is much like those fast forward movie bits where you see images as time goes by and in the back you here only music.)

“Riding high, riding low, I’ll sing ye home my bonnie laddie;” Shaka sang as he set about rebuilding a house. He was rather tired of the house that was falling apart and always leaked and creaked and felt like it was going to collapse when the wind blew.

“Ships a sailing, wind a blowin’, whither ye go, ya don’t know;” His hammer came down again and again as he nailed newer freshly panned boards to form the walls of his new home.

“Ah’ll a stay here, a signing for ye, awaitn’ here all alone;” Once the walls were set up and finished, he began to lay the struts inside, bracing the walls and the soon to be built roof.

“Come back soon, Ah wish ye would, a sailin’ back to me.” Once the supports and walls were in place he packed in hard clay and stones to form a hard platform that he’d lay the floor over, flat except for the holes made for the fire pit and primitive stove.

“Ah’ll a sing ye a song, a song of waves and love, patiently a bidin’ here;” Over the packed earth he lay the floor boards, carefully measured to make sure they filled the entire space.

“Riding high the windy seas, riding low along rocky beach;” Next came the roof; a simple cone above each room made of thickly woven thatch.

“My song will fly away to ye; tell ye of my love, that Ah await ye still all alone;” Next he had to carve windows into the walls and fix in the simple shutters. No more hastily covered windows wthat let in cold and rain; he would have proper shutters that looked nice!

“Riding High, riding low, Ah’ll sing ye home, my bonnie lad.” He stepped back to observe his new home. It was clean, the wood a bright reddish tan and topped with a golden brown thatch. Simple shutters, carved by Alayeye for him, were placed two to each of the three rooms. He smiled happily; building something for himself, at his own pace with no masters and whips made time pass much faster and the work seemed easier.

“Riding high, riding low, yer back home now Ah’m not alone.” The porch was next, for he’d made the doorway a foot off the ground. He wanted a porch to keep most of the pests out.. and to have a nice place to sit in the afternoons with his father.


After a few days the house was all set and ready! He put the final touches on it late in the evening, barely enough time to put away the extra boards and supplies
It was dark when he finished and went to Alayeye’s place for dinner. His father was there, much amused by his week’s activity.

“That was built rather fast.” He said idly, a smile on his face. “But you didn’t have to Shaka.”

He grinned, “Is a gift for ye pops. Ye can’t say no to a gift! I’m used to heavy labor so that was actually not too bad. Just gotta get furniture and rugs… gonna need new cooking stuff too. And Ah’ll have to see if I can make a better stove than just a fire pit.” He nodded to himself as he collapsed in a chair next to his father. “Sides, Ah rather like building stuff! Nice to build things on my own.” He kept a cheerful smile on his face, ignoring the shadows that passed over his friend and father’s face. If he kept a cheerful outlook, Mynshaka figured, neither could try to feel guilty or bad about his enslavement.

His father cleared his throat and moved on to a new topic; one about building new furniture, carving it and discussing better ways to make a stove. Light topics, ones that didn’t hurt.

M Y N S H A K A 'S . C H A O T I C . P A T H

Shaka sat on the roof of his new house and looked at his animals. From owning nothing to having so many riches; he thought with amusement. A home (he’d given to his father because they really needed a better house than that old ramshackle one!), family, friends… and animals. Bumi, his bushi that loved singing, was a great help about the place.

Placid and slow, Bumi was the perfect companion for his father; and the two of them had hit it off! He was also willing to be a beast of burden; carrying about the heavy piles of wood that his people were suing to rebuild their homes just like he had. Bumi was too slow to help with moving merchandise from the nearby towns to here… or to Besaji which was half a day’s walk away. But he was a willing defender when Mynshaka and his father and sometimes grandfather, went inland or out to sea to hunt, fish, and gather plants. The presence of a highly toxic bushi was enough to dissuade many predators.. not all.. but enough that his father, crippled though he was, could go hunting again. And, Shaka thought to himself, I know Bumi will bring father back here should anything bad happen to him!

Then there was his Alol; brightly colored and pink, Karael had walked into his life and never walked out again. She’d decided to make his new home hers… and stuck to Mynshaka’s side (his back actually) when possible. Shaka spoiled her, always giving her scratches and food that sometimes he wondered if she was going to lose her ability to stick to the walls or ceiling because she’d gained so much weight!

Then there was his problem child; why did I think it was a good idea to try and tame a snapptrotter? He thought as he watched Oltia pace in her pen. It wasn’t much of a pen.. and both of them knew she could escape at any time… but he needed a place he could put her that other animals couldn’t disturb her! So far she hadn’t done more than leave for a few hours (and come into the house to sit on him… that had been a painful morning!). Oltia always came back… perhaps because she knew Mynshaka was an easy source of food or perhaps there was a different reason…
Mynshaka had captured her, and spent a long time getting her used to him so that he could actually approach without being bitten, with the idea of having a mount. Ever since he’d heard that one of his own people, Naria, had ridden a Yoatl into battle and defeated the Oban Arwas, he’d wanted to have something like that. Mynshaka had seen the Janarim and Xaraan of the Obans… and knew that those beasts could easily help them conquer his people again. So he wanted a mount… a Matori mount that could even those odds. Grandfather had told him tales of the Bushi and Snaptrotter riders of ages past.. nowadays there weren’t too many simply because the Oban’s had stomped out such practices…. And while he loved Bumi… that wasn’t exactly a glorious mount! But a Snaptrotter.. astride one of those he could swim the oceans, climb cliffs, and cross the lands! it would be more than a match of any Janarim! And the thought of riding one of those, the speed, the image itself….

That idea had captured his mind, consumed his thoughts for weeks until he’d finally caught a snaptrotter…. only to find out he had no clue how to train it! Nor did anyone in his tribe. But Mynshaka knew; he wanted to ride her… wanted to have that partnership that a Rider would have! But how? He sighed and laid back across the thatched hay that roofed his home.
maybe using Bumi as an example? He’d need a saddle too…. Reins? Saddle cloth right… He frowned as he tried to remember what sort of gear he’d seen on the Janarim and Xaraan in Oba. Considering he had been beaten any time he’d raised his head to blatantly (and arrogantly to the obans) look around and (oh no!) look any Oban in the eyes, he hadn’t actually been able to gather too many memories that could help.

Nor did he have any clue on training; bribe with food, and use an example with Bumi was about all he could think up. maybe one of the bigger cities will have someone who knows about Snaptrotters or how to tame and train them.

And a weapon, he realized. I need a weapon! Something that can be used from a Shaptrotter… And is easily made, he thought wryly, since we don’t exactly have any weapons lying around!

A spear could be used…. or maybe a trident! He thought with a smile; tridents were fun! But… They didn’t quite have the reach he was wanting. Because Snaptrotters were so fast, he wanted something long… something he could hit things with from farther away so his mount didn’t have to get too close and get hurt. Janarim were nasty in close quarters after all!

A lance.. what about that? He wondered if anyone in town knew how to make one… and train him in it! He had very little skill with ranged weapons, the best being a javelin.

I can carry around some javelins too… and I’ll probably need a weapon should they get too close.. a dagger? Daggers were useful tools too…. He nodded; a lance as his main, javelins for hunting and range, and a dagger or javelin should anyone get in close!

he laughed to himself softly as he realized he’d already made up his mind about the Obans; no way would they be peaceful loving neighbors; he was expecting them to show that dark side he’d seen while a slave. Too many power hungry cruel people who wanted slaves to do their dirty work; that’s what Oba was filled with… that and people who didn’t care what happened to non Obans so long as it didn’t affect them. Apathetic, cruel, arrogant; that was Oba.

Mynshaka had too many scars to allow his views and feelings to be soothed and calmed by his father and friends…. And while he wanted the partnership of a snaptrotter.. .to him, a snaptrotter was more a weapon.. a shield to defend his people with. maybe in time he’d calm down and he could just enjoy being partners and live peacefully.. but he doubted that it would come till much later.

M Y N S H A K A 'S . C H A O T I C . P A T H

He had said he could do this.. but he knew that it was not going to be easy. Even if the Rider had been Matorian it would still have been hard! Training a Snapptrotter was no easy feat after all. But it wasn’t a Matorian master… it was an Oban one. He ground his teeth together at the thought. Ugh! Why? Why out of all the people did it have to be an oban! And an Oban who was… not like the ones he’d met. It was hard for him to push aside his anger; his past clung to him and chained him down… But Makhaya’s eyes had been sad and understanding. No arrogance, no sneer, he hadn’t looked at Mynshaka like at bug. No, Makhaya had been calm, confident… caring. Kind. Things he did not associate with obans.
Obans were cruel, arrogant, extreme in their actions or ice cold and calculating. They didn’t have hearts, they had only eyes for materaialsitc things. No compassion, no honesty.

He knew that this was a skewed view but it was all he’d seen. Those that hadn’t hurt had looked the other way, turned away and fled without meeting his eyes. He’d seen it happen many times when he’d thrown the containers of merchandise off the boat deliberately or at the guards to hurt them. People had fled, not wanting to witness his beating or they’d gathered to enjoy the show. He hated them! The whole disgusting race! Cowards and cruel bastards!

He shook his head, his pony tail whipping his finned ears as he took a deep breath and tried to calm his anger. He just had to learn from this guy.. he could be civil till then… He could do it… He took a deep breath and patted Oltia and Bumi and got up.

It’d been a day since he’d found out that the Rider had been Makhaya; a day spent growling and grumbling to himself out in the



TO BE CONTINUED

M Y N S H A K A 'S . C H A O T I C . P A T H