11 - We're All Mad

“Wake up, Kyrus.  Wake up.  I have news for you.”

It was the Surdeniliarch’s voice and he’d fallen asleep again.  “Mmmmph.” He opened his eyes to discover it was morning, at least it seemed so though the light was dim and lamps were still lit.  He struggled to wake up bright-eye’d and appealing.  It was hard, especially since he seemed to have wedged himself into the space next to the chimney and the cat was curled up on his stomach.  His eyes weren’t completely open but the first words out of his mouth were, “Are you saying yes now?”

Ilax snorted a laugh.  “Persistent.  Yes.  Time for starting the day, kid.”

He managed to untangle himself from the blanket and the cat who stalked off, miffed. He ran a hand through his hair, scrubbed his face with both hands.  “Good morning, Naser.”

“Ilax.  Good morning.  Breakfast is on the table.  The kids brought everything over from the ceekit.  Once I start teaching you, you’ll call me ‘Zon’, that’s the word.  That’s the word you’ll use to Elemfias when I introduce you at the school.  You need to learn some basics before I take over in a year or so.  You’ll need daily training and quite lengthy as well, to get to where you’ll be able to take advantage of what I can teach you.”

“What? Um? What’s a ceekit?  And... Zon?  School? A year or so? I’m confused.”

Ilax grinned at him.  “You wanted to change your life, kid.  You’ve succeeded.”  Kyrus slid out of the niche behind the chimney, flinched at the cold floor on his bare feet, slid into the corner spot on the bench that Kyrus indicated.  The children came clattering out of the back, apparently where their bedrooms where.

Haraklez came in just as elegant as if she’d had a servant to tend her.  How else could a pristine robe and perfectly combed hair waving down to her shoulders, loose, be that perfect.  Kyrus was suddenly very aware of the state of his mouth and his uncombed and... um... “Excuse me, but I need...”

“Ah, yes.  The wc is in the back, right between Miks and Ilia’s bedroom and Haraklez’s.”  Kyrus was impressed with the room actually in the house, though he supposed that going outside in the freezing weather would tend to stop you up a bit, in all senses of the word.  He felt sticky having slept in his clothes, though he would rather have had his toenails pulled out and replaced with quills than get caught sleeping in the nude in Ilax’s house.  If I’d been naked last night that frilly would just have walked in on me like that.  It’s bad enough that their faces are all naked.

Haraklez and Ilax had pulled the table out a bit to let him walk around to the last bench seat, rather than scooting through to his corner.  “There.  Since you’ll be staying with me till I take over as your teacher we’ll shift around to make some accommodations.”

“Thank you, N—“ he caught Ilax’s look.  “Ilax.  How may I pay you for the room and the board and the lessons?”

“We can talk about it later.  You’ve met Haraklez – “ she smiled at him from her chair opposite.  “These two are my youngest.” He indicated the boy “Maksim.”  He ducked his head and made a sketchy minor salaam in the Lainz way.

“Maks!” His sister corrected him.  “Like this!”  And she salaamed.  “I’m Ilimirimian, or you can just call me Ilia.”

Kyrus half rose from his bench and offered his own genuflection.  “I’m Kyrus, of Lainz.” Ilax raised one eyebrow but said nothing until all the plates were filled with the sweet bread slices soaked in cream and tree honey.

“I’ll take you across and introduce you to your teacher.  Her name is Elemfias and she’s a good Zon.  You’ll learn a lot from her.”

“I have to run, Pa,” Haraklez said, stuffing the last of her breakfast in her mouth.  “Or I’ll be late.”

“Certainly, dear.  We can take Maks and Ilia when we go.”

Kyrus just sat in his corner and listened.  It seemed so... homey and so strange.  His siblings had been younger, and there had been less food on the table.  Ma had always been so tired since she lost her zardukar, however unofficial.

No weeping, no yelling, no one getting smacked.  Ma didn’t smack often but she’d smack the table to try and get quiet, so we wouldn’t wake the neighbours.  I don’t hear the neighbours having their daily screaming match or the old guy on the other side of us doing his moan-snores.  There’s no alarms in the distance, or screams from the warbirds on patrol in the Basin during the Dry.  They don’t have to hang on to every drop of water for that hell season, where the sun tries to steal every drop of water in your body and put it out of reach on the moon.

He wiped up the last of the tree syrup with his bread and looked to Ilax.  “Time to go, Naser?”

The look he got, at his use of the honourific made him quail inside but he set his teeth on a pleasant smile.  Ilax shook his head.  “Let’s go.  You asked before what a ceekit is... the communal kitchen for this part of town.  It’s easier to have central ovens and centralized cooking... less wasteful of either gas or fatwood.  Our sun isn’t strong enough to heat food in glass jars and ovens.”

“I see.”

Kyrus followed along as Ilax explained, grateful to have the warm scarf before his face, even if it meant going out into the biting cold.  “No offence meant, Naser,” he gasped as they stepped outside and the wind stuck icy fingers into his clothing, looking for skin to bite.  “You Milari were mad to settle here.”

“Yes,” Ilax smiled.  You could see his face because he wasn’t bundled up like Kyrus was.  “We’re all mad.”