Savage Seed: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Warriors of the Oasis) by Ivy Sparks

Author:Ivy Sparks [Sparks, Ivy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-08-11T04:00:00+00:00

17

Leslie

“All right, everyone. Let’s show Leslie what we’ve been practicing, hm?”

Ria picked up a series of wooden sticks that looked like spears without the sharp ends, and, one by one, tossed them in the air. The children who had gathered for the lessons calmly and expertly snatched them out of the air, then began to spar with each other. The crack of wood on wood made me jump until the sound turned into a steady rhythm, almost like a heartbeat. Ria was nodding along and circling through the children’s couplets, correcting postures and grips as she went.

“Good!” she called, clapping her hands. The children continued to spar. “Remember to keep your feet moving. A still target is an easy target.”

It was like watching a mother teach her children to bake a cake or tie their shoelaces. Some of the Xeki women trickled into the lesson space, nodding and smiling before moving on. I asked Ria if they were the children’s mothers, but she said not all of them were. It was the duty of the entire tribe to care for its children, especially when some were orphaned at a young age.

“What happened to their families?” I asked, noticing Ria tap her fingertips on her crossed forearm.

She shrugged, her eyes never leaving the sparring children. “The desert provides, and the desert takes. Such is life.”

It was interesting to see the serious side of Ria. She’d been silly and playful with Kade a few days ago, and had since been good company for me while he was out trying to trade for a radio. But here, in this setting, she was all business.

And I supposed she had a good reason to be. If she failed to teach these children the basics of defense, they wouldn’t survive this harsh desert.

A few men approached the group now, gesturing toward some of the children. Those children placed down their poles and quickly fell in line with the men.

“Where are they going?” I asked, curious enough to be tempted to follow them. There were so many things about the tribe that I didn’t understand, and without the distractions of technology or the mine, I found myself insatiably curious about the tribe’s customs.

I watched them, focusing on one boy in particular. One of the men placed his hand across the boy’s shoulder and handed him a spear. The boy nodded, showing little to no emotion, and the pair jogged off toward the village perimeter.

“The best way to learn to defend themselves and our people,” Ria told me, “is by being a part of our defenses. Right now they’re heading to help fortify the perimeter.”

“But they’re children!”

Ria tilted her head and arched a curious brow at me. Then I noticed other eyes turning in our direction. I fought the blush forcing its way to my cheeks and cleared my throat. “I just mean that they’re… children. Not soldiers. Shouldn’t they be doing kid things, like catching bugs and playing games?”

“Of course they play games,” Ria responded, uncrossing her arms to place her hands on her hips.

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