The Divine Defender VI

Andante Hemispherous (II)

Kaleen kept expecting to hear “Oh, letter-writing, would you desire my aid? I have written many exquisite letters and read treatises on the art,” from Andante, but was pleasantly wrong to think so. That night she occupied the desk with her parchments and quills. Andante scarcely seemed to notice. Though surreptitious at first, Andante’s apathy emboldened Kaleen, and she was soon writing freely. Kaleen thought she might address her father with his full name and proper titles, thus preserving the formal tone of the letter without directly acknowledging their connection in the header. She hoped to bury that bit of news just early enough to capture him, but late enough not to startle him. The search for this delicate balance consumed many feet of parchment paper.

“The temperature in this room is very agreeable.” Andante said. Kaleen turned to face her, but found her book instead. Kaleen clenched her fist. It was absurd that anybody could just talk from behind books like that. Andante continued after a pause. “My old room was in the lakeside dorm, it was so terrible. Gave me chills, drove me to hysterics.”

Kaleen tried desperately to swallow her anger. It would be terribly unbecoming of her to sting a fellow sister. “You have an opinion on everything, don’t you?”

This comment prompted Andante to put down her book and scowl at Kaleen.

“Would you rather I not?” She asked. “If I’m annoying you, I can just be quiet.”

“I’m just curious–” Kaleen began, softening her tone.

Andante interrupted pointedly. “We can be like two ghosts you know. We can haunt this room silently, doing nothing. Inhabiting material space but hardly acknowledging one another. We can be like parallel lines. Latitudes upon a map of this dorm!”

Kaleen’s ears and tail stood on end. “I didn’t say–!”

“I thought not.” Andante raised her book again. “Yes, this room has great weather.”

Kaleen had written nothing on her current parchment, but she threw it in her crate nonetheless. It was spoiled. She had an idea: she would talk while writing and avoid Andante’s face just as Andante avoided those of others. Then, surely, after some time of such ridiculous, disconnected conversation, Andante would put down her book again, and they could talk with eye contact, as people were meant to. She dipped her quill and wrote her father’s name on a fresh parchment for the fifth time that night.

“So, Andante, was it just the weather that brought you here?” Kaleen asked.

“Oh, I wish.” Andante replied. “No, what happened was that I had been assigned from patrol group Lotos to squadron Kardo, because they’d had a casualty.”

“Congratulations,” Kaleen said, “Was it exciting being in a squadron?”

“Well, on my first mission, I was flogged for disobeying orders.”

Kaleen turned around suddenly, at first with empathic sentiments at her tongue, but then found herself outraged by the sight of Andante still behind her book.

“You see,” Andante said, turning a page, “The Captain kept thinking it was just an ordinary Sorian raid, but I reminded her that we have observed average Raiding parties had 10 members, so with only 4 individuals in sight, I feared they might have a rudimentary ambush planned, holding back some of their raiders in the forest. I also warned the captain that we would not have so idly stumbled upon four random Sorians, they do not travel like that. The Captain called on us to charge stupidly at them, but I decided to ignore her and cut around the flanks, through the forest, in search of ambushers.”

“You found nothing, did you?” Kaleen asked, sighing. “No ambushers in the forest?”

“Well, no.” Andante said. “I did not even get to shoot my arrowlance and everybody seemed to think it was my fault whatever scratches or lost digits they incurred in fending off the Sorians without my aid. The Captain was very displeased and referred me to Mother Auris, who is quite severe. She flogged me with a nine-tails.”

Desiring to think about absolutely anything but that imagery, Kaleen quickly replied, “What role did you occupy in the squadron?”

“Second Aggressive Defense.” Andante said. “It was a 4-point squadron.”

Kaleen felt quite like striking Andante herself just from hearing the story.

There was a knock on the door then and Shanti poked her head into the room, her short pale bob-cut hair disordered due to bandages which covered her forehead and right eye. Her countenance was bright as ever, and in her cheerful voice she whispered a “Namaste” to both the older sisters. Kaleen thought she would have to scold Andante, but the aloof woman put down her book and bowed her head along with Kaleen.

“The Mothers are calling for all to be still now.” Shanti said.

“Shanti, what happened to your eye?” Kaleen asked.

Shanti smiled. “Oh do not worry Sister Kaleen! I was just stricken by a heavy volume of Climdale that fell out of the sky. I will soon be fine.”

When Shanti disappeared, Kaleen glared at Andante. The young lady met her stare dispassionately for a few seconds before raising her book anew, this one about natural remedies to household illnesses. She could not have known the various fantasies of defenestration and miscellaneous throttling that were percolating inside Kaleen’s head.