{"id":544,"date":"2016-01-28T16:49:39","date_gmt":"2016-01-28T21:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beeberrywoods.com\/FiberEtc\/?p=544"},"modified":"2016-01-28T16:49:39","modified_gmt":"2016-01-28T21:49:39","slug":"rafefor-want-of-a-toe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/beeberrywoods.com\/FiberEtc\/2016\/01\/rafefor-want-of-a-toe\/","title":{"rendered":"Rafe–For Want of a Toe"},"content":{"rendered":"
Rafe sat on the bench, a neckerchief stuffed in the gap where her toe once lived, waiting her turn. Other recruits drifted past, peered at her bloody rag. Some kept their distance. Other fetched up in little knots, glancing her way every so often, the sound of their chatter kept low and private. She wondered how many other recruits managed to lose some body part on their first day. She wondered if it meant she\u2019d be booted out as too incompetent to train.<\/h4>\n
With the medic\u2019s tent at her back she could either sit bolt upright or slouch forward with her elbows on her knees. Lying down seemed too much like defeat. To keep pressure off her wound she sat with a rigid back and glowered. The little bottle the medic had given her to dull the pain sat on the bench next to her, still full.<\/h4>\n
This city of tents was so unlike home, she had hoped to find a place for herself. Now it felt like more of the same, still strange, still unwelcome, still having to watch her back and her mouth. <\/h4>\n
\u201cSo, how did you manage it?\u201d<\/h4>\n
Rafe started at the voice. She had been so drawn into herself that she had missed the medic sitting down on the other side of the bottle of medicine. Worse and worse. Not the makings of a soldier, for sure. \u201cExcuse me?\u201d she asked.<\/h4>\n
\u201cHow did you manage it?\u201d The medic did not seem much older than she was. He was built like a beech sapling and radiated something that broke up tension, and lifted the spirits.<\/h4>\n
\u201cWe were playing mumbledy-peg and I suppose I got cocky. Lesson learned. Won\u2019t happen again.\u201d Rafe sighed. Even as she had spoken, she could hear the tone of voice she had used with her mother, offering up yet another insincere apology, accepting blame for something that was not her fault.<\/h4>\n
\u201cI get that. Happens all the time. You recruits jockey back an forth, find your place in the pecking order. I deal with cuts, bruises, broken bone, the whole gamut, every time there\u2019s a new influx. So I get how you lost your toe. Nothing odd about that at all.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d She looked him in the eyes and scrunched her face into the stupid look that sometimes worked with Ma.<\/h4>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s start again.\u201d The medic held out his hand, smaller and less scarred than hers. \u201cI\u2019m Blue Thane. Medic. For you recruits.\u201d He spoke clearly and waited between sentences, making sure she understood.<\/h4>\n
Rafe nodded and Blue Thane continued. \u201cYou lost a toe. The bleeding looks almost stopped and you\u2019ll be fine. She didn\u2019t take either of the edge toes. Your balance won\u2019t be affected, so no worries there. It wouldn\u2019t be enough for you to get boosted out in any case. We like scrappy kids. You make fine soldiers and generally survive to make the training worthwhile.\u201d<\/h4>\n
Rafe got a bad feeling. The medic was talking about the other thing that happened. This was, indeed, going to be like Ma.<\/h4>\n
Blue Thane stayed casual and comforting. \u201cI\u2019ve just spent the last half hour digging pieces of steel and wood out of three of your pals. Legs, hands, and one serrated rib cage. That,\u201d he paused again until he had her eyes on him, \u201cthat, young lady, is what I want to know. How did you manage it?\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cWhy do you think I did something?\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cIt was pieces of the same knife that took off your toe. Several someones saw it explode.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cAnd you won\u2019t help me unless I confess to it?\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cJale\u2019s Needle, no. That\u2019s not it at all. I\u2019m a medic. Live and let live. Sew \u2018em up so they will live.\u201d He spread his hands to show how empty they were. \u201cWe\u2019ve got folks of all kind here, who come in as recruits. Some on the run, some doing walk about, some just looking for adventure, or to prove a point. There are some here who are wary of witchcraft. You know, magic.\u201d<\/h4>\n
Rafe\u2019s confusion changed from feigned to genuine. \u201cA witch? Magic?\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cSurely you\u2019ve heard of witchcraft and magic.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cBut they\u2019re not real. Are they?\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cNo, of course not. But you did have something to do with the knife exploding.\u201d <\/h4>\n
It was no longer a question. How had she admitted to that? Rafe looked at the medic\u2019s face. His brows did not fall into the resting scowl she saw in her own face when she looked in a mirror. In fact, he seemed to have just heard a joke and was trying to decide if it was one she would appreciate. He reminded her of Grammy Heddle, definitely not afraid, and maybe even someone who could help. \u201cCan we talk about this inside your tent? It\u2019s not exactly something I want everybody to know – for sure. No matter what they might suspect.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cSure, we can do that.\u201d Blue Thane got up and led the way into the tent and Rafe limped in after him. \u201cI\u2019ll just leave the flap open, if you don\u2019t mind, for light. No one can see in.\u201d<\/h4>\n
Rafe wondered where to start. It was not as if she had needed to explain herself back in Riverside. The neighbors took care of that if there were ever foreigners who saw something they didn\u2019t understand. She looked around the tent. \u201cDo you have anything you don\u2019t mind getting broken?\u201d<\/h4>\n
Blue Thane fished a cracked mug out of the trash. \u201cWill this do?\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cPut it on the stool.\u201d Rafe opened her mouth. \u201cAhhhh,\u201d she said, moving her voice up and down, trying out different notes. She found one she liked and got a little louder. Pop. The mug shattered into a pile of dust. <\/h4>\n
The medic looked from her to the dust. \u201cHuh. I knew a girl in a tavern up north who could break wineglasses when she sang. How about this?\u201d He picked up a wooden spoon and placed it on the stool.<\/h4>\n
Again, Rafe searched for a pitch, and found two. The handle fell off, then bowl of the spoon split in half. She watched Blue Thane to gauge his reaction.<\/h4>\n
\u201cWhy did the cup disintegrate but the spoon broke cleanly? Clay versus wood?\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cPartly. But the cup was already cracked. It had lost integrity.\u201d<\/h4>\n
Blue Thane wiped off the stool and gestured for her to sit. \u201cCan you do this to anything, or just certain materials?\u201d He laid out his kit and removed the wad of cloth from between her remaining toes.<\/h4>\n
\u201cPretty much anything.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cAnd you do it with just your voice? You don\u2019t do any little hexy thing?\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cJust my voice.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t imagine they ask you to sing at parties?\u201d<\/h4>\n
Had he just made a joke? Yes, he had. Rafe giggled and shook her head.<\/h4>\n
\u201cSo what happened with the knife? Why did it explode? It was solid, not cracked. It had integrity, as you say.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cI was surprised. I didn\u2019t expect her to take off my toe.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t supposed people bothered you much back home. I assume they knew about this.\u201d<\/h4>\n
Rafe nodded.<\/h4>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s why you ended up here?\u201d<\/h4>\n
She nodded again.<\/h4>\n
\u201cWhat would have happened if you had stayed \u2014 wherever you came from?\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cBlacksmith.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cThe blacksmith would have taken your tongue, or cut your throat?\u201d He seemed shocked.<\/h4>\n
\u201cNo. Da was a blacksmith and I would have been next, until Ducky got big enough. Or longer if Ducky wanted to go sojourning in the world. I guess Jenna will have that job now.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cJenna is your sister?\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cAnd Ducky?\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cBrother.\u201d This all seemed unnecessary to Rafe. \u201cWill I need to leave?\u201d<\/h4>\n
\u201cWhat? No. There are plenty of people with Graven\u2019s Guard who have quirky little talents like yours. It just means you\u2019ll have extra work, training so you don\u2019t go exploding things accidentally. As a rule, we like to damage the other side, not our own.\u201d <\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"