Shieldwolf Dawning by Selena Nemorin Page B

certain why the fire ants were so brave," she mused. "They are usually too shy to venture into the sunlight above ground."
    Merganser came running. "Daria Swiftwing, is he hurt?"
    "He will be fine. He was taken by surprise."
    Samarra watched them make a fuss over Cassian. When the crowd had settled, a battlemaster ordered the swains to fall into formation. Samarra stared at her shiny boots, too sheepish to do anything else while also wishing she was the one getting special treatment.
    "That was lavender," said the platophibian girl standing in front of Samarra. "It is a relaxant for gaians. You're all troublemakers."
    "What?" Samarra looked up.
    "I'm Tavani Croak." She held up her spotted green and brown hands. "No need to introduce yourself. I know exactly who you are."
    Samarra rolled her eyes. "Great," she said under her breath. "Not another one."
    "Your brother doesn't seem to like you right now. Hsss, I wonder why?" Tavani placed a webbed finger on her dark green lips as if deep in thought.
    Samarra put on her best mean face. "What makes you say that?"
    The girl lifted her snout high in the air and the slits in her eyes narrowed. She pointed at Cassian, who was settling into position in line. He looked angry.
    "Don't point at my brother." Samarra bunched up her fists.
    "Make me stop." Tavani sneered.
    "Why are you being so nasty to me?" Samarra stepped up to the girl. "I haven't done anything to you."
    "You were laughing at my grandfather. You should take a look at yourself sometime."
    "Wait a minute. Are you crazy?" Samarra couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I wasn't laughing at your—"
    "How dare you speak to me like that!" Tavani flared her gills.
    "Excuse me?"
    Tavani whacked her smooth tail on the ground. Pebbles jumped up and down with every thump. "Gaians like you give the entire species a bad name."
    "Gaians like me?" Samarra took a big gulp of air and exhaled slowly to calm her boiling temper. "You don't know anything about me, you mouldy unripe prune."
    Tavani managed to look astonished. "Now listen… you… you…"
    "No, you listen." Samarra readied her fists for the fight of her life.
    "Stand at attention." Merganser stepped between them. Samarra stretched her neck to see Tavani switching her tail in protest. After eyeing each other down, the girls fell into position. Merganser checked on Cassian before she returned to the podium. He seemed all right. Samarra figured he was still sick from the phase.
    "See what I mean?" Tavani whispered when Merganser was out of earshot. "You stick out like a platophibian with no tail. I can barely understand your dialect. You know nothing about our customs, and worst of all, you laugh at us."
    "What? You…"
    "Hsss… Elder Ravenhair wasted her time saving you when she found your brother. Grandfather says that Cassian will win us the battle against the Ikajarri… those lovers of sights and sounds." She spat on the ground. "You, on the other hand, have no good reason to be here. What can you possibly do to protect us from the Flux?" She inspected Samarra from head to toe as if measuring her for a coffin.
    Samarra ignored the venomous words. "The Flux?" She thought about the disc she had played with at the Grand Bazaar. Samarra also remembered Merganser referring to flux in the spell she'd cast when they had phased out of Gaia. Her curiosity was piqued.
    "Stop pretending." Tavani looked down her rounded snout at Samarra. "You can't be as dumb as you look." The brown spots on her face were more noticeable than before. "How could you not know about the Flux?"
    Samarra couldn't think of anything smart to say.
    "You don't know, do you?" She threw back her head and laughed condescendingly. Samarra flinched at the sight of Tavani's razor-sharp teeth. "I think I'll let you find out on your own. I'm not feeling very helpful today. Besides, I'm allergic to gaians."
    "Just face the front and be quiet." Samarra crossed her arms. "I'll find out about the Flux