Mae-Ying Allen ~ 3-19-2029, 6:38 AM GMT
Niva takes Mae-Ying to the gymnasium, where three people, a man and two women, are using the equipment. Each one of them looks up, sees Niva, and seems to recall they have business elsewhere. They evacuate the machines and head into the locker rooms.
“Okay, now what was that about?” Mae-Ying asks.
Niva shrugs. "People are very busy."
“I guess…” Mae-Ying follows Niva into the center of the room. “So what’s the plan for today?”
"Have you been at all trained in any martial art?"
Mae-Ying almost laughs. “Uh, no.”
"A great deal of what we can do requires you know how to move your body. Today we will begin with that.”
“Okay…”
Niva heads for the locker room. "Come with me. You cannot exercise in those clothes."
Mae-Ying follows Niva to the back of the locker room, where Niva opens a door to a storage area. As she pokes through a shelf of gym clothes, she says, "You are not a large girl, and many of these are for men..."
"Well, we'll see what we can do with what they have."
Niva hands Mae-Ying a few pairs of jersey shorts. "See if any of these will fit you."
Mae-Ying goes back into the locker room and sets the shorts down on a bench. She takes off her shoes, then strips off her trousers. She pulls on the smallest pair of shorts and tightens the drawstring.
Niva brings her an undershirt. "This is the smallest they have. The men here are often fat."
Mae-Ying laughs. She takes off her jacket, her blouse and the camisole she’s wearing underneath, then pulls the sleeveless shirt over her head. “I need to get some other clothes. I keep washing this pair of underwear out and it's getting old."
“It is possible to ask the Marshal for a stipend, since you have nothing that you brought with you,” Niva says. “Though perhaps asking Miss Cockburn would be a better idea."
“Isn’t it the Marshal’s responsibility?” Mae-Ying asks.
“Yes,” Niva says. "But many women choose to avoid conflict if possible. I do not understand this, but I know it is the case, so I offer you the alternative."
Niva walks over to a locker and opens it. As Niva strips off her shirt, Mae-Ying glimpses a mass of criss-crossing white lines on her back, and a horrendous rippling sheet of scar tissue along the left-side of her body, under her arm and down to her hip. Mae-Ying looks away, terrified. She knows nothing about fighting. Niva will beat her into a pulp! Why does she need to learn hand to hand combat, anyway? Reed seemed to indicate she wouldn’t be going into the field any time soon.
Still, if she’s going to have a lesson, she might as well make sure she remembers it. She sets her Avatar to offline, puts her glasses on and prompts them to start recording.
Once she’s dressed, Niva leads Mae-Ying back out into the gym. "All who are blessed are physically superior, to a greater or lesser degree, than the unblessed,” she says. “You have felt this already, I think."
“I mean, you’re really strong, sure,” Mae-Ying says. “I don’t know if I feel all that different…”
"It is not all about strength,” Niva says. “We who are blessed by Law vary by caste, in terms of our physical strength and swiftness. As an Investigator, your dexterity and speed will be your allies."
“Well, that’ll be a change,” Mae-Ying says.
Niva steps back a few yards and eyes Mae-Ying critically. "You do not know how to stand.”
“I don’t? I mean… aren’t I doing it right now?”
“You are standing, but in a very bad way,” Niva says. “I will show you this first."
Niva guides Mae-Ying into a proper fighting stance, gently nudging Mae-Ying’s feet, back, and arms into position. From there she leads her to a tumbling mat and begins to show her how to move her body, shifting her weight around in new ways, dropping her mass into her hips and center. Despite her superior strength, she goes out of her way not to push Mae-Ying's joints too far or hit her with any real force. If anything, Niva’s touch is gentle, careful.
"You're a good teacher,” Mae-Ying says.
Niva frowns. "I have been told that is not the case by others."
The two women who fled Niva’s presence earlier now come out of the locker room. They cross the gymnasium, giving Niva and Mae-Ying sideways glances. One of them mutters something to the other, who laughs out loud.
Mae-Ying’s mouth goes flat. She rewinds her Avatar’s video app and replays the audio.
“I suppose Reed is recruiting friends for Niva now,” the woman’s voice says.
"Because there was no other reason to recruit me, right?" Mae-Ying yells.
Niva blinks. The woman who made the comment, the taller of the two, turns to look directly at Mae-Ying.
"I'm sorry?" she says.
Mae-Ying walks over to her. “Have we met? I don’t think we have. I’m Mae-Ying Allen. I'm so pleased to be working with such friendly and welcoming people.”
The woman smiles thinly. "I'm Priscilla. This is Rita. We're all delighted to have you, I'm sure."
Rita steps forward and puts a hand by the side of her mouth. "Just in case no one told you, you don't have to spend all your time with her. Just because the Marshal made her your mentor."
“Oh my gosh, really?” Mae-Ying says. “I don't think I could possibly have figured that out on my own."
"On the other hand, maybe autistic religious zealots are your thing,” Priscilla says.
“God no, I’d much rather hang out with two grown women who act like they're in high school," Mae-Ying says.
"Well, I guess that's clear enough,” Priscilla says. “I'll let you get back to… whatever it was you were doing..."
“Bye now!” Mae-Ying grins and waves.
Niva watches the two women go. "We… we should keep going.”
Mae-Ying’s plastered-on grin fades as she turns back to Niva. "Sorry, sometimes my temper gets the best of me."
Niva hesitates. "What does it mean, to be autistic?"
Mae-Ying rolls her eyes. “Okay, first of all, I don’t think you’re autistic. But it's a mental condition. It can make it difficult to understand the emotions of others and to express your own emotions. It presents in a lot of different ways--my own father is on the autism spectrum. Anyway, it's a cheap and ugly thing to use as an insult."
Niva looks Mae-Ying in the eye. "My father taught me it was a sin for a woman to express her emotions."
“Your father was a dick.”
Niva looks down at her hands. She opens and closes them, finally balling them into hard fists. She seems on the verge of saying something, then shakes her head.
“We should continue working,” she says.
#
After lunch, Mae-Ying and Niva walk through the garden back to the Manor. Mae-Ying’s back in her rumpled pantsuit. She got a chance to shower after the workout, but she still feels disgusting.
"Is there anywhere around here I might be able to get some clothes?" she asks.
"There is a thrift store in the village, proceeds from which fund the church, but the women of the village are… more robust in body than you are."
Mae-Ying wrinkles her nose. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but I don't buy underwear from thrift stores."
“You do not?”
"If I wore bras I might buy those secondhand, but panties? No."
Niva looks down. Her cheeks redden.
"Are there any other options?" Mae-Ying asks.
"You can get a bus from the village to Bolton,” Niva says. “But I would have to accompany you, so we might as well drive."
"Is it dangerous for me to be alone?"
"You are dangerous to yourself."
Mae-Ying frowns. "Why?"
"If you enter a situation where the light comes into you unexpectedly, or too rapidly, or if you encounter something beyond your previous experience..."
“Sure, okay.” Mae-Ying runs a hand through her hair. "Sorry, I know it's a hassle to have to babysit me..."
"It is fine,” Niva says. “So long as you do not wish for me to speak for you in the shops."
Mae-Ying laughs. "No, I think I can handle that. I guess I’ve got to try and get some money out of our dear Marshal..."
“I will show you the way.”
Niva leads Mae-Ying to the bullpen. A man sits behind one of the desks, tapping at a smart pad.
"Barnett,” Niva asks him. “Is the Marshal in?"
"Piss off,” the man says without looking up. “I'm not his secretary."
Niva frowns and walks over to Reed's door. She knocks.
“Come,” says Reed.
Niva opens the door and holds it for Mae-Ying. Mae-Ying steps inside and forces herself to smile.
"Sir,” Mae-Ying says. “Excuse me for dropping by unannounced."
Reed looks up from his desk. "Ah. Allen. What is it?"
"I was wondering if it would be possible to have a small stipend to purchase some clothes and personal items,” Mae-Ying says. "I can't get ahold of any of my personal assets at the moment, given my situation."
"A stipend?” Reed says. “You're not even--”
Niva steps up beside Mae-Ying. Reed’s eyes flicker over in her direction.
"Perhaps I should pass around a hat so I can buy some clean underwear?" Mae-Ying says.
"I see. No, that wouldn't do...." Reed's eyes finally pull away from Niva. He opens a drawer.
"I think fifty pounds should--"
"The standard stipend for a new recruit or foundling in reduced circumstances is two hundred pounds, Marshal," Niva says.
Reed sneers. "You've read the manual, Avraham? Planning on becoming a solicitor?"
"I am bound to the Law, sir," says Niva.
Reed grabs a ledger from the drawer. He jots something down, then bends over and opens something underneath his desk. He withdraws a stack of bills and holds them out to Mae-Ying.
"Thank you, sir,” Mae-Ying says.
"Of course. It wouldn't do to fail regulation..." Reed glances at Niva.
#
Niva is quiet on the walk to the motor pool garage, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her coat. She gets car keys from one of the drivers and climbs behind the wheel of an unassuming sedan. As they drive, Niva remains silent, a slight frown on her young face.
“Everything okay?” Mae-Ying asks.
"I am wondering if the disrespect those women showed toward me is something many people feel," Niva says.
"Do you want my opinion?"
"Yes, of course."
"Most people here seem to be afraid of you," Mae-Ying says.
Niva furrows her eyebrows. She seems troubled.
"It's not the worst thing in the world,” Mae-Ying says. “It's something you could use to your advantage, if you chose to."
After a moment, Niva says, “The only reason they could have to be afraid of me is that I killed Marshal Baumann."
A nervous laugh escapes from Mae-Ying’s chest. “Well, yeah, that could make people nervous,” she says. "Why, uh, did you do that?"
"Because he was infected with Pathos, but only I could see it,” Niva says, again deliberately mispronouncing the word. “The angels granted me sight."
“Were you correct?”
Niva nods. "In defense of his life, he utilized the powers given to him by his masters."
"Well then people should be grateful for what you did, shouldn’t they?"
"I thought they were,” Niva says gloomily.
"Look,” Mae-Ying says. “It seems to me that people don't understand the... perceptive capacities you have. The prophecies, and things like that."
Niva looks hurt. "I trust your opinion, because of what you have done in your life, but I cannot understand why people would be unable to understand me. We all serve the light, in our own way. The angels come to me because of my faith, or so I believe."
“Maybe it’s not that they aren’t able to understand you,” Mae-Ying says. “Maybe they’re just not putting in the effort.”
Niva stares into the distance and doesn’t reply.
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