Ferda carried the Matzo crackers into the living room to see Abba gesturing wildly as he reached the climax of a story that had been drilled into Ferda’s head so many times that they could practically mouth the words along with him. Yet, excitement danced in the eyes of the kids who had parents too busy to tell them this tale. A grudging smile tugged itself across Ferda’s mouth and they let out a sigh. It was nice to see people happy for once.

“As the years went on, the fortress our ancestors created on the Skelsin peninsula developed into the nearby Vudek cluster you all know today.” Abba clapped his hands to punctuate his speech. “Now, go find Ferda for your treat. I believe they’re in the kitchen—” The old man blinked when he noticed Ferda standing in the corner. “Excuse me, I mean…” He waved a hand toward the vana. A cheer went up from the kids as they all rushed over to surround Ferda. “Make a line, children!” Abba’s voice was wholly ignored in the clamor.

“Alright you little imps,” Ferda hopped onto a nearby footstool. “Since you can’t mind your manners, we’re going to play a little game.” They pulled a cracker from the box and waved it over their head. “If you can catch a cracker, you can eat it, but you have to go over by Abba while you do it. Sound fun?” The kids screamed their agreement and Ferda started flicking crackers around the room. Unlike the knives the thief usually threw, these projectiles were a welcomed addition, if the cheering was anything to go by. Abba shook his head in disapproval of the chaos, but he didn’t stop it.

Everything seemed to be going well, though Ferda had to threaten to halt the cracker parade to stop a couple of kids from taking more than their share. Then, the Menace finished his snack. “Teacher,” he asked, “what does your story have to do with Jakob’s shop getting raided?” The upbeat chatter among the kids died.

Abba was about to reply, but Ferda’s mouth was faster, even ahead of their brain. “It’s because they don’t see us as equals.” All eyes turned to Ferda. Shit. This was not a conversation they wanted to have today.

Well, Ferda was in it now, and they were no quitter. They cleared their throat. “The looting was a little bit because of that ancient grudge you just heard about, a little bit because of the lack of food, a little because of the war, and a little bit of whatever short stick of society the attackers have decided they’ve drawn. But really, it’s because they could.” A couple of the smaller children furrowed their brows. Then, one of them asked what they’d done wrong to make others want to hurt them. Shattered hell, these kids were young.

Shaking their head, the thief stepped down from the footstool and walked over to the cluster of students. “It’s not something you did wrong, or a misunderstanding you can clear up, or an issue that can be straightened out with an arguement.” The young ones gaped at Ferda. Debates—though often filled with passion and insults—were the core of how Woromirans solved problems. Aside from some notable exceptions. Ferda chewed their lip, considering how to explain unreasoning hate in a way that a child raised on logic would understand.

“You know when you get scolded by your parents and feel mad about it?” Every single kid nodded. “If you talk back to your parents, you’ll just get punished more. So, you take your anger out on someone else.” Ferda made eye contact with a few kids, “Usually, someone you think is weaker than you. Because you can hit them and they can’t do jack about it, unlike who you’re really mad at. If your victim different from you in some way that you can look down on, you might even decide that hurting them is…” They struggled for a word, then settled on, “deserved. Jakob’s shop was hit because they knew he wouldn’t be able to hit back—and because the people who did it decided we’re different enough to hate. The Guards think so too, so the looters knew they were safe to take their shit out on him.”

“So basically,” Menace put his little hands on his hips, “the looters are dumb enough to throw adult tantrums.” Ferda barked a laugh. The kid had drawn a flawed conclusion, but they’d given him an oversimplified explanation.

“It’s more complicated and dangerous than that. There are a lot of things that make it safe for those bastards to do what they want.” Ferda nodded toward Abba. “There are people who can explain everything better than I can.” The vana rose and headed for the exit. “I’ll see you shitheads later.” They tossed the cracker box over their shoulder. Abba yelled at them to come back, but Ferda was already out the door with a weight disappearing from their shoulders.