Reichis tried his best to convince me that a second bath was in order, but I refused, and since nobody but me understands what he’s saying, all his efforts to explain to Seneira what he wanted were interpreted as a desire to go outside. Eventually he gave up, though not before making it clear that unholy vengeance would be wreaked upon all those who’d stood between him and his newfound love of bathtubs and butter biscuits.
By the time I made my way to my bed, I found it so comfortable that I thought I’d pass out the instant I hit the pillow, but something stopped me. Maybe it was just having grown so used to the rituals of the road: the gathering of firewood, preparing the campsite, Ferius setting her traps and the three of us talking nonsense until the stars covered the sky. Or maybe it was because of how bad I felt. Ferius hadn’t yelled at me or even been unfriendly, but we’d hardly spoken since the incident at the hospital. Reichis, on the other hand, slept (and snored) with the devotion of the truly righteous.
I tossed and turned for an hour or so, then found myself going out onto my room’s shallow balcony, which looked over a beautifully landscaped garden. I’m not sure how long I stood there before I noticed Rosie, moving so silently I couldn’t hear her, practising some form of combat, almost as if she were sparring with an invisible opponent. There was an elegance to her movements, so profound that eventually I put on my clothes and went down to join her.
‘What do you call that?’ I asked.
‘Eres trida,’ she replied, without missing a beat, moving with effortless precision along the pebbled path of the back garden. ‘A style of sand fighting.’
‘Sand fighting?’
‘Does one of those words confuse you?’ Rosie made a quarter-turn, her back foot gliding smoothly along the uneven ground.
‘I just …’
She stopped, though whether because she’d completed whatever routine she’d been practising or because I was annoying her, I didn’t know. ‘Sand fighting. Fighting in sand. Part of the second talent.’
‘The second talent?’
Her eyes narrowed, and I got the distinct sense she thought I was mocking her. ‘I don’t know what that means,’ I said. ‘Honestly.’
‘The second talent. Eres.’ She said the word as if I should know it, then clarified with, ‘Defence.’
‘Oh.’
She came out of her combat stance and stood before me. ‘Name the seven talents of the Argosi.’
That caught me off guard. ‘I … I don’t—’
‘I thought you were learning the Argosi ways?’
‘I thought so too.’
‘Then name for me the seven talents!’
I felt annoyed at her for talking to me as though I was an idiot, and yet somehow didn’t want to show myself ignorant of the things Ferius was supposed to have taught me. ‘I … I guess swagger? Umm … dance, I think?’
‘“Swagger”? “Dance”?’ She shook her head and clicked her tongue with irritation. ‘The seven talents of an Argosi wanderer are: Daring, to brave the world; Defence, to protect oneself and others; Eloquence, to communicate with strangers; Subtlety, to evade ensnarement; Resilience, to thrive anywhere; Persuasion, to compel right action; Perception, to see what others do not.’
‘I … I didn’t know any of that.’
Rosie’s eyes softened, just a touch, and then she bowed her head briefly. ‘Forgive me, this is my error. I assumed when I saw you with the Path of the Wild Daisy … with Ferius … that you were her teysan.’
‘What’s a teysan?’
‘A student … an apprentice in the ways of the Argosi. I thought she was teaching you the seven talents in preparation for you to take the next step towards your path. She and I were both trained by the same maetri – teacher – so I presumed …’
I felt my cheeks flush, both from embarrassment and a rush of anger. ‘She said there wasn’t any specific Argosi training. She said—’
Rosie raised her hands, palms up in front of her. ‘Your pardon. In my foolishness and presumption, I have sown discord where none existed.’
Oh, it existed all right. I just never realised how much.
Rosie frowned. ‘The way of the Argosi is the way of water,’ she said. ‘I would not wish for this to be an occasion where I created disadvantage for another. Tell me, is there something I might do to restore the balance between us? I do not carry much with me, but I have certain mementoes from foreign lands. Perhaps one would—’
‘I don’t want you to give me your stuff!’ The second the words were out of my lips I realised I’d overreacted. This wasn’t her fault. She was just trying to make me feel better. ‘Maybe … Maybe you could teach me some of those fighting techniques you were doing?’
Her expression looked troubled and then she bowed again. ‘I apologise, but I cannot.’
‘Why not? It’s just—’
‘Ferius has chosen not to train you, Kellen, and for this she must have her reasons. If I gainsay her in this, I break the balance between her and me, and that balance is already … precarious.’
‘Great,’ I said. ‘Just perfect.’
Rosie came over and put a hand on my shoulder. ‘The ways of the Argosi are … rigorous, Kellen. They are not for everyone. If the Path of the Wild Daisy has not welcomed you to it, then trust that this is not the life for you.’
‘Sure, fine,’ I said. ‘I guess I’m not supposed to become an Argosi.’
Only what am I supposed to be?