Gala stood up and observed Shea with canny eyes. The kind that saw right through a person down to their very core. Shea had never been very fond of people who could do that. There were too many things she wanted to keep to herself, keep hidden.
“I’ve got to get going. My event starts soon,” Shea said, giving an excuse for her hurry that also happened to be true.
“Yes, you and the other two responsible for the beast board are in charge of the hunt, if I recall.”
“That is right.” Shea didn’t ask how Gala knew. The other woman struck Shea as the sort to know everything about everyone around her.
“That is an unusual honor to be given to a group so young and untested.”
So Shea had gathered. It made her wonder just why her little team had been chosen.
“I will walk with you as far as your staging area,” Gala said. Before Shea could protest, she looked down at Mist. “Shall we?”
The little girl nodded enthusiastically before looking at Shea with bright, excited eyes. Shea didn’t have it in her to deny that face.
She mustered an uneasy smile for the two, then turned and set off, keeping her pace slow so her companions could keep up. Mist rambled in front of them as Gala walked with a measured pace beside Shea.
“You have not attended the last two sharies,” Gala observed.
A sharie was a meeting attended by many of the elders in the clans. Usually each clan held their own sharie every month. She’d made it a point to be busy doing something else the last few times one had been called.
“Yes, I’ve been very busy of late with the Hawkvale’s return and planning for this event.”
Gala gave her a sideways look that said she knew exactly how much of an excuse that was. “When I was your age, I also found it difficult to attend the sharie as well. So many people looking to me for answers when I had none.”
Shea felt a tinge of surprise. “I thought most who attended were elders.”
That was what she had seen. She was the youngest by several decades in those gatherings.
Gala made a sound of agreement. “I was like you, the Telroi to a powerful man. Do you know the purpose of a sharie?”
Shea thought a moment. “To share your grievances in a neutral setting.”
“That is one purpose. The other is to have our grievances heard by our leaders.”
“How is that? I’ve never seen the Hawkvale attend one.”
Gala gave a graceful nod. “In the past, he would send one of his top advisors to hear our complaints.”
“Daere?”
A smile tugged at Gala’s lips as she confirmed Shea’s guess. “Indeed. We may not speak to him directly, but he ensures that our voices are heard and acknowledged in one way or the other.”
They walked several more feet in silence.
“And my presence helps with that?” Shea didn’t see how. Fallon hadn’t even been in the camp for the few sessions she attended. There was no possibility that she would have conveyed their messages to him. “How?”
“Every person in our clans contributes to its overall well-being and the greater Trateri people as a whole. We each have our role to play. The warriors, the craftsmen, the healers and hunters. Without just one of these roles, our society would collapse.”
Shea could see that. Highlanders had similar roles, though they assigned worth to those roles. Merchants, and those that grew and harvested food, were often at the bottom of that tier. She still didn’t see what that had to do with the sharie.
“I have found throughout my many years that a person needs to feel valued for their contributions. To do otherwise breeds resentment. That has no place in a clan. Those little feelings can grow into big ones that threaten a clan’s safety and well-being.”
“I understand. My people have a similar view.”
“Would that be the pathfinders?”
Shea nodded. “The Highlanders have a similar structure to their society, but they often look down on those they see as performing less meaningful roles. There is often a schism in such instances. However, one village’s ways are different than another’s.”
