Tavaar - 71st Edition

Khaiu had become their unofficial leader. This was normal. He was not only the ranking officer, and the eldest, but he had always taken the lead whenever they discussed something serious. In matters of play, it had always been Tavaar or Sashwa or, every once in a while, Shello. The newcomer was Wheylin. Although Sashwa’s brother, Wheylin had never been part of her and Tavaar’s escapades. This had been especially true when play was involved. That was part of Tavaar’s reason for sitting so close to him. She wanted to be sure he felt secure and confident in his place within the group.

Tavaar glanced around. She was happy because here was the core of her life. Only Bolar was missing. Ahzbah meant a lot to her, but Ahzbah was only interested in play. These four knew that sometimes things really were important, and right now they were all bound with a single purpose: break down Gwihnna’s premonition and decide once and for all if it was real or imagined. And if real, what could (should) be done about it?

The first thing Khaiu did was to make sure everyone understood the premonition, so he had Tavaar repeat it. Shello was the only one who had not been previously told. Then, beginning with Sashwa and moving left, he asked each to reveal their first response.
Sashwa conceded that something seemed to ring true about it, but she couldn’t conceive of how it could come about. Shello said it didn’t make any sense whatsoever, but shamefacedly admitted that something about it made him uneasy. Khaiu skipped himself. As unofficial head of this meeting, he felt he should go last. He turned to Wheylin. Wheylin began with a sigh.

“My first reaction was that it was a trick. It would certainly be the kind of fool thing Gwihnna and Kelenbah would do. I know Tavaar can be wild, and she likes to have fun. That was her reputation when we were married. But no one ever claimed to have lay with her. She can often appear to be wild because of her antics and her talk – especially when she is with my sister. But I have always believed – before and since our marriage – that she is honorable and pure. I believe you all see her the same. For that reason, no matter how I may feel, I cannot see how the premonition can be true. The most likely partners would be you two. Yet I believe you both to also be honorable and pure. If you're all honorable how can it happen? I can see her doing things in her dreams, but that’s not real. Dreams are not just about what we desire, but they also contain our fears. So while she may lay with you in her dreams, can you honestly imaging her laying with you for real? Well, can you?”

“Hush,” said Sashwa. “They’re imagining it.”

Wheylin groaned iand asked for someone to slap her. There was no need. Tavaar and Shello, who sat on either side of her, had already cried out themselves and acted. They slapped Sashwa several times, but only in a playful manner. They stopped and sat back up. Now it was Tavaar’s turn.