Koa stared at the screen in front of him. This one was smaller than usual:
Title: 'Founder'
Reward for having survived the trials of the Foundry.
Koa sighed. He didn't know what these titles did. What would the point be of equipping them?
"Pay attention now, little Founder." Isa, his caretaker, said as they neared the trading camp. "This is where we come to see our neighboring families. Many are like you, not native, yet are making their homes here."
"The Saigan," Koa whispered so only Isa could hear, "And the Aeolon."
Isa paused, smiling down at him. "Yes! Did you know them before you met us?"
Koa blinked. He couldn't tell her about his memories or the nightmares; she would think him crazy.
"I heard the Elders talk about them." He lied.
"Ah, I see. Yes, both groups come to trade, be it tools, food, or information. More importantly, it helps with relations between our clans. I am sure you have seen how they work from afar, but today I would like you to learn how we trade."
Koa met her eyes, nodding. Isa, having only spent a few months with the boy, knew he would learn quickly. He rarely complained about any tasks, but her mother had mentioned his hesitancy when being near any who came from the Isles. He would try to avoid certain ones, particularly-
Koa started, and Isa saw him stare at a group of younger Aeolons: two girls, two boys, and one of their elders. The reaction shook Isa from her thoughts. He had stopped walking now.
"Are you alright?" She put a hand on his shoulder, leaning down to meet his eyes. When she blocked his view, he blinked, now focusing on her.
"I'm fine."
"… Right. Come, maybe we can get you a knife." That got Koa's attention. He had broken his last one and hadn't learned how to knap a new one just yet.
They walked through the stands, and Isa saw her brother at a stand. She had the pale child try to negotiate with him, giving her brother a sign behind Koa.
"So you want a knife?"
"Yes, sir," Koakiran said, referring to him formally. Isa's brother, Tala, nodded at this, recognizing the formality and Isa's signs, and took their request seriously.
"I knapped three." He reached behind him and took out a rolled-up piece of leather, unrolling it to display three different knives. He pointed to each of them. "Bone, glass, ore."
The first knife was more slender, a long bone chipped sharp, with a cloth handle. The second was a shorter, stouter blade, with the handle at a slight curve. This was Stygian glass, as the Aeolons had called it in the recesses of Koa's memory. Incredibly sharp. The third was a reddish color, long and curved, an ore that Ingot and Koa had frequently helped find. In the end, he pointed to the bone knife.
"Good pick. What do you have to trade for?"
Koa hesitantly felt the outside of his pack. He reached in, rummaging around. Isa and her brother traded looks as he pulled out a handful of berries. His uncle shook his head. The boy then yelled out his already worn sling, receiving another head shake. So it went, from a bundle of rope, to scraps of hide, to berries once more. Each time his uncle shook his head quietly with the same expectant look.
"Seems you have nothing of interest to me." Tala looked expectantly. "If you want this knife, what else can you offer?"
Koakiran thought long and hard, Isa watching silently. His mind jumped from various materials. His uncle was one of the few who were regularly at the mine.
"I could help you at the quarry." He offered. "Ingot is great at finding ores in the ground. He could dig deeper than you would be able to mine."
At that, his uncle's eyes lit up. "Yes, your pet seems handy at that. Does he not eat those materials?"
"Well, yes, but I can train him to keep bringing more!"
His uncle thought for a second, leaning his chin against his hand. He looked up to his sister questioningly.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have him at the quarry for a few days."
"How about a few weeks?"
Isa looked to Koa, who frowned in thought.
"Days," He said, "Enough to find enough material for a new knife and a bit more."
His uncle was silent for a long time. Koa saw a gleam in Isa's eyes as Tala continued to stare.
"Then we have struck a deal." His uncle said, twirling the bone knife expertly, handing it to the boy handle first. "Go play with the Isle-dwellers over there; your mother and I must talk."
Koa looked to where his uncle had gestured, and saw two Aeolon kids staring at him. Those two. Lyra and Proclus.
Koa paled and looked to his mom.
"Go." She said. "It's important to face your fears. I'll be right here."
The boy stepped away from her as the young girl waved him over. The boy felt his feet turn as heavy as stone. He had watched both of them die.
How could he face them now?