The heartless conqueror

Suspicions

"What are you doing here?" 

 He closed his eyes, and practiced clenching and unclenching his fist until he felt his breathing was normal.  This couldn't be happening right now.

"Who are you?", the voice said, sounding very familiar.

He turned his head and saw the girl with wavy hair and fish-like eyes standing skeptically at the entrance way.

Her eyes squinted in realization.

He turned around. "I was looking for something". 

At least I didn't lie.

She looked unconvinced, that's when he realized that she was one of the more clever ones. He could analyze her personality right away. Quiet, but smart. Kept to herself, but very deceptive when needed.

Kaurvaki noticed his clenched fist and stiff posture. She wasn't quite sure what was going on, but his expression didn't give away anything.

He quickly un-clenched his fist and went to the pile of tarps stacked neatly. 

All that was heard was the shuffling sound, and the silence could have been awkward if they were not figuring out their opponent's next move.

He quickly took what he needed and walked past her.

There was something about this newcomer that made Kaurvaki the more suspicious. 

Could he be a thief? But what did the fishermen possibly have that would make him need to steal through hiding? Maybe he was just telling the truth and had a natural shady persona.

She shook her head.

No, there is more to this youth then he lets on.

Her feet had carried her to the shore, she looked around and saw no sign of Ashoka. 

Her father was with the other fishermen, and they were all laughing heartily.

She came over to him, tugging on his arm, "Baba!", she whispered.

"What is it Kaurvaki?", he looked concerned at her worried expression. She looked around, "I need to tell you something."

They went a distance away from the group, then her father said, "What is it? Is everything alright?"

She shook her head, "I feel something suspicious..."

"What do you mean?"

"That boy Ashok..."

"Yes...has he done anything!"

Kaurvaki nodded, "I think he is trying to steal something..."

Jagathnath turned from worried to serious. "Kaurvaki, what is this?"

She shook her head vigorously, "No! I'm serious! I saw him in the storage room by himself, and he looked like he was hiding something!"

Jagathnath rolled his eyes.

"Baba! I'm just saying! And not just anyone can go in there as you know!"

Her father crossed his arms. "Oh really? And might I ask what YOU were doing there?"

"Kaki asked me to get something for the play! But he's a newcomer!"

"Kaurvaki. This is just disappointing! You are being very immature right now. He is a very respectable fellow, and it makes sense if people have started trusting him!" He turned around having had enough of this.

"So you don't trust me?"

Jagathnath stopped. He had raised his daughter well. He turned around and sighed. "Alright Kaurvaki, I know you always think in the better mind. Yes, he might be reserved, but he isn't going to do anything bad for crying out loud! We're fishermen! But, I understand if you have any speculations so I would notice if I myself speculated."

She frowned. 

"Now go do your work", he told her.

She nodded.

He turned around mumbling about her immature actions.

Kaurvaki didn't expect THAT kind of reaction. She had just added it lightly. She frowned to herself as she made her way to the fisher-girl sheds.

"What are you so distasteful about?", Kanji asked.

Kaurvaki looked up. She shook her head, "Why? What happened?"

Kanji looked at her strange, "Your scowl can be seen miles away!"

"Oh..."

"See! You're doing it again!"

Kaurvaki tried to fix her scowl, and Kanji burst out laughing. "Ok come on! We have to work on the play!"

The way the plays worked was they were first to make the costumes, then an elder who had the tribal play by heart would teach it to the girls.

They were working on making masks for all the characters Aunty had told them about.

First, the clay was collected from a clay patch in a swampy area near the sea. They would have to dig their hands deep into the soil before the soft clumps were collected. Next, a mold was created by placing a strip of banana leaf across a person's face and shaping the clay. This mold was then used for the rest of the mask. After the process of further securing and glazing it, they could then paint it with some colors from certain powders created from shells or plants.

Currently, Kaurvaki was working on the mask for Goddess Meenakshi with Kanji and some other girls. They had gathered an assortment of shells to embroid within it.

"This mask is going to look the best among them all!", Kanji squealed excitedly.

"Of course!", another girl said. "It obviously will as it's supposed to resemble Goddess Meenakshi!" She turned to Kaurvaki, "Right?"

"Huh? Ya, ya..."

Kanji looked at the mask wonderingly, "What else should brighten it up?" 

"Kaurvaki!"

"What!", she snapped back. She realized her mood shift, "Sorry..."

"Are you ok?", one girl asked.

She nodded, "Yes I'm fine." She looked back at the mask,  grabbed the blue paste, and got to work without a word. 

Everyone watched the mask take form in awe. Her imaginative hands loved to spring in the realms of art. 

"Perfect!", they all said.

Kanji looked up, "It's not quite sundown, but we can't really do anything until it dries. So..."

"We're basically done for today!"

They all wrapped up to leave, but as always, she wanted to stay back. 

She looked up the sky. The sun wasn't down yet.