"Gender has always been an interesting problem in the Utter Islands. One might assume that the genders, after the abolishment of the aristocracy, would have been more or less elevated to the same platform in history, but that is far from the truth. However, it is not as easy as a dialectic as it is that All Woman Are Oppressed. That ignores the intersectional and materialist analysis of their place in the world. As you would know, Women of the Merchant Empires and the Developed Nations actively oppress even the men of the colonized, Exploited Nations. Therefore, it is important not to create an idealistic divide of 'man' and 'woman', as such an idealistic division would be, well, idealistic and not representative of reality. Rather, one must approach analaysis according to the context of each individual, as sunyata asks us to tackle.

From The Moon Within The Pond: A Treatise On Idealism And Reality by Bhikkuni Iyakin

Raxri forced a smile. Perhaps these womanclothes are becoming a bit of a detriment... "A-ah! Greetings great knight. To what honor does this one have to be speaking with someone so high?"

He smiled so largely that his eyes almost disappeared. He was very attractive, Raxri noticed. A soft heart underneath a sharp exterior. "No need for such formalities, swordmaiden." Raxri realized that they did have a blade on them. Puksa, in particular, did not look like a shrub-cutting machete but a swordsman's killing weapon. "And here, your soy sauce."

Raxri smiled. "Thank you. Knight Dangga-an?"

He shook his head. "Just Furusun is fine. If that's all right with you." He looked at the counter and said: "I just wanted to help is all. That's one of my duties as a Shark Knight."

Wait, I can use this to gain more knowledge about the High Chief. I shouldn't brush him off. Come on, Raxri, strike while the iron is hot. Don't let this opportunity pass you by! "Thank you, Furusun. Would you like to join us? We're eating."

Furusun smiled at the ground sheepishly, and then shrugged. "If it's not too much of a bother, sure. I usually eat alone. I'm used to it."

Raxri raised an eyebrow. "But are you not a Shark Knight?" Weren't those the knights that Captain Ampalila talked about?

"I wear a great helm when in my line of duty," said Furusun. "When I am not, no one knows who is behind the mask."

"I see. Well, come." Raxri reached down and took his hand. The man's eyes widened, surprised by Raxri's sudden gesture. They pulled him to where Sintra Kennin was sitting, while carrying the bowls of pancit.

"Sintra Kennin," said Raxri, as they placed the bowls on the table. "This is Furusun Dangga-an, a Shark Knight."

Furusun performed the heart reverence to Sintra Kennin. Sintra Kennin was bewildered for the first few moments, and then eventually performed the heart reverence as well. "Greetings to you, great one."

"Sintra Kennin," said Sintra. "You're a Shark Knight?"

"Second Shark Knight, yes," he said. His fingers, Raxri noticed, looked like the fingers of a pianist.

"Why have you brought him here?" asked Sintra, as Raxri sat.

Raxri waved their hand. "They helped me find the soy sauce." They gestured for Furusun to put down the soy sauce bottle. They did so, with an "Oh, yes." "Then I found out they were eating alone." Damned that I can't send telepathic messages yet to Sintra Kennin. This will have to do. They then gestured with their head, as if to say, play along!

Sintra Kennin nodded, understanding immediately. They knew that they could get shit out of this one. Sintra Kennin took one quick glance at Furusun and saw how he stole glances at Raxri and decided that they could play along very well.

Sintra Kennin also noticed that they did not have any weapons on him. That didn't mean he was completely docile. But this might be a great time to also gauge the capabilities of a Shark Knight. See what they're up against.

Sintra made a thumbs up gesture at Raxri. A bit too enthusiastic. This is because Sintra Kennin had the perfect plan to lay out. He said: "So, what is it you want from my shobe?"

Furusun sat. Blinked. Looked at Raxri. "This is your... older brother?"

Sintra Kennin I should not have let you take the lead... Raxri smiled. "Y-yes! This is my older brother Sintra Kennin. And I am--"

"Ratra!" said Sintra Kennin. They made another face as if to say. Don't give away your name. "Their--Her name is Ratra Kennin."

Raxri smiled again. Taking on the mantle of a femme felt natural, easy. Especially in the face of a man absolutely enamored by their looks. "Yes. Ratra Kennin. It is so nice to meet you!" They bowed. Furusun returned the bowing.

"Ratra," Furusun said smiling. Suddenly he looked all too awkward. "Ah- thank you for letting me sit with you. Please, feel free to eat without me disturbing you."

"Ah, don't worry about it!" said Sintra, slapping his shoulder. It was surprisingly solid. "We love having guests talking with us. So please answer my question. What do you want from my shobe?"

Both Raxri and Furusun seemed to turn pink. Furusun said: "N-Nothing! Not anything you were thinking of. I simply wanted to help her find the soy sauce."

"Hm...? Is that so? Interesting. Then I suppose we will have to thank you."

Raxri jumped in. Thankfully, their voice was already in that middle spot between feminine and masculine. With just a bit of inflection, they could make themselves sound femme or masc. As Ratra, they said: "So what do you do as a Shark Knight, gentleman?"

Furusun smiled. "A-Ah, well yes. I am a Second Shark Knight of the great High Chief Trasan. I... serve as a more or less very secret and very focused protector. We are almost always by the side of the High Chief, especially when he's outside his Palace, where his protective magicks do not apply."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"I see!" said Sintra, full glad that they were getting information from this man. When he opened his mouth to say more, a call erupted form the pancit seller.

"Ah, that must be my order," said Furusun. "Excuse me. It will be but a second."

Sintra and Raxri both nodded, and Furusun left.

"We should take this opportunity to learn any potential weaknesses of the High Chief," said Sintra Kennin.

"Exactly what I've been thinking," said Raxri, nodding.

"Your duty is to keep him preoccupied with your beauty."

Raxri stopped from nodding abruptly. They exhaled. "Excuse me I have some questions I wish to ask too!"

"Mine should come first," said Sintra. "Yours can come after. We need you to distract him from the fact that we're essentially ripping information from him that he wouldn't otherwise take."

Raxri squirmed uncomfortably. "I don't know... it seems to be... not nice. Unkind."

"You can dedicate merit to him in your meditational practices later down the line," said Sintra. "But for now, focus on the fact that we need to stop the High Chief. Okay?" His voice became hard. He knew what a bleeding heart Raxri was. "There will be enough time. Keep close to your heart the fact that whatever knowledge we can glean from the High Chief's closer warriors. Got it?"

Raxri sighed and nodded. "Yes." They leaned back and folded their arms over their chest. "It does make me wonder something."

Sintra Kennin raised an eyebrow, urging them to go on.

"If the Shark Knights are the High Chief's closest warriors. His elite guard... why weren't they there at his throne room when we were called there?"

Furusun returned with a steaming bowl of pancit with honey walnut shrimp.

Raxri noticed that they had a look of uncertainty in their eyes. Flitting about. Looking for something? Or...

"Finally, let's eat!" said Sintra Kennin.

Raxri said: "Are you... uncomfortable, great Knight?"

Sintra furrowed their brow, as if miffed that Raxri didn't follow the turn order of questioning. But they couldn't be too mad about it, they realized, because this was a matter that they were interested in as well.

Furusun smiled shyly, looking at his pancit bowl. He shook his head. "Well, no. I'm not uncomfortable... this is just new to me."

"Eating outside?" asked Sintra Kennin.

Furusun shook his head. "No, no. Not that. Eating with strangers. With a group. I've... gotten used to eating alone." He shrugged. "I'm always alone." Then they dug into their pancit bowl.

Sintra Kennin grimaced at Raxri. Raxri shook their head. Sintra Kennin rolled their eyes, trying to say: I got this. Raxri deferred, doing a slight nod.

"So what are you two doing here?" said Furusun, beating them to the punch. "Dockworkers? Diplomacy? Merchant princes? Travelers? You don't hold the look of a dockworker, I will be honest."

"Well," began Sintra Kennin, "The truth is we are passing through. This is our last stopover, and we'll be boarding the yakkamakina that goes to Blacklight City upon that floating island."

Furusun swallowed his pancit and said: "Ah! I see. So you must be... magicians, of a sort?"

Raxri raised an eyebrow. Sintra Kennin shook his head. "Somewhat... but nothing to write home about. We're heading to Blacklight to visit an auntie, not for the magick."

"I see. Well, I don't doubt that you are some sort of cultivator," said Furusun, slurping. "Your aura is unmistakable, emanating out of you in waves." He turned to Raxri. "Especially the dame."

Sintra Kennin's jaw was setting. Furusun knew more than he let on.

Raxri shrugged. "Well, I do practice some magicks, yes."

Sintra Kennin nodded. "A magickal bloodline, of sorts. But, pray, trust me. We are not looking for a fight, nor are we looking for any politicking about cultivation."

Furusun shook his head and waved his hands. "No, no! Perish the thought, please. I'm just here to enjoy food. It just so happened that I chose Mang Romo's pancit wagon for tonight's dinner. Forgive me if I instilled any anxieties."

Sintra smiled and waved his hand dismissively. "Of course, we're just making sure," said Sintra, but both Raxri and Sintra were in a different mode of communication, now. There was something to lose, something to gain, if they didn't handle this right. Even if the two of them could reliably take down a lone Shark Knight, the weight of political consequences will not be light-handed. Sintra Kennin continued: "I hope work is going well, then? What does a Shark Knight do, anyway?"

Raxri hid a grimace. Ooh. Raw hit. How's that going to pan out?

Furusun shrugged. "Well, the same things a royal guard would do, I believe. Protect the High Chief, show up for him, do odd jobs and errands for him. Fortunately, the High Chief is incredibly skilled himself, so he does not even need that much protection. As such, the majority of us Shark Knights have become essentially errand boys. Vassals, I suppose, even though we've long outlived that era."

Raxri was impressed. Is Furusun this lonely? Or... no. That's an uncharitable reading of it. He wouldn't be giving off this information if it was important. This is something everyone already knows about.

"I see," said Sintra Kennin, continuing to eat his pancit. His bowl was almost empty, revealing the dragon flower pattern at the bottom of the porcelain. "But for errand boys I suppose you have considerable martial cultivation?"

Furusun nodded. "That is right. It comes with the job," he said, smiling. "It's a necessity. Otherwise, what can we do as High Chief Trasan's Hands?" He went back to finishing his pancit.

"How many Shark Knights are there?" asked Sintra Kennin. He definitely was leading with questions that a foreigner would be asking. "And do you practice a uniform, Shark Knight Martial Art or something of the sort?"

He shook his head. "There's four of us. And we practice different styles, each. Harder to counter, that way."

Sintra Kennin nodded. "That is a smart move. That must make you Shark Knights considerable opponents!"

Furusun shrugged. "You could say that." Furusun moved with an almost lupine boredness now that Raxri could understand what they were doing. They knew their own strength, and they were highly comfortable in it. He did not even reveal what weapon he was bringing around, and everyone brought around weapons in the Utter Islands!

Raxri noticed that Sintra was kind of at a loss for words now. He had returned to eating his pancit. Raxri--out of nervousness, perhaps?--had almost completely swallowed up their food.

They spoke: "It is pretty interesting to meet a Shark Knight like you out here. What serendipity. Do you have friends, Furusun? Other than your Shark Knight fellows."

Furusun shrugged. He said the following staring at his bowl: "Even the Shark Knights do not like each other. I have no friends. I am alone, but that is enough. Anything to be able to do my job for High Chief Trasan."

"Your loyalty is admirable," said Raxri. "What is it that makes you so faithful to your High Chief?"

Furusun shook his head. "Nothing specific. Just like everyone else. I was a slave, from the Shennin region. I was bought by a Wonian Slaver, brought back to work for their all powerful machine empire. It was High Chief Trasan that raided the slave ship and emancipated us."

"I see," said Raxri. They looked at Sintra Kennin, giving them a slightly impressed stare. "And he freed you?"

"Yes. I choose to work and fight for him. He sponsored me looking for sect masters and trainers. He has made me who I am today," said Furusun. "I cannot, and will not, forget that."

"I see." Raxri reached out and placed a hand on Furusun's shoulder. "You're a strong man, Ser Knight."

Furusun breathed out. He took a moment, staring at his bowl. Then, he finished his food and shrugged. "Forgive me for being a nuisance."

Sintra Kennin shook his head an dwaved his hands. "No! No, not at all. Perish the thought, you were nothing of the sort."

Furusun smiled. "I am glad to hear that. Unfortunately, I do have to return to the High Chief soon. Pray, forgive me. And enjoy your food." He reached down and grasped Raxri's hands. Raxri felt their heart trip. "May the gods deem me worthy to cross your path again, Dame Ratra. Stay safe, and may your days be beautiful."

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